Colin Montgomerie added a new chapter to a record-breaking season when he closed with a flawless seven under par 65 to win the Russian Open Golf Championship (Senior) at Moscow Country Club.
The Scot started the day two shots behind Tim Thelen, but overhauled his former Houston Baptist University team-mate with four consecutive birdies from the second, and then bagged three more birdies coming home to finish the Championship three shots ahead of Canada’s Rick Gibson on 14 under par 202.
Gibson birdied the last to post a 67, and that was enough to see him finish a single shot ahead of Thelen, Barry Lane, Miguel Angel Martin and Andrew Oldcorn, while Phil Golding closed with a five under par 67 to climb into a tie for seventh place alongside Steen Tinning on eight under par 208.
Montgomerie arrived in Moscow on a high having led from start-to-finish at last week’s Travis Perkins Masters, and he went on to claim his fourth victory in five starts on this year’s European Senior Tour with a fabulous performance that was reminiscent of the way he used to dominate events when he was winning seven European Tour Order of Merit titles in the 1990s.
“I have had a lot of good runs of form over the years but I think this is right up there with the best of them,” said Montgomerie.
“I think I’m playing as well as I have ever done right now. A year ago I said I wasn’t driving as well as I did when I was winning my Order of Merit titles but that’s not the case anymore.
“I hit 28 fairways out of 28 the last two days and you can’t do any better than that. I’m shorter now than I used to be but that’s the only difference. I’m playing as well through the green as I have ever done and I’m also holing out just like I did when I was younger.
“It was a lot of fun out there today. It was a dream start to my year with three wins in my first four starts on the European Senior Tour and now it has just got better.
“I have played well all week but the difference today was that I got off to a much better start. I was two behind Tim (Thelen) overnight, but I put a bit of pressure on him with four birdies in the first five holes and then played solid golf after that.
“I finished fourth here last year so I was determined to do better than that,” he added. “It has been a great week. It’s a fantastic course and I’m already looking forward to coming back next year to defend.
“It was also great to play in the last group with Tim. We were room-mates at Houston Baptist University but I don’t think we have played golf together like that for about 28 years. It was super to compete with him again like we used to do at college.”
Like Monty, Gibson is enjoying a fine run of form of late – the Canadian arrived in Russia having won the Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open in Switzerland earlier on this season, and a tied third finish behind Bernhard Langer and Montgomerie at The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex in July.
Gibson was three shots off the pace after an opening nine of 35, but birdied four holes coming home to move into third place on the European Senior Tour Order of Merit.
“I drove into the bunker but I managed to hit a six-iron to about ten feet and then hole the putt.
“I have got a lot of belief in my golf at the moment but that wasn’t always the case. There was a while when I was far too hard on myself but I have learned to relax and go with the flow.
“It’s an old cliché but all I try to do now is to keep out of my own way.”
