PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Esteban Toledo held off 66-year-old Tom Watson by a stroke Sunday at Pebble Beach in the Champions Tour’s First Tee Open.
The 52-year-old Mexican player shot a 3-under 69, rebounding from a bogey on the par-3 17th with a par on the par-5 18th for a 9-under 206 total. He also won twice on the 50-and-over tour in 2013.
Watson was trying to break Mike Fetchick’s record as the oldest winner in tour history. Fetchick won the 1985 Hilton Head Seniors Invitational on his 63rd birthday.
Watson finished with a 67. The Hall of Famer moved into a tie for the lead at 9 under on the par-4 16th with his seventh birdie of the round, but bogeyed the 17th after hitting his tee shot into a bunker and missing a 10-foot par putt. He parred the 18th.
After opening with a 75 at Poppy Hills, Watson had a 65 on Saturday at Pebble Beach. He won the 1982 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and took the PGA Tour’s Bing Crosby event at the course in 1977 and 1978.
Second-round leader Colin Montgomerie closed with a 73 to tie for third at 7 under with Vijay Singh and Woody Austin. Singh finished with a 69, and Austin shot 70.
Canadian Rod Spittle finished with a 4-under 68 for a share of 11th place while Stephen Ames closed with an even-par final round to sit T23.