Golf: Australian Geoff Ogilvy Wins Mercedes-Benz Championship In Hawaii
January 12th 2009 02:13
Although six shots up at the start of the day, Victorian Geoff Ogilvy was only one stroke ahead when he arrived at the 9th tee at the Kapalua Plantation course on Maui, Hawaii, during the Mercedes-Benz Championship. However, he still managed to hold on, and claim his fifth US Tour win.
The 2006 US Open champion hit a near-perfect shot at the perfect time, a towering three-iron approach that settled six metres from the pin at the par-five 9th hole, and when his previously frazzled mind suddenly felt a whole lot better, he drained the putt for an eagle.
"As I walked off the 9th green, I felt the best I had all week. All of a sudden, a switch flicked and I felt decent,'' said Ogilvy, who promptly birdied five of the next six holes to charge clear again on his way to a six-stroke victory over American Anthony Kim in the US PGA Tour's season opener.
"I hit it great this week, except for about four shots this morning. It was as good a 63 holes as I've ever played.''
Ogilvy, who shot a closing 68 to finish at 24-under-par 268, admitted that the tension of holding a big third-round lead contributed to his poor start.
"It's an uncomfortable feeling to know you were six shots out in front and now you're almost back to tied, because you can just imagine what people are thinking,'' he said.
"If somebody is birdying every hole to catch you, that's a completely different story, but I made only one bogey (through 54 holes) and then I made four on the front nine this morning.
"I was fairly frustrated walking off the 8th green. I wouldn't say it was panic, just 'can I go somewhere else for a while' because it's just uncomfortable.''
Ogilvy, who broke his Australian duck when he won the PGA Championship last month, received $US1.12 million ($A1.6 million) and a new 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL500 for his fifth PGA Tour victory.
And he continued the stellar Australian record at Kapalua, where Stuart Appleby won three consecutive times from 2004.
Ogilvy spent three months in Australia at the end of last year, his longest stretch back home in a decade. He enjoyed the extended break from the grind of the American Tour and arrived here not only mentally refreshed but also feeling competitively sharp.
"When Geoff plays well, he never looks like he's going to hit a bad shot,'' said compatriot Adam Scott, who tied for 18th in the 33-man field.
"I think that's why he does really well at big tournaments. He doesn't look like he's going to hit a really rank shot and get into trouble.''
Actually, Ogilvy did hit a couple of rank shots early in the final round, but steadied the ship before it totally capsized.
"It was definitely a round of two halves,'' he said. "I really enjoyed every hole on the back nine.''
AAP
The 2006 US Open champion hit a near-perfect shot at the perfect time, a towering three-iron approach that settled six metres from the pin at the par-five 9th hole, and when his previously frazzled mind suddenly felt a whole lot better, he drained the putt for an eagle.
"As I walked off the 9th green, I felt the best I had all week. All of a sudden, a switch flicked and I felt decent,'' said Ogilvy, who promptly birdied five of the next six holes to charge clear again on his way to a six-stroke victory over American Anthony Kim in the US PGA Tour's season opener.
"I hit it great this week, except for about four shots this morning. It was as good a 63 holes as I've ever played.''
Ogilvy, who shot a closing 68 to finish at 24-under-par 268, admitted that the tension of holding a big third-round lead contributed to his poor start.
"It's an uncomfortable feeling to know you were six shots out in front and now you're almost back to tied, because you can just imagine what people are thinking,'' he said.
"If somebody is birdying every hole to catch you, that's a completely different story, but I made only one bogey (through 54 holes) and then I made four on the front nine this morning.
"I was fairly frustrated walking off the 8th green. I wouldn't say it was panic, just 'can I go somewhere else for a while' because it's just uncomfortable.''
Ogilvy, who broke his Australian duck when he won the PGA Championship last month, received $US1.12 million ($A1.6 million) and a new 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL500 for his fifth PGA Tour victory.
And he continued the stellar Australian record at Kapalua, where Stuart Appleby won three consecutive times from 2004.
Ogilvy spent three months in Australia at the end of last year, his longest stretch back home in a decade. He enjoyed the extended break from the grind of the American Tour and arrived here not only mentally refreshed but also feeling competitively sharp.
"When Geoff plays well, he never looks like he's going to hit a bad shot,'' said compatriot Adam Scott, who tied for 18th in the 33-man field.
"I think that's why he does really well at big tournaments. He doesn't look like he's going to hit a really rank shot and get into trouble.''
Actually, Ogilvy did hit a couple of rank shots early in the final round, but steadied the ship before it totally capsized.
"It was definitely a round of two halves,'' he said. "I really enjoyed every hole on the back nine.''
AAP
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