Mercedes-Benz opening event of 2009 US PGA Tour

Ogilvy's bogey-bogey start allows Kim's

birdie-birdie burst to cut lead to THREE

Geoff Ogilvy, six shots ahead at the start of the final round, had his lead slashed to "only" three strokes after four holes in the Mercedes-Benz Championship, a field restricted to 2008 tournament winners, at Kapalua Plantation, Hawaii.
Ogilvy started his round bogey-bogey-par-par.
Ryder Cup young man Anthony Kim, who had been seven behind the Australian after Saturday.s third round, began his fourth round par-par-birdie-birdie-par-par.
So it's Ogilvy 17 under par ahead of Kim 14 under par as the fourth round progresses.
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Today's top stories:

+Annika Sorenstam's Saturday wedding.

+Harder Hall Invitational report and final totals

+Seven Scots tackle final Ladies European Tour Q Test.

Monty admits he's at the golfing

crossroads at 45 ... and he will

hang up his golf shoes at 52

FROM BBC SPORT.COM WEBSITE
Colin Montgomerie admits the next 12 months are vital as he attempts to revive his flagging career.
The 45-year-old Scot, a former world No 2, has failed to win a tournament since July 2007 and has slumped to 123 in the world rankings.
"This year is very important for me," he told BBC 5 Live's Sportsweek.
"After a disappointing 2008, I have to be realistic and if it does not go well again this year I have to have thoughts about what I am doing."
Montgomerie, who won the last of his record eight European Order of Merit titles in 2005, is desperate to regain his form after a dismal 2008.
He did not qualify for the Masters, finished tied for 58th at the Open, failed to make the cut at the US Open and the USPGA Championship, and only finished in the top 10 of a European Tour event three times.
But after revamping his swing with coaches Pete Cowen and Paul Marchand over the winter, Montgomerie starts the New Year determined to compete again with world's top players.
"I am anxious to get back in the world elite which I have lost ground on over the years," he said.
"I feel I belong with that elite and it's just a matter of proving to myself that I can still compete at that level. There is nothing that should stop me from doing that.
"I am fitter than I have ever been before, technically I am learning as I go along and there is no reason why I should not be confident.
"There is no more ambitious golfer out there than myself and I am eager to get going. I still have that drive."
Montgomerie is guaranteed a place at the Open at Turnberry this year but has yet to qualify for the three other majors and he admits he needs a good start to the year.
"I am in the Open but currently I'm not in the other three and it's the first time I have started a year not in them," he said.
"The first one I might miss out on is the Masters and I have got to start winning early. This is why the first three tournaments are very important to try get going."
And Montgomerie, who has an exemption on the European Tour until 2015, says he will not be following the likes of Ian Woosnam and Sam Torrance in joining the European Senior Tour.
"I don't think you will find me playing seniors golf," he added. "It was a great way for the guys that were not earning the money that we are now to have a second go at it in these modern times where the rewards are so great.
"I can't see myself leaving home for another six days a week to America or Europe for seniors golf.
"I am lucky enough to be exempt on the European Tour until I am 52 and I plan on carrying on playing until then and I will see my options after that."

Olazabal would consider 2010 Ryder Cup

captaincy if he is offered it

FROM THE GUARDIAN.COM WEBSITE
Jose Maria Olazabal has reiterated his desire to play in the 2010 Ryder Cup but admitted that he would consider the captaincy if he is offered it.
The Spaniard, Nick Faldo's deputy when Europe lost to the United States at Valhalla, Kentucky, last September, suffered defeat in his first competition as Europe's captain when Asia eased to a 10–6 victory in the Royal Trophy at the Amata Spring club in Bangkok, Thailand, today.
The European committee will meet in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday to discuss Faldo's successor and Olazabal is thought to be high on its wish list. The 42-year-old would prefer to be a playing member of the team for the biennial contest with the US at Celtic Manor in South Wales, however, but hinted that if he fails to win his ongoing battle with rheumatism and does not return to the competitive game, he would like to take the lead role.
"I would love to be considered, I'm not going to deny that," he said. "I've never denied that being captain of the Ryder Cup is something really special, it's a privilege, but it's always been like that. It's always nice to be named but if now is the right time or not, I'm not sure.
"I would love to be playing - if these guys allow me. I think maybe it is too soon [to be captain] but time will tell."

