BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Rocco Mediate holed out from a greenside bunker for birdie on the par-3 17th to wrap up a record-setting, wire-to-wire victory Sunday in the Senior PGA Championship.
Smoking cigars during the round, the 53-year-old Mediate closed with a 5-under 66 — holing a 15-footer for par on the last at Jack Nicklaus-designed Harbor Shores, for a three-stroke victory over two-time defending champion Colin Montgomerie.
Mediate finished at 19-under 265 to break the tournament record of 268 set by Sam Snead in 1973 at PGA National. The six-time PGA Tour winner became the first wire-to-wire winner in the event since Nicklaus in 1991 at PGA National. Mediate matched the course and tournament records with an opening 62 and added rounds of 66 and 71 to take a two-stroke lead over Montgomerie into the final round.
Montgomerie shot a 67 — and matched Snead for the second-best total in tournament history. The 52-year-old Scot won in 2014 at Harbor Shores and last year at French Lick in Indiana.
