Golf | Geoff Ogilvy takes Tour opener

KAPALUA, Hawaii — Paradise is no place to panic, although Geoff Ogilvy had reason Sunday at Kapalua.

Playing some of the best golf of his career, the Australian took a six-shot lead into the final round of the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship. After eight holes, his lead was down to one over hard-charging American Anthony Kim.

"It's an uncomfortable feeling to know you're six shots out in front and you're almost back to tied," Ogilvy said after his wire-to-wire victory. "You can just imagine what people are thinking. It's not a very nice feeling."

Ogilvy had a much better feeling when he hit a 3-iron from 223 yards to 20 feet below the ninth hole and made the eagle putt. Ogilvy, 31, seemingly had everything under control for the rest of the round. He birdied five of the next six holes and sailed home to a 5-under-par 68 for a six-stroke victory.

It was the fifth PGA Tour victory for Ogilvy, who won the U.S. Open in 2006. He finished at 24-under 268, earned $1.12 million and will move up to No. 6 in the world ranking.

"Something made him mad, I guess, somewhere coming up on the ninth fairway," American Davis Love III said. "And then I guess he made eagle and went nuts."

Ogilvy joined Ernie Els of South Africa and Vijay Singh of Fiji as wire-to-wire winners at Kapalua since the tournament moved here in 1999.

Ogilvy had the outright lead over the event's final 58 holes.

"I enjoyed the last 2 ½ hours more than I enjoyed the first two hours," Ogilvy said. "Once I got through nine, I really enjoyed every hole. I felt a lot better about everything."

Kim made one birdie on the back nine until he finished with a 3-wood that stopped inches from the cup on the 18th for a tap-in eagle and a 67. He tied for second with Love, who birdied the 18th for a 67.

"I knew he was just teasing me for a little while there, and he was going to make some birdies," Kim said of Ogilvy. "Unfortunately, I couldn't."

Ogilvy had made one bogey in the first three rounds, but doubled that count after this first two holes Sunday.

With the Plantation course soft from overnight rain that lasted into the morning, Ogilvy missed the fairway to the right on the opening hole and couldn't reach the green, missing an 18-foot par putt. He found a bunker with his tee shot on the second hole.

"I've never had a six-shot lead before. It's a pretty uncomfortable feeling, to be honest with you," Ogilvy said. "I got to the green and saw I had a one-shot lead — I figured it was mostly gone — and it felt like a normal tournament again. I just told myself, 'It's a great spot to be after 63 holes, get on with it.' "

Notes

• Celebrity sighting: Actress Kate Hudson was in Adam Scott's gallery and had dinner with him.

Scott, who tied for 18th place in the 33-man field, said, "I'm not here with her, but I know Kate. We met here. We have a mutual friend."

• Anders Hansen of Denmark won the Joburg Open for his third career European Tour title. He had a birdie on the final hole for a 5-under 66 and a one-stroke victory over Andrew McLardy of South Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Hansen finished with a 15-under 269 total. McLardy shot a 68.

• Japan's Toru Taniguchi routed Sweden's Niclas Fasth 7 and 6, helping Asia beat Europe 10-6 in Bangkok, Thailand, for its first victory in three tries in the Royal Trophy.