Two late birdies give Scot high finish

Great Dane Anders Hansen wins,

David Drysdale collects 76,120

Euros for third place

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Anders Hansen held his nerve on the final hole of the Joburg Open to claim a birdie and win the title from Andrew McLardy this afternoon.
The Dane, who was playing in the penultimate group at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club, was level with McLardy at 14 under par going to the par-5 18th hole, and gave himself a great chance of winning by leaving his second shot 25 feet from the hole.
He missed the eagle chance, but made birdie from three feet to finish with a 15 under 269 total and see off the challlenge of South African McLardy, who missed several chances to pick up shots over the closing holes.
Needing a birdie himself on the last, McLardy pulled his tee shot into the trees to end his chances after he led the tournament overnight with Charl Schwartzel and David Drysdale.
Drysdale ended his tournament with a 69 - a tournament total 271 - with Danny Willett, Tyrone van Aswegen and Schwartzel ending a further shot back.
Drysdale, who lost his momentum with a third-round 71, which included a double bogey 5 at a short hole, birdied the sixth but dropped a shot at the 10th in his final round. He suddenly clicked into gear again after a string of pars with birdies at the 16th and 17th to move into third place.
The Scot earned 76,120 Euros.
Hansen’s final round of five-under 66 was enough to claim the €174,350 prize on his way to a third European Tour title.
However, it looked very different on day one when he finished with a level par 71 to sit eight shots off the lead.
He said: “I think it means a lot to win obviously – because that’s what we’re here for. Especially after the first day, where the first two holes I started double bogey-bogey and think ‘what is this?’ But I turned that round around and got off to a flying start the second day. I couldn’t keep it going, but that sort of helped me put things into perspective thinking about the next day.
“I thought I needed to keep the third round going and again got off to a good start. And then I thought I had to come out and shoot five under. I thought 15 under was going to be the winning score, so I was right.”
The 38 year old’s biggest move of the co-sanctioned European Tour and Sunshine Tour event came on the front nine today when he claimed five birdies, including four in four holes to make the turn in 31.
But a bogey on the par 3 12th hole saw him slip back before he hit back on the final hole.
He continued: “I played really nice on the front nine there and hit a lot of good shots, so it was really great. It (the bogey) is obviously a momentum breaker, I didn’t hit a great tee shot, and it cost me.
“(On the last) I was focussed on just hitting a good drive and I did that. I hit a great second shot and the two putt was enough, so it’s great.”
Englishman Willett, who began his round with a bogey before finishing birdie-birdie for a round of 68 said: “Yeah, it was a good finish. I turned in one over and not really playing very good and then tried to get it going on the back nine. I had a really good finish then down 17 and 18, so yeah, I’m quite happy.
“A top five this week gets me into next week at Abu Dhabi, which I wouldn’t have got in otherwise. I’m just trying to play well this year, keep plodding along and hopefully keep my card, so we’ll see what happens.”
The biggest cheer of the day was reserved for two time major winner Retief Goosen, who made a three iron 216 yard shot for an albatross 2 on the par-5 18th to end a disappointing round that included nine bogeys in a 74 for a tournament total of seven-under.
Defending champion Richard Sterne, bidding for a third consecutive European Tour title, made a valiant attempt to defend his title finishing with a 68 and a total of 275.
Canada-based Glasgow-born Alan McLean finished with a 72 for 279 and a share of 35th place which earned him 8,250 Euros.
Chris Doak finished joint 6th on 284. He also closed with a 72 for a pay-out of 2,268 Euros.

