US TOUR NEWS:GEOFF OGILVY recovered from a shaky start to complete a commanding, wire-to-wire victory by six shots at the PGA Tour's season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship on Sunday.
Six ahead of the field overnight at the Kapalua Resort, the Australian had his lead briefly cut to one after he bogeyed four of the first eight holes, before pulling away from the chasing pack.
He rolled in a 20-foot eagle putt at the par-five ninth to give himself much-needed breathing space, and birdied five of the next six holes en route to a five-under-par 68.
Ogilvy clinched his fifth PGA Tour title with a 24-under total of 268, finishing well ahead of Americans Davis Love (67) and Anthony Kim, who eagled the last for a matching 67.
American Sean O’Hair fired a flawless 65, the lowest score of the day, to secure fourth place at 17 under.
“I’ve been traditionally a horrible starter on the West Coast and last year I missed my first three cuts,” Ogilvy said after earning the winner’s cheque for just over €800,000. “So to win the first week is really, really nice and it gives me a great feeling for the rest of the year.
“I had never had a six-shot lead before and that’s quite an uncomfortable feeling really. It was tricky on the front nine and I wasn’t playing horribly. I just had a couple of loose shots and a couple of putts that didn’t go in.
“But I hit the two best shots of the week down the ninth hole, made my best putt and probably my best back nine of the week. So definitely a round of two halves.
“Pretty poor the first eight holes and great the last 10 holes,” added Ogilvy, who has finished no worse than sixth in his last four starts, including a victory at the Australian PGA Championship four weeks ago.
“I really enjoyed it.”
Ogilvy, the 2006 US Open champion who is known for being a steady front-runner, got off to a nightmare start on a breezy, rain-softened day at Kapalua with bogeys on the first two holes.
The 31-year-old pushed his drive well right and failed to reach the green in regulation at the par-four first before finding the right bunker off the tee at the par-three second and missing a five-footer.
Love briefly got to within three of the lead when he chipped in from 65 feet to eagle the par-four sixth, but Kim made the biggest move among Ogilvy’s challengers with a flawless start.
The Korean-American birdied the third, fourth, eighth and ninth to reach the turn in four-under 32, just two behind the pacesetting Australian.
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