Montgomerie retains Senior PGA title by four shots

(Reuters) - Colin Montgomerie of Scotland retained his Senior PGA Championship crown by a commanding four shots on Sunday at French Lick, Indiana as he earned his third major title in the over-50 ranks. Three ahead overnight, Montgomerie rebounded from a bogey on the opening hole with a superb display on the challenging Pete Dye course at the French Lick Resort, piling up six birdies and just two more bogeys on the way to a three-under-par 69. That left the 51-year-old Scot at eight-under 280, four strokes ahead of Mexico's Esteban Toledo who closed with a 69 on a blustery afternoon. Montgomerie became the first player since American Hale Irwin (1996-1998) to successfully defend the Senior PGA Championship. The Briton, one of the best players never to have landed a regular major title, won last year's Senior PGA at Harbor Shores in Michigan before claiming his second Champions Tour major two months later at the U.S. Senior Open. Woody Austin carded a 69 to finish alone in third place at three under, one stroke better than fellow American Brian Henninger (71). (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Gene Cherry)