FINAL TOTALS
(Par 284: 4 x 71)
269 Anders Hansen (Den) 71 68 64 66
270 Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 65 68 69 68
271 David Drysdale 65 66 71 69
272 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 68 71 63 70, Danny Willett 67 66 71 68, Tyrone Van Aswegen (Rsa) 69 65 70 68
273 David Dixon 68 69 68 68, Joakim Haeggman (Swe) 69 68 66 70, Richard McEvoy 69 65 72 67
274 Estanislao Goya (Arg) 70 69 69 66, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 71 66 67 70
275 Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 69 69 66 71, Graham De laet (Can) 72 66 68 69, Taco Remkes (Ned) 67 70 69 69, Jaco Van Zyl (Rsa) 67 70 69 69, James Kamte (Rsa) 69 69 66 71, Michael Hoey 64 68 72 71, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 71 66 70 68, Charl Coetzee (Rsa) 68 67 75 65
276 Brett Liddle (Rsa) 67 70 69 70, Jean Hugo (Rsa) 67 72 67 70, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 65 69 70 72
277 Oliver Bekker (Rsa) 67 65 73 72, Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 67 73 71 66, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 70 68 65 74, Klas Eriksson (Swe) 69 69 67 72, Anthony Snobeck (Fra) 72 64 70 71
278 Brandon Pieters (Rsa) 68 71 70 69, Gary Lockerbie 69 68 72 69, James Kingston (Rsa) 71 69 67 71, Jan Are Larsen (Nor) 66 69 75 68, Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 63 76 72 67, Lorenzo Gagli (Ita) 70 67 69 72, Martin Maritz (Rsa) 66 72 68 72
279 Carlos Del Moral (Spa) 69 66 72 72, Alan McLean 71 65 71 72, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 66 72 72 69
280 Chris Gane 70 70 71 69, Martin Wiegele (Aut) 68 72 72 68, Jesus Maria Arruti (Spa) 74 65 70 71, Mikko Korhonen (Fin) 69 69 71 71, James Morrison 67 68 74 71, Gary Clark 72 67 68 73, Dion Fourie (Rsa) 68 70 71 71, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 72 64 73 71
281 John Mellor 72 67 70 72, Carl Suneson (Spa) 67 73 72 69, Andre Bossert (Swi) 70 69 74 68, Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor) 73 65 75 68, Doug McGuigan 69 71 70 71, Cameron Johnston (Rsa) 72 66 73 70
282 Hennie Otto (Rsa) 67 73 75 67, Antti Ahokas (Fin) 72 64 72 74, Tyrone Ferreira (Rsa) 68 72 70 72, Phillip Archer 69 70 73 70, Darren Fichardt (Rsa) 68 70 73 71
283 Michiel Bothma (Rsa) 70 70 69 74, Alexandre Rocha (Bra) 67 71 74 71, Iain Pyman 71 69 69 74, Wallie Coetsee (Rsa) 72 64 76 71, Keith Horne (Rsa) 68 70 70 75, Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (Spa) 65 71 73 74, Simon Griffiths 73 64 71 75, Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 65 71 74 73
284 Chris Wood 69 70 72 73, Ulrich Van Den Berg (Rsa) 70 70 73 71, Jake Roos (Rsa) 69 69 73 73, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 69 71 71 73, Tc Charamba (Zim) 70 67 77 70, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 71 65 78 70, Kevin Stone (Rsa) 69 70 71 74, Chris Doak 68 70 74 72
285 Bobby Lincoln (Rsa) 68 72 73 72
286 Neil Cheetham 73 67 73 73, Kasper L Jorgensen (Den) 68 72 74 72, Michele Reale (Ita) 66 74 73 73
287 David Carter 67 72 73 75
288 Sam Little 72 68 74 74, Michael Curtis (Zim) 74 65 75 74
289 John E Morgan 69 70 72 78
290 Edrich Jansen (Rsa) 70 70 73 77
291 Gregory Molteni (Ita) 73 65 77 76
292 Henrik Nystrom (Swe) 68 72 79 73

Joburg Open - Latest Sunday news
FINAL ROUND
14 under par: Anders Hansen after 13 holes.
14 under par: Andrew McLardy after 12.
12 under par: David Dixon after 16.
12 under par: Charl Schwartzel after 12.
11 under par: David Drysdale after 12.
11 under par: Tyrone Van Aswegen after 15.

LATER NEWS
COMPLETED TOTALS
Par 284 (4 x 71)
269 (-15) Anders Hansen (Den) 66.
272 Tyrone Van Aswegen (SAf) 68, Danny Willett (Eng) 68.
273 David Dixon 68 (Eng), Joakim Haeggman (Swe) 70, Richard McEvoy 67.
279 Alan McLean (Sco) 72.
284 Chris Doak (Sco) 72.

-14 after 16 holes Andrew McLardy.
-12 after 16 holes David Drysdale.
-12 after 16 holes Charl Schwartzel

Aussie Ogilvy leads by six strokes in

Mercedes-Benz US opener

Australian Geoff Ogilvy is on the brink of victory in the opening event of the US PGA Tour season after firing a third-round eight under par 65 to surge six strokes clear of the field in the the Mercedes-Benz Championship at Kapalua Plantation Golf Club, Hawaii.
Ogilvy entered the third round with a one-stroke lead from D J Trahan after rounds of 67 and 68 and tacked on five strokes to his cushion at the 2008 winners-only event with a bogey-free round that included eight birdies.
At 19 under 200, Ogilvy now leads Justin Leonard by six.
"I've never actually been this far in front before, but I've been this far behind a lot of times," said Ogilvy, who got off to a good start with a birdie at the first, one of four that he made on the front nine.
He started the back nine with a birdie at the tenth and then had a run of three straight starting at the 13th.
"I played well, obviously," Ogilvy said. "It was a different course than I've ever seen before. Just a gentle wind in completely the opposite direction that I've ever seen it. So it was different."
THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 219 (3x73)
200 Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 67 68 65
206 Justin Leonard 74 67 65, D.J. Trahan 70 66 70
207 Kenny Perry 68 71 68, Anthony Kim 71 68 68, Davis Love III 69 70 68, Camilo Villegas (Col) 74 67 66
208 K J Choi (Kor) 71 71 66
209 Boo Weekley 70 70 69, Johnson Wagner 68 71 70
210 Sean O'Hair 69 70 71, Zach Johnson 71 75 64, Ernie Els (Rsa) 68 69 73
211 Will MacKenzie 72 70 69
212 Dustin Johnson 72 72 68, Brian Gay 72 70 70, Stewart Cink 74 67 71
213 Adam Scott (Aus) 73 67 73, Ryuji Imada (Jpn) 69 70 74, Greg Kraft 72 73 68, Chez Reavie 75 70 68
214 Steve Lowery 69 75 70, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 72 72 70
215 Richard S Johnson (Swe) 72 72 71, Daniel Chopra (Swe) 79 69 67, Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 72 74 69, Cameron Beckman 76 73 66, Parker McLachlin 77 69 69
217 Vijay Singh (Fij) 73 73 71
221 J B Holmes 74 75 72
222 Marc Turnesa 79 73 70
223 Andres Romero (Arg) 78 74 71
225 Ryan Palmer 78 75 72

