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Australian Geoff Ogilvy fires a 68 to win season opener

Australian Geoff Ogilvy fired a five-under 68 to win the season-opening US$5.6 million PGA Mercedes-Benz Championship on Sunday.

Ogilvy finished with a 24-under 268 total, six strokes ahead of Anthony Kim and Davis Love of the US.

Ogilvy entered Sunday’s final round with a six-stroke lead, but was up by just one shot after a bogey at the eighth.

An eagle at the ninth got him back on track and Ogilvy clinched his fifth PGA Tour victory with a run of four consecutive birdies starting at the 12th.

“I had never had a six-shot lead before. That’s quite an uncomfortable feeling really,” Ogilvy said. “I enjoyed the last two and a half hours more than I enjoyed the first two.”

With the win, Ogilvy picks up a first-place check of more than US$1 million and guarantees himself a spot in the field next season.

He is also the eighth straight international player to win the event.

After Saturday’s superb round, it looked like Ogilvy was going to cruise home for a wire-to-wire win. But that all went out the window in a hurry on Sunday as he got off to rough start on a rain-softened Kapalua course.

“I just had a couple of loose shots and a couple of putts that I thought were pretty decent and didn’t go in, which is the sort of thing that happens when you’re leading, I guess,” he said.

Ogilvy pushed his drive right and failed to reach the green in regulation at the par-four first which resulted in a bogey.

He followed that up by finding a bunker to the right of the green at the par-three second and missing a five-foot putt for par.

A short approach to the seventh led to a bogey and another tee shot in the bunker resulted in a bogey at the par-three eighth.

With his lead shrunk, Ogilvy rebounded. He reached the green in two at the 521-yard, par-five ninth and made eagle to enter the back nine with a three-stroke lead.

“Pretty poor first eight holes and a great last 10 holes, and I really enjoyed it,” Ogilvy said. “Once I got through nine, I really enjoyed every hole on the back nine.”
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