Ogilvy all the way
POSTED: Monday, January 12, 2009
KAPALUA, Maui » Geoff Ogilvy did his best to open the door on the front side only to close it with authority on the back to win the Mercedes-Benz Championship by a whopping six shots.
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The Australian squandered most of a six-stroke advantage with four bogeys on the first eight holes, but began an incredible run with an eagle at the ninth. It started a string where Ogilvy went 7 under over seven holes to win his fifth PGA Tour title, including the U.S. Open Championship in 2006.
Known for his unflappable nature even when things are going badly, the man from Down Under did little to dispel that notion with a 21-footer for eagle at the par-5 ninth. Anthony Kim had pulled to within one shot after Ogilvy bogeyed the tricky par-3 eighth, but that was as close as anyone got.
Kim (67) produced some dramatics of his own by almost holing a double eagle at the 663-yard closing hole to finish tied for second with Davis Love III (67) at 18-under 274. His tap-in eagle from 7 inches closed out a solid first tour of duty on the expansive Plantation Course.
Fellow Americans Sean O'Hair (65) and Justin Leonard (68) did their part in the closing act of the opening event on the tour. O'Hair was alone in fourth at 17-under 275, with Leonard coming in fifth at 16-under 276, but once again, this day belonged to a foreigner. The last American to win the Mercedes was Jim Furyk in 2001.
“;I enjoyed the last 2 1/2 hours more than I enjoyed the first 2 hours today,”; Ogilvy said. “;Obviously, a very rough start. I had never had a six-shot lead before. 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 I thought were pretty decent that didn't go in, which is the sort of thing that happens when you're leading, I guess.”;
Ogilvy opened with back-to-back bogeys after carding only one over the first 54 holes. He got back to even for his round with back-to-back birdies at Nos. 5 and 6, before the bogey bug bit again at 7 and 8. Had he managed another at the par-5 ninth, he and Kim would have made the turn tied for first.
“;But the two best shots of the week came down the ninth hole,”; Ogilvy said. “;I made my best putt and probably my best back nine of the week. So definitely a round of two halves. Pretty poor first eight holes and great last 10 holes, and I really enjoyed it.”;
After never having a round in the 60s the first two times he played here in 2007 and 2008, Ogilvy was the only golfer in the field this week to have all four rounds in the 60s. He became only the fifth player to do that since the tournament moved to Maui in 1999. That list includes David Duval (1999), Furyk (2001), Ernie Els (2003) and Tiger Woods in his last appearance in 2005.
It is the third-largest margin of victory and the third-best score in 11 years at the Plantation Course. And by PGA Tour standards, it's the first wire-to-wire win on Maui, although Els and Vijay Singh were either tied or led all four rounds in their wins as well.
Known as a great front-runner, Ogilvy wasn't comfortable beginning the day with a six-shot advantage and said as much several times. With the wind and rain pounding the course at about 5:30 a.m., no one knew for sure whether there would be a fourth round yesterday. For Ogilvy, it only compounded his feelings, especially when he started leaking oil on the very first hole.
“;It's an uncomfortable feeling, definitely, to know you're six shots out in front and know you're almost back to tied,”; Ogilvy said. “;That's not very comfortable because you can just imagine what people are thinking and what's going on.
“;Yeah, it's not a very nice feeling to know you're frittering away your lead with weak shots and bad shots. If somebody is birdieing every hole to catch you, then that's a completely different story.”;
Mercedes-Benz Championship
Final round (FedExCup points in parentheses)
| Geoff Ogilvy (500), $1,120,000 | 67-68-65-68 | — | 268 |
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| Anthony Kim (245), $523,500 | 71-68-68-67 | — | 274 |
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| Davis Love III (245), $523,500 | 69-70-68-67 | — | 274 |
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| Sean O'Hair (135), $312,000 | 69-70-71-65 | — | 275 |
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| Justin Leonard (110), $261,000 | 74-67-65-70 | — | 276 |
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| Ernie Els (88), $189,250 | 68-69-73-67 | — | 277 |
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| Zach Johnson (88), $189,250 | 71-75-64-67 | — | 277 |
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| Kenny Perry (88), $189,250 | 68-71-68-70 | — | 277 |
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| D.J. Trahan (88), $189,250 | 70-66-70-71 | — | 277 |
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| Johnson Wagner (75), $162,000 | 68-71-70-69 | — | 278 |
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| Dustin Johnson (70), $152,000 | 72-72-68-67 | — | 279 |
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| Chez Reavie (60), $132,000 | 75-70-68-67 | — | 280 |
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| Will MacKenzie (60), $132,000 | 72-70-69-69 | — | 280 |
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| Camilo Villegas (60), $132,000 | 74-67-66-73 | — | 280 |
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| K.J. Choi (55), $107,000 | 71-71-66-73 | — | 281 |
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| Boo Weekley (55), $107,000 | 70-70-69-72 | — | 281 |
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| Carl Pettersson (54), $92,000 | 72-72-70-68 | — | 282 |
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| Brian Gay (52), $77,667 | 72-70-70-71 | — | 283 |
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| Adam Scott (52), $77,667 | 73-67-73-70 | — | 283 |
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| Ryuji Imada (52), $77,667 | 69-70-74-70 | — | 283 |
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| Trevor Immelman (49), $71,000 | 72-74-69-69 | — | 284 |
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| Richard S. Johnson (49), $71,000 | 72-72-71-69 | — | 284 |
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| Cameron Beckman (48), $68,000 | 76-73-66-70 | — | 285 |
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| Stewart Cink (46), $64,000 | 74-67-71-74 | — | 286 |
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| Steve Lowery (46), $64,000 | 69-75-70-72 | — | 286 |
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| Parker McLachlin (46), $64,000 | 77-69-69-71 | — | 286 |
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| Daniel Chopra (43), $59,500 | 79-69-67-72 | — | 287 |
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| Vijay Singh (43), $59,500 | 73-73-71-70 | — | 287 |
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| Greg Kraft (41), $57,500 | 72-73-68-75 | — | 288 |
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| J.B. Holmes (41), $57,500 | 74-75-72-67 | — | 288 |
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| Ryan Palmer (40), $56,000 | 78-75-72-66 | — | 291 |
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| Andres Romero (39), $55,000 | 78-74-71-72 | — | 295 |
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| Marc Turnesa (38), $54,000 | 79-73-70-74 | — | 296 |
