Westwood shines in Sun City

Lee Westwood, the world No 1, produced another fine round to ease his way to a first Nedbank Golf Challenge victory at Sun City.

Lee Westwood  on his way to the Nedbank Golf Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club Course  in Sun City yesterday.
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Lee Westwood, the world No 1, produced another fine round to ease his way to a first Nedbank Golf Challenge victory at Sun City yesterday.

The Englishman carded a four-under-par 68 at the Gary Player Country Club to end with a tournament total of 271 and a winning margin of eight strokes over his closest challenger Tim Clark, the South African finishing with a 71.

Another home favourite, Retief Goosen, matched Westwood's round-of-the-day 68 to finish on eight under for the tournament.

That was good enough for joint-third, alongside Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez who was the only other player to end the day with an under-par effort after his 71.

But the day belonged to the 37-year-old Westwood - whose seventh visit to play the competition at the South African resort ended with him walking away with the US$1.25 million (Dh4.6m) first prize.

Westwood has been in outstanding form all week with scores of 68, 64 and 71 in his previous three rounds.

He was looking good to even go through his final day without dropping a shot, but suffered one blip on the par-four 17.

However, he made amends with a remarkable chip-in for birdie in front of a packed gallery on the par-four 18.

"I think that's the first time I chipped in all year," Westwood joked. "That's what you call a grandstand finish. It was a good time to do it."

It capped a fine 2010 season for Westwood, who took over as the world No 1 golfer from Tiger Woods at the end of October, despite the win being his first of the year.

He said: "I've been coming here for several years and it's a title I've always wanted to win. I've come close a few times, lost in the play-offs, but it's always very special."

Despite carrying a five-shot lead over Clark and countryman Ross Fisher heading into the last day, Westwood said victory was by no means a foregone conclusion.

He added: "It's never over. It's sometimes even more pressure having a big lead because it's yours to blow.

"But I got off to a fast start and I got a few in front, so I felt pretty comfortable especially when I birdied nine and 10.

"It was a nice back nine, still tricky with the strong wind and the way it was swirling around. The finish was tough, so I was just pleased to get it done at the end."

Geoff Ogilvy won the Australian Open after a final round of 69 gave him a four-shot victory in Sydney.

Starting with a five-shot cushion, the overnight leader took no chances and compiled a steady last 18 holes at The Lakes GC that featured four birdies and a bogey to finish on 19 under par.

Alister Presnell and Matt Jones shared second on 15 under with 21-year-old Jordan Sheratt, who fired a 67, and John Senden tied for fourth on 12 under par.

"Today was probably the day I struggled most with my game but all I had to do was not mess up really," Ogilvy said.

"I won the first week [on the US PGA Tour] and then played relatively horrible golf all year. I didn't enjoy golf as much this year because of how I was playing. But any time you win an Australian Open you'll look back and think you've had a great year. This is the 90-year-old trophy, this is the real jewel."

Rikard Karlberg birdied the last two holes as a final-round 70 proved enough to win the Hero Honda Indian Open by two strokes at Delhi Golf Club.

The Swede made a 20-foot putt on the 17th to move two clear of Baek Seuk-hyun, the overnight leader, but threatened to give it all away on the last when he hit his third shot into a sponsor's tent.

However, he holed his fourth shot for a birdie to finish 11 under par and dash Baek's hopes of a last-gasp victory. The Korean also birdied the 18th to finish second on nine under.