Turns out - surprise, surprise - that Tiger won't be going undefeated after all.  Unfortunately, with so many of the world's elite slugging it out at Doral, not a lot was left over field-wise for Puerto Rico, Portugal or Thailand - though with a playoff at Madeira Island and a 16-year-old contending in Asia, there was still a fair amount worthy of our attention.

PGA, European, Asian & Australasian Tours:  WGC-CA Championship – Miami, FL

So much for the undefeated season.  As was utterly inevitable, the odds caught up with Tiger Woods at the WGC-CA Championship, for Woods hardly played bad golf, but the putts weren’t falling and in the end, Australia’s Geoff Ogilvy fired a 17-under-par 271 and held on for a wire-to-wire victory and his second WGC title.  In an event marred by multiple rain delays and not completed until early Monday morning, Ogilvy’s challenge was as much mental and physical, as he managed the rare feat of having to sleep with the lead for four consecutive night.  That extra fourth night saw him awaken two strokes ahead of Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk, and three up on a Graeme Storm and a resurgent Retief Goosen, with nine holes left to play, a stretch in which Ogilvy reeled off nine uninterrupted pars to hang on and win by one.  The key came at the long par-3 13th where, after flubbing his first chip from a strange lie, he holed his fast-moving second when it hit the pin flush and fell in.  That one break was all the talented Ogilvy needed, and while nearly all of his pursuers posted late birdies to make it close, there simply weren’t enough holes left to catch him.  Woods, for his part, had seven holes to play on Monday, and gamely made three birdies, but his five-shot deficit was just too steep.  Ogilvy’s off-season included the birth of his second child and a correspondingly limited practice regimen, hence his slow start on the West Coast where he missed his first three cuts.  The victory, his first since the 2006 U.S. Open, lifts him back to 10th in the world ranking and, more importantly, provides a confidence boost to this, one of the few players on Tour who seems unflappable enough to seriously compete with the indomitable Woods.

                         FINAL RESULTS          MONEY LIST          PGA TOUR STATS

                   INTERVIEWS:     OGILVY     WOODS     SINGH     FURYK     GOOSEN
 
 
PGA Tour:  Puerto Rico Open – Rio Grande, Puerto Rico

Just like February’s Mayakoba Classic, the Puerto Rico Open was played opposite a WGC event, affording numerous second-tier players a chance to pad their official earnings or, perhaps, even gain a rare victory.  With a closing 70 and a 274 total, 43-year-old Greg Kraft did just that, claiming his first PGA Tour title by a single shot over Bo Van Pelt and two-time Tour winner Jerry Kelly.  Van Pelt, who held the second and third-round lead, could only manage an up-and-down 72 on Sunday, while Kelly began the round one back of Kraft before maintaining the margin with a 70 of his own.  The victory was an emotional one for Kraft, who contracted Valley fever at the 2002 Tucson Open and has played only one full season on the PGA Tour (2006) since.  Though accomplished against an obviously lighter field, the win buys Kraft full playing privileges through 2010, which may at this point be more valuable to him than even the $630,000 paycheck.

                         FINAL RESULTS          MONEY LIST          PGA TOUR STATS

                                                     INTERVIEW:     KRAFT
 
 
European PGA Tour:  Madeira Island Open – Madeira Island, Portugal

Twelve years ago, Scotland’s Alastair Forsyth defeated a young South African named Hennie Otto in a nine-hole sudden death marathon to win the Scottish Amateur Stroke play title.  This weekend in Portugal, history repeated itself.  Otto, now a 31-year-old with seven career wins on the Sunshine Tour, has never tasted victory outside of Africa, yet for 54 holes of the Madeira Island Open, he appeared to be on the cusp.  Stringing together three straight 67s, he held a five-shot lead going into Sunday’s finale, then shot a hold-it-together 72 which, though hardly terrible, left the door slightly ajar.  Forsyth, who’d missed the cut in his first five 2008 E Tour starts, obligingly stepped in, going out in 33 before finally taking the lead with a birdie at the 14th.  He three-putted the 17th for bogey, however, and after both men logged clutch birdies at the last to deadlock on 273, Forsyth ended this playoff quickly, with a birdie on the first extra hole.  The victory is Forsyth’s second on the E Tour, the first coming at the 2002 Malaysian Open.

                         FINAL RESULTS          ORDER OF MERIT          E TOUR STATS
 
 
Asian Tour:  Asian Tour International – Chonburi, Thailand

For three days, and rounds of 64-67-68, 16-year-old Korean professional Seung-yul Noh actually appeared on the verge of winning his first Asian Tour title, as he shared a two stroke lead at the Asian Tour International with Scotland’s Ross Bain.  But on Sunday, 33-year-old veteran Lin Wen-tang of Taiwan opened his round birdie-eagle and never looked back, ultimately shooting 64 for a 265 total and his third Asian victory since 2006.  Despite his obvious inexperience, Noh held up reasonably well, standing three under par before a double-bogey at the 16th dropped him to a 71 and his second runner-up finish of the young 2008 campaign.  Bain, on the other hand, struggled.  His Friday 62 was easily the tournament’s low round, and he followed it up effectively with a Saturday 67, but the tank ran dry on Sunday as a triple-bogey at the par-3 third triggered a disappointing 76, dropping him all the way to 20th.

                         FINAL RESULTS          ORDER OF MERIT          ASIAN STATS
 
 
Elsewhere…

Korea’s teenage sensation, 19-year-old Ji-Yai Shin, claimed her first victory beyond her native tour by defeating Sakura Yokomine on the first hole of sudden death at the JLPGA’s PRGR Ladies.  In a strange finish, Shin double-bogeyed the 16th hole to fall two behind, only to stumble into overtime when Yokomine returned the favor by doubling the last, deadlocking the pair at 212.