OGILVY TRIUMPHS DOWN UNDER

Geoff Ogilvy clinched his first ever tour win in Australia with a two-stroke victory in the Australian PGA championship.

After four international wins including the US Open two years ago, Ogilvy has been made to wait for his first win on home soil, but his drought finally came to an end at the Hyatt Regency resort.

Ogilvy closed with a three-under-par 69 to finish with a 14-under-par total of 274 to defeat third-round leader Mathew Goggin, who faded with three bogeys in seven holes, by two shots.

Australians Peter Senior, Scott Strange and Rod Pampling finished tied for third at 11-under 277 - three shots back.

Senior and Strange both carded 69 on the final round and Pampling, who won last week's Australian Masters, finished with a 72.

Ogilvy, 31, has also won two World Golf Championship events - the 2006 match play and this year's CA Championship.

And the Victorian, who turned professional in 1999, expressed his delight at finally ending his drought on home soil.

"There is an element where you'd think it would be easier because it is not a US tour field - it's a great field but there's no Mickelson, Garcia and Woods and all that," Ogilvy said.

"You'd say world ranking-wise it might be bit easier but it's not. We only get two or three chances a year, versus 20-something chances a year in the US.

"And when we come back maybe we try too hard. It's nice that I've done it, and I'd like to get a few more."

Ogilvy's win was helped by a mid-round collapse by Goggin, who was vying for his first title in nearly 10 years.

Goggin led by three strokes, but bogeyed the ninth and 10th holes, allowing Ogilvy to pull into a share of the lead three holes later.

Goggin then pulled his second shot on the par-5 15th into the water and made bogey, surrendering the lead before Ogilvy birdied the 16th to give himself a two-shot cushion which he never looked like relinquishing.

"It was a great opportunity and I just threw it away," said Goggin. "Not just here... I feel like I've been through the whole gamut now, had a lead, had guys do things to me.

"I've experienced everything except winning again, and hopefully that's the next thing."


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STENSON IN COMPLETE CONTROL

Henrik Stenson will take a commanding eight-shot lead into the final round of the Nedbank Challenge in Sun City after a superb third round.

The Swede shrugged off a delay for lightning to card a seven-under-par 65 for a 17-under total of 199 at the Gary Player Country Club.

World Cup-winning team-mate Robert Karlsson is Stenson's nearest challenger on nine under after a 67 on Saturday, with South African Rory Sabbatini three shots further back following a 72.

Stenson went to the turn in 34 with two birdies and stormed home in 31 with five birdies in seven holes to leave the field trailing in his wake.

England's Lee Westwood is a distant 13 shots off the pace after a 70 while Luke Donald continued his comeback from a serious wrist injury with a 71 to improve to one over par.

Former European number one Justin Rose is a shot back on two over after a third-round 72, while Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez - pipped to World Cup glory by Stenson and Karlsson in China on Sunday - continues to prop up the 12-man field on eight over.


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AMERICANS COULD STICK WITH AZINGER

Speculation is growing in America that Paul Azinger could be retained as Ryder Cup captain for the match at Celtic Manor in Wales in 2010.

The last United States captain to keep the job was Ben Hogan in 1949, but so impressive was Azinger in Louisville in September - when after three straight wins Europe lost by five points - that it would come as no surprise to see him re-appointed.

The announcement will come from the Professional Golfers' Association of America. Normally they do it within six weeks of the last contest, but nothing has been heard yet and that put Azinger in a tricky position when reporters spoke to him in Florida this week.

"You probably should address all those questions to the PGA of America and not to me at this point," he said.

"I don't know how to respond just yet. When I say that, I'm saying I don't know what you're supposed to know with respect to the PGA of America.

"They want to get their message out when they get their message out and I don't want to jump the gun. I'm going to abstain - it's kind of their message, and I'm going to let them deliver you that message."

Two weeks ago he stated during an interview with ESPN.com that he was not lobbying for the position, but that "if it were offered to me, I would sure think about it".

Azinger would certainly have the support of his team if he is called upon again.

Without Tiger Woods and with six rookies they were big underdogs, but they were ahead from the opening session and nothing Nick Faldo tried - much of it criticised - could turn things round.

Corey Pavin had been the name most mentioned as a possible successor, but Azinger is the younger of the two and would still be only 50 come the next match.

Europe's next captain has still to be decided. The players' committee meet next month to discuss the situation, with Jose Maria Olazabal, Sandy Lyle and successful 2006 captain Ian Woosnam the three front-runners.

Faldo has said he would consider a second term, but in view of the defeat that seems highly unlikely.

Despite what has happened in recent years there is no need for the PGA of America to rush into announcing their choice.

Under the new points system introduced as Azinger's insistence, the first qualifying event is not until The Masters in April.

"We're still in the same boat we were in 30 or 60 days ago," said Julius Mason, the senior director of communications and media relations for the PGA of America.