Paul Lawrie finishes on a high

but Europe lose Royal Trophy

to Asia by 10-6 margin

Asia held off a final day singles resurgence from Europe to secure an historic first victory in the threee-day Royal Trophy match.

Europe won the singles 4 1/2-3 1/2 but Asia scored a 10-6 victory overall at Amata Spring Country Club near Bangkok, Thailand.

After establishing a 5pt advantage over the first two days of the team match-play event, Asia required just two points from the eight Sunday singles matches.
Prayad Marksaeng beat Pablo Larrazabal 5 and 4 after Paul Lawrie, pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency, had claimed a 3 and 2 triumph over Liang Wen-chong before Toru Taniguchi sank the winning putt as he cruised to a 7 and 6 win over Niclas Fasth to send the huge home crowds into ecstasy.
European captain José Maria Olazábal - deputising for Seve Ballesteros, who is recovering from surgery on a brain tumour - had hoped the team he chose could perform a final day miracle escape but it was not to be for the visitors.
Paul Lawrie won the day's second match but disappointing performances from Larrazabal and Fasth, playing in the fourth and seventh matches respectively, ensured Asia an unassailable lead.
Lawrie was one of the more successful European players with 2 1/2pt earned out of a possible three on this his comeback to international golf. He played in the 1999 Ryder Cup match after his dramatic Open win at Carnoustie that year.
Nick Dougherty, Oliver Wilson and Johan Edfors recorded their first points of the week, but their wins were ultimately in vain as Asia emerged victorious.
Olazábal congratulated Joe Ozaki's Asian team for their triumph before hinting Ballesteros would return to reclaim the trophy in 2010.
"My last words are for Seve," said the Spaniard as he addressed his eight-man team.
"He is recovering from some health issues, but even though I'm the captain this year, I might not be the captain next year - and I can assure you he is going to be tougher than I was."
"I want to thank my players for trying hard this week," he added."We lost, it hurts but that will make us better in the future."
Olazábal’s players were united in their praise for their captain, most notably Hansen and Dougherty.
Hansen said: “Olly has been a great captain. This week is all about the players and we didn’t perform as we can. There were eight guys out there in front of us and we didn’t beat them, didn’t get the putts in the hole at the right time. Olly has been great this week. He was great as an assistant to Faldo at The Ryder Cup and I would love to play under him in the future.”
Dougherty said: It’s disappointing and I feel really sorry for Olly because he has done a great job, phenomenal. He is going to be a very worthy Ryder Cup captain one day. Everything he does is class: his motivation, the way he handles people, everything like that.
“You can imagine what the atmosphere was like for us. After the first day we were sitting around saying ‘what the hell happened?’, then on the second day it was a double ‘what the hell happened?’ But even through all of that he was brilliant. He got the message across but was funny at the right time while still getting the message across. You can’t help but respect a guy like that anyway and all he achieved in the game.”

FINAL RESULT

ASIA 10, EUROPE 6

Last day singles

ASIA 3 1/2, EUROPE 4 1/2

(Asian names first):

Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn) halved with Soren Hansen (Den).

Liang Wen-chong (PRC) lost to Paul Lawrie (Sco) 3 and 2.

Charlie Wi (Kor) lost to Nick Dougherty (Eng) 1 hole.

Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) beat Pablo Larrazabal (Esp) 5 and 4.

Hideto Tanihara (Tha) lost to Oliver Wilson (Eng) 3 and 2.

S K Ho (Kor) lost to Johan Edfors (Swe) 5 and 4.

Toru Taniguchi (Jpn) bt Niclas Fasth (Swe) 7 and 6.

Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) bt Paul McGinley (Ire) 5 and 4.