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Mediate wins first Champions Tour major

Michigan - Rocco Mediate holed out from a greenside bunker at the par-three 17th for birdie to close out a wire-to-wire victory at the Senior PGA Championship in Michigan on Sunday.

The 53-year-old, who claimed his first Champions Tour major, posted a five-under-par 66 in the final round for a 19-under tournament record total of 265, beating Sam Snead's score of 268 set in 1972.

Mediate finished three shots in front of two-time defending champion Colin Montgomerie (67) and was the first wire-to-wire winner at the event since Jack Nicklaus in 1991.

German Bernhard Langer (67) and American Brandt Jobe (68) tied for third at 13-under.

"The bunker shot, ... it was perfect," said Mediate, who had looked in danger of dropping shots at the 17th before holing out from the sand. "That hole was good to me this week. I hit a couple of funny shots there and I made a par and a birdie."

Mediate, a six-time PGA Tour winner, said the experience of losing the 2008 US Open in a 18-hole playoff to Tiger Woods had helped him close out the win over Montgomerie, who has won three senior majors since joining the Champions Tour in 2013.

"Absolutely, 100 percent," Mediate said. "I played some of the best golf in my life that day and lost. Okay, to the best player in the world at that time.

"But today I'm playing against pretty much the player in the world of our age. Bernhard, obviously too, but Colin doesn't make a whole bunch of mistakes."

LEADING FINAL ROUND SCORES

265 - Rocco Mediate 62 66 71 66

268 - Colin Montgomerie 67 66 68 67

271 - Bernhard Langer 69 64 71 67, Brandt Jobe 67 67 69 68

272 - Tommy Armour III 70 66 70 66, Billy Andrade 70 68 67 67

273 - Scott Parel 69 71 67 66, Scott McCarron 69 65 70 69, David Frost (RSA) 68 69 67 69 , Kirk Triplett 65 69 69 70, John Dal Corobbo 65 68 69 71

274 - Rod Spittle 69 65 71 69, Tom Byrum 70 66 69 69

275 - Mark O'Meara 67 70 71 67, Gene Sauers 63 69 73 70

276 - Larry Mize 68 72 67 69, Olin Browne 66 69 69 72, Tom Lehman 69 65 69 73

277 - Glen Day 69 68 73 67, Kiyoshi Murota 72 70 66 69, Kevin Sutherland 67 69 70 71

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