Golfing News

He made it interesting, but Geoff Ogilvy led after every round and won the 2009 PGA TOUR opening event, the Mercedes-Benz Championship, an event made up exclusively of winner from the 2008 TOUR.

Ogilvy opened Sunday’s round with a six-shot lead, and it was whittled down to a single shot after he made bogeys on four of his first eight holes; he made one bogey the first 54 holes of the event.

When Davis Love III holed out for eagle and Anthony Kim birdied on the par-5 ninth hole, the lead was just one shot. But Ogilvy answered by knocking a 3-iron from 230 yard to 20 feet from the hole, then he calmly knocked in the eagle putt. It gave him confidence and he used it to birdie five of his first six back-nine holes to slam the door shut.

Ogilvy closed with a 68 to finish the event at 24-under par. For the victory he earned $1,120,000.

“I was pretty frustrated coming off 8,” he said to the press following the round. “After eagle on 9 I felt comfortable again, like I had all week.”

Love and Kim finished tied for second at 18-under par after posting matching 67s. Kim pulled into the tie for second by nearly holing out for double eagle at the par-5 18th hole; he had a five-inch putt for eagle. Sean O’Hair shot the low round of the day; his 8-under 65 pushed him into fourth place.

The TOUR stays in Hawaii next week for the first full-field event of 2009. The Sony Open will be at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu. K.J. Choi is the defending champion.

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