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LOS ANGELES. — Colin Montgomerie of Scotland retained his Senior PGA Championship crown by a commanding four shots on Sunday at French Lick, Indiana, as he earned his third major golf title in the over-50 ranks.

Three ahead overnight, Montgomerie rebounded from a bogey on the opening hole with a superb display on the challenging Pete Dye course at the French Lick Resort, piling up six birdies and just two more bogeys on the way to a three-under-par 69.

That left the 51-year-old Scot at eight-under 280, four strokes ahead of Mexico’s Esteban Toledo who closed with a 69 on a blustery afternoon.

Montgomerie became the first player since American Hale Irwin (1996-1998) to successfully defend the Senior PGA Championship.

The Briton, one of the best players never to land a regular major title, won last year’s Senior PGA at Harbour Shores in Michigan before claiming his second Champions Tour major two months later at the US Senior Open.

“I’m just making up for lost time,” a beaming Montgomerie told NBC Sports about his successful run in the blue riband senior events over the past 12 months.

“I spent 22 proper years trying to do this and three (wins) have come at the one time,” said the Scot, who was a runner-up five times in regular majors during a glittering career that also yielded a record eight European Tour order of merit titles. — Reuters.