• Senior Open

Langer tears up record books to win Senior Open

Bernhard Langer claimed his second Senior Open in emphatic style © Getty Images

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Bernhard Langer annihilated the field at Royal Porthcawl to put an exclamation point on a dominant performance in lifting his second Senior Open.

The German had previously won the event in 2010 at Carnoustie and should have won again last year but for a blow-up on the final hole before eventual defeat in the play-off.

He more than made up for that, though, his 13-shot winning margin shattering the previous best of seven shots, set by Bob Charles at Turnberry in 1989. It also eclipses the largest Senior major margin of victory, bettering Hale Irwin's 12-shot win at the Senior PGA Championship in 1997.

As well as a cheque for almost £200,000, Langer secures a spot at next year's Open Championship at St Andrews.

Colin Montgomerie earned second place despite bogeying the second and third holes in his final round, battling back to record a 2-under 69, 5-under for the tournament. He was quick to hail Langer's incredible performance.

"I'd like to say: Bernhard Langer's performance here is one of the golfing performances of all time,." he told Sky Sports. "Rory McIlroy and his group of friends: bring it on here! It is remarkable, remarkable play, and all credit to him.

"I'm very pleased with my day's work. I three-putted two and three, made a mess of them, so to come back with 4-under from that point on is a great effort. This is a brute of a golf course even without the wind, never mind with the wind."

Despite that challenge to Open champion McIlroy, Montgomerie expects his own appearance at next month's US PGA Championship at Valhalla to be a completely different experience.

"I'm playing six majors this year - five Seniors and of course I qualified for the US PGA [by winning the Senior equivalent in May], which is great. I look forward to going there, to Valhalla, but it's a different style of golf course there, of course. I know Tom Watson, Bernhard, myself have more chance of playing better on these [links] type of courses - the ball is going that much more distance of the tee.

"Those courses, the Valhalla courses, are up Rory's street whereby we tend to struggle with distance because it's that much softer. But I'll do my best and I'll hope to do the Champions Tour proud."

Canadian Rick Gibson began the day in second but a closing round of 75 saw him drop to 2-under and a share of third place with Tom Pernice Jnr and Barry Lane. Tom Watson slumped to a final round of 77 to drop to 2-over and a share of 10th.

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