Golf: Montgomerie all the way

Scot Colin Montgomerie won his first World Matchplay golf championship yesterday at Wentworth near London and equalled the modern European Tour record by recording his sixth victory of the year.

The 36-year-old Montgomerie deposed American Mark O'Meara as champion after he took the first two holes of the day with birdies and never surrendered the lead in a 3 and 2 triumph.

His sixth victory, which earned him sterling 170,000, matched the modern European Tour record set by Seve Ballesteros, of Spain, in 1986 and equalled by Nick Faldo, of Britain, in 1992.

Montgomerie, who lost to Ernie Els in 1994 in his only previous appearance in the final, led by five holes after 13 in the morning but O'Meara won the 17th and 18th and then the second in the afternoon to cut the deficit to two.

But he never got any closer than that, and when Montgomerie holed a four-metre putt for birdie at the 33rd, he was three up with three to play.

Montgomerie also won the British PGA title on the Wentworth course this year, giving him sterling 386,000 ($1.27 million) from the two events.

"This wins means a great deal to me. Any time the tournament has the word 'world' in the title, it means a lot," he said.

O'Meara said it would be good if Montgomerie played more in the United States but he understood the Scot's allegiance to Europe because he has a young family and his feelings after the recent Ryder Cup, when he had to endure taunts from the crowd.