"My guess is that it's because we haven't won in a while - I think everybody kind of enjoyed waving that American flag for a while.

"Not that we won't do that for the next two years."

Asked directly about Azinger, Mason added: "At this point, we're not ruling anything out."


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STENSON STAYS CLEAR

Sweden's Henrik Stenson is six shots clear of the field at the Nedbank Golf Challenge after play was called off due to lightning midway through the second round in Sun City.

Stenson had just completed his first 10 holes at the Gary Player Country Club in three under par, sinking a birdie on what turned out to be his final hole of the day as the siren went off.

That got the 32-year-old to 12-under-par after his course-record-equalling 63 on the first day.

Stenson's only blemish on Friday came at the first hole when he hit his tee shot into thick rough and was well short of the green with his approach, before failing to get up and down.

South African Rory Sabbatini, South Korean KJ Choi and European number one Robert Karlsson are his closest challengers.

Sabbatini also went out in 34 shots to move to six-under-par, while Choi and Karlsson both fired four birdies and did not drop any shots on their way to four-under-par overall.

Play was halted by the threat of electrical storms at 12:26GMT and called off two hours later.

England's Lee Westwood played steady golf to be three-under for the tournament after completing 11 holes, but pre-tournament favourite Sergio Garcia was 10 off the pace after 12.

Defending champion Trevor Immelman also looks out of contention at one-over through 13.


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Tim Wilkinson and Peter Wilson share the lead after a first day of the Australian PGA Championship curtailed by lightning.

Wilkinson had already completed a six-under 66 to set the clubhouse pace while Wilson dropped back to that score to join him atop the leaderboard after earlier being eight under thanks largely to a front nine he negotiated in just 29 strokes.

Half of the 156-man field was still on the course when thunderstorms rolled in just after 3pm local time and officials made the decision at 4.45pm to resume play at 5.30am on Friday, with round-two tee times set to be pushed back by an hour.

Australian Wilson largely defied winds which strengthened throughout the day, sizzling around the front nine with birdies at every hole except the second and eighth as he looked to threaten the course record of 63.

But after adding another birdie at the 12th a double bogey at the 13th halted his charge and he had just parred the 14th when the suspension came, leaving him level with 30-year-old New Zealander Wilkinson.

2006 US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy and Wilkinson's compatriot Richard Lee both shot 67 and have since been joined at five under by two-time champion Peter Senior, who has played 11 holes so far.

Fresh from his first season on the US PGA Tour, which included three top-five finishes, Wilkinson went out in 31 and was seven-under at one point.

He grabbed birdies at the first two holes, went to the turn with three more in a row and picked up further shots at the 12th and 14th to open up a two-shot lead, but his sole blemish for the day halved his lead at that point.

"Yeah it was good, I wanted to get off to a good start because the morning conditions are always a little bit calmer," Wilkinson said.

"I birdied the first two holes and then missed a couple of easy birdies on four and five, I was a little bit annoyed.

"(It was) solid, if I could do that for three more days I'd be happy. It was pretty straightforward, I hit a lot of good shots and there's just the one tee shot on the last I'd like back, that's it."

Lee had a flawless round that included five birdies while Ogilvy collected an eagle and three birdies through his first 10 holes, and conceded he could have gone even lower as he came home with eight pars.

"I started very well, I was three-under after three which is always a nice way to start," Ogilvy said.

"I played really solid on the front nine, not so solid on the back nine, but it was getting pretty windy in the last eight or nine holes."

One shot further back thanks to a 68 is Peter Nolan, and Mathew Goggin is also four-under at the turn, while Brett Rumford, 2006 Australian Open winner John Senden, Steve Collins, Martin Dive and Mahal Pearce all signed for 69s.

Defending champion Peter Lonard shot 70 while American John Daly hit 71.

Latest first-round scores (Aus unless stated, par 72):

Play suspended due to lightning strikes and will be resumed on Friday morning

66 Tim Wilkinson (Nzl)

67 Richard Lee (Nzl), Geoff Ogilvy

68 Peter Nolan

69 Brett Rumford, Mahal Pearce (Nzl), John Senden, Steve Collins, Martin Dive

70 Michael Sim, Aron Price, Scott Strange, Steven Bowditch, Terry Pilkadaris, Peter Lonard

71 Chris Gaunt, Michael Brennan, Michael Lambert, Michael McGrath, Mark Brown (USA), John Daly (USA), Aaron Black, Craig Parry, Steven Conran

72 Rudi Bezuidenhout, Chris Downes, Anthony Summers, Doug Holloway (Nzl), David McKenzie, Nathan Main, Marc Leishman, Adam Le Vesconte, Richard Green, Ashley Hall

73 Scott Laycock, Shiv Kapur (Ind), Darren Beck, Rowan Beste, Nigel Stivala, Ryan Haywood, David Diaz, Brad Lamb, Scott Hend, Ben Bloomfield, Josh Lane

