DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Bernd Wiesberger made seven birdies on his last 10 holes Thursday to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic.

The 29-year-old Austrian took full advantage of the good playing conditions at the Emirates Golf Club to shoot a bogey-free 8-under 64. He made five straight birdies from the 13th hole before finishing with a par.

“I struggled with my putting early on, I didn’t even get to the hole,” Wiesberger said. “Once I got the pace right on the greens, which was a bit slower than I expected it, then it went nicely.”

Lee Westwood and Nicolas Colsaerts were among four players tied for second, along with Peter Uihlein and Andy Sullivan.

Rory McIlroy was another shot back after a bogey on his last hole. He was tied with six other players, including defending champion Stephen Gallacher.

“It’s a decent score,” McIlroy said. “I didn’t hit a fairway until the 17th, which was my eighth hole, but I scored well for those holes. I can’t complain with 66 to start. You’re not going to get the course any easier out there today.”

Rory McIlroy (Warren Little/