MELBOURNE, Dec 12: Australian Richard Green won the Australian Masters in a three-way play-off at the first hole at the Hunting dale course here on Sunday.
Green beat David McKenzie and Greg Chalmers in the play-off after all had finished tied at 17-under 271 over the tournament's 72 holes.
Green won the championship with a one-metre putt after a fabulous second approach shot at the play-off hole, the 18th. Two-time champion Bradley Hughes, who had taken the lead with a birdie at the 15th hole, dropped two shots at the 18th to miss the play-off.
McKenzie, the overnight leader, had birdied the final hole to make the play-off with Green and former Australian Open champion Chalmers.
FINAL SCORES
271 - Richard Green 69-67-68-67 (won on first play-off hole), Greg Chalmers 66-71-69-65, David McKenzie 67-68-64-72
272 - Steven Bowditch 68-69-67-68, Brad Kennedy 67-70-66-69, Bradley Hughes 64-66-71-71
273 - Corey Pavin (USA) 68-70-68-67
275 - Peter Senior 70-67-68-70, Nick O'Hern 70-68-67-70, Peter Lonard 68-67-68-72
276 - Geoff Ogilvy 69-67-73-67, Shane Tait 71-70-68-67, Gary Simpson 72-66-70-68
277 - Peter Fowler 69-70-71-67, Craig Jones 68-69-72-68, John Senden 72-70-67-68, Stuart Appleby 69-69-70-69, Chris Downes 71-69-68-69, Marcus Cain 72-67-68-70, Michael Long (NZL) 69-68-68-72
SELECTED SCORES
278 - Adam Scott 71-68-69-70, Hunter Mahan (USA) 69-68-68-73, Robert Allenby 66-68-68-76.
MONTY GRABS TWO-STROKE LEAD
THOUSAND OAKS: Scotland's Colin Montgomerie fired a four-under par 67 to grab a two-stroke lead after the third round of the 5.25 million-dollar World Challenge golf tournament here on Saturday.
Montgomerie sank a 10-footer for eagle at the par-5 16th and birdied the 17th to stand on 13-under par 200 after 54 holes, two strokes ahead of host Tiger Woods and fellow Americans Jim Furyk and Jay Haas.
Montgomerie has never won a United States pro stroke-play title and while this is not a US PGA Tour event, it would be a breakthrough victory for the 41-year-old Scotsman if he can keep his lead on the elite 16-man field.
US near-misses for Montgomerie included second-place showings at the 1995 PGA Championship and 1997 US Open and shared second at the 1994 US Open and 1996 Players Championship.
Montgomerie, at 41 the same age as top-ranked Vijay Singh, has tasted some success before on US soil, capturing the 2000 Skins Game and the 1998 Match-Play crown before it became a World Golf Championships event. -AFP