Bridgend, Wales (SportsNetwork.com) - Bernhard Langer carded a 4-under 67 on Sunday as he rolled to a dominant, 13-stroke victory at the Senior Open Championship.
Langer completed the rout at 18-under-par 266. The victory was Langer's second Champions Tour major title of the season and fourth win overall in 2014.
The 13-stroke victory broke the tour record for the largest margin of victory in a 72-hole event. The previous mark was set by Hale Irwin at the 1997 Senior PGA Championship, which he won by 12 shots.
"This is very unusual," said Langer. "I've won a tournament by 17, the World Championship under 25 years, but this just doesn't happen, not with the competition you're facing. And certainly not in a major usually where the best from around the globe are playing in the Championship. So it's been an amazing week for me."
Colin Montgomerie (69), a two-time major winner this season, took second place at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club at 5-under.
Tom Pernice, Jr. (70), Barry Lane (72) and Rick Gibson (75) shared third place at 2-under, while Scott Dunlap (75) and Bob Tway (76) tied for sixth at even- par 284.
Langer held a commanding, 8-stroke lead when the final round began, and increased that advantage to 10 with consecutive birdies at the second and third, moving him to 16-under.
After a bogey at the fourth dropped his lead back to single digits, he bounced back with birdies at the sixth and seventh to reach minus-17 and stretch his lead to 12 as Gibson bogeyed the fifth and seventh around a birdie at the sixth to fall to 5-under.
Gibson continued to drop shots at the ninth and 10th to hand Langer a 14-shot advantage over the field.
Langer cruised to the huge win from there, countering a bogey at the 11th with birdies at the 12th and 18th to end at 18-under.
"I would like to say, Bernhard Langer's performance here is one of the golfing performances of all time," Montgomerie said. "There is satisfaction in finishing second today. The rest of us were playing for second place, and I feel that I won. I won the battle. There were 144 in the field and I beat 143 of them, it was just him. But that him is awfully good, I must admit."
NOTES: The win was Langer's third major win on the Champions Tour overall, as he also won the Senior British Open in 2010 to go along with the title at the Constellation Senior Players Championship this season ... The 13-shot win also set the new record for the largest winning margin at the championship. The previous record was a 7-stroke win by Bob Charles in 1989 ... It was Langer's 22nd career win on the Champions Tour ... The Champions Tour heads back to the United States next week for the 3M Championship, where Pernice won last season.
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