Internationals win Tommy Bahama Challenge

Geoff Ogilvy, Justin Rose and Tim Clark each outdid an American opponent on the 18th hole, giving a four-man international team a 2 1/2 -1 1/2 victory over the U.S. squad in the second Tommy Bahama Challenge on Tuesday.

The made-for-TV event, a Ryder Cup-style outing for players 30 or under, was held at Grayhawk Golf Club for the second year. But the format was new -- match play vs. last year's medal play.

Ogilvy, an Australian, and Rose, an Englishman, were all square with Ryan Moore and Arron Oberholser when they finished the 17th hole -- Rose only getting there when he holed a 22-foot putt for par after losing a stroke because his tee shot landed behind a tree.

But Rose beat Oberholser with a pick-up birdie on the par-5 18th when he putted from the fringe to tap-in range. Ogilvy also birdied the 18th, enjoying an even wider margin of victory because Moore pushed his second shot into a lake on the right and then had to go into the water after his chip across the green rolled down an embankment.

Needing to chip in to have a chance to tie, the 22-year-old former UNLV star -- the first golfer since Tiger Woods in 1996 to earn a PGA Tour card without attending qualifying school -- came up 4 feet short.

It became moot when Ogilvy putted for eagle from 30 feet and left himself a short birdie putt.

``With three or four holes to play, it looked decidedly unfavorable for us,'' Ogilvy said. ``But Justin made a massive par on 17, and then on 18 we got it down.''

Playing ahead of the other foursome, the South African Clark made an 8-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to halve his match against Zach Johnson, the lone holdover from last year's U.S. team that beat the international group in a playoff.

Ben Crane was the only U.S. winner. He took 14 holes to oust South Korea-born Kevin Na 5 and 4. Crane took control of his match on the seventh hole, where he went 3-up by sinking a 15-foot birdie putt over a large undulation in the green.

``That's like an eagle,'' said Na, the only returnee for the international group, who divided $400,000 in prize money among them.

Each American took home $70,000, but Crane added to his bounty by landing a 90-yard, cross-lake tee shot within 16 feet, 8 inches of the pin at No. 18 after play ended. The single shot, closer than those of Ogilvy and Rose, earned Crane a Mercedes sport-utility vehicle.

November 9, 2005

This years news archive | Email this page to a friend | Return to top of page