74 Leigh McKechnie, Adam Porker, Tony Carolan, Ben Wharton, Stephen Dartnell, Kurt Barnes, Terry Price, Kim Felton, Andrew Searle

75 Matthew Guyatt, Aaron Pike, Peter Cooke, Adam Wilcox, Matthew Griffin

76 Graydon Woolridge, Julian Reynolds, Michael Hendry (Nzl), Andrew Tschudin, Brenton Fowler, Mark Bryant, Craig Spence, Andre Stolz, John Wade, Jens Nilsson (Swe)

77 Ben Bunny

78 Gavin Beck, Richie Gallichan, Mathew Holten (Nzl)

79 Shane Baxter

80 Josh Carmichael

83 Kris Barkaway

86 Pat Giles, Robin Hodgetts (Rsa)


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STENSON OFF TO A FLIER

Henrik Stenson took a commanding lead in the first round of the Nedbank Challenge after shooting an impressive nine-under-par 63 at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City.

The Swede, who started the round with three successive birdies and had an eagle on the back nine, equalled the course record set by Ernie Els in the final round of the 2002 event.

Stenson is five shots clear of nearest challenger Rory Sabbatini, and seven clear of third-placed Lee Westwood, who posted a 70, going into round two.

Englishman Luke Donald continued his comeback from injury with a level-par 72 to share fourth place alongside KJ Choi, Sergio Garcia, James Kingston, defending champion Trevor Immelman and Robert Karlsson.

Justin Rose was another shot back after a 73.

Collated first round scores in the Nedbank Golf Challenge, Sun City, Johannesburg, South Africa (Rsa unless stated, Par 72):

63 Henrik Stenson (Swe)

68 Rory Sabbatini

70 Lee Westwood (Eng)

72 Robert Karlsson (Swe), Trevor Immelman, James Kingston, Sergio Garcia (Spa), KJ Choi (Kor), Luke Donald (Eng)

73 Kenny Perry (USA), Justin Rose (Eng)

75 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa)


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KARLSSON THRILLED WITH CUP WIN

Robert Karlsson was delighted to join the host of golfing greats who have won the coveted World Cup trophy after combining with Henrik Stenson to capture the Omega Mission Hills World Cup for Sweden on Sunday.

The duo had made a relatively low-key start to the tournament and went into the final round four strokes behind leaders Spain and Australia.

However, Stenson and Karlsson saved their best for last and were superb around the Olazabal course at Mission Hills Golf Club in China today, carding a nine-under-par 63 in the tricky foursomes format.

Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez and Pablo Larrazabal could only manage a two-under 70 to finish at 24-under-par 264 overall - three strokes behind Sweden.

Consequently, 2008 European Tour Order of Merit winner Karlsson and world number 12 Stenson join a lengthy list of famous pairings such as Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Harold Henning and Tiger Woods and David Duval as World Cup winners.

"It means very much to win for the country," said Karlsson. "This has always been an event in Sweden that's been big. To play for your country is great.

"If you look on the trophy, there's many impressive pairings on there. I hope we can look back on it in the future and say the same about us playing here."

Stenson, meanwhile, had come close on two previous occasions with Sweden, finishing second and third in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

It was also a first victory of the year for the 32-year-old, and the Dubai-based Swede was honoured to have won.

"We've had a great time all week," said Stenson. "We played fantastic today.

"I haven't had a win so far this year, and I have got one now, so I'm very pleased with that.

"It's a great honour to play for your country, and obviously even better when you win."

For Spain's Jimenez and Larrazabal it was a disappointing end to a tournament where they had looked well placed for victory heading into the weekend.

Much like Sweden today, Spain were superb in foursomes in the second round as they shot a 63 to move four shots clear of the field.

However, they failed to build on that over the course of the final two rounds and ultimately a bogey and only three birdies today cost them a chance of success.

But 2008 European Tour Rookie of the Year Larrazabal was gracious in defeat, accepting the best team on the day won.

"We didn't play like we did in the first and second round, but it was still a good performance and a great tournament for us," said the 25-year-old.

"But you know, I wanted so bad to go home with the trophy, and I'm a little bit sad now.

"However, the best team today was Sweden so congratulations to them."

England's Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher finished strongly as a five-under-par 67 today meant they claimed sixth place.

However, their resurgence came too late after disappointing scores in the first two rounds all but ended their chances of a World Cup victory.

"We could have run close but we had a bad day on Thursday and Friday," said Poulter.

"We should have had a chance to win this golf tournament."

Paul McGinley and Graeme McDowell endured their worst round of the tournament for Ireland, carding a five-over 77 to drop to 16th while Scotland's Colin Montgomerie and Alastair Forsyth signed for a 72 today to finish seven under par overall, tied for 19th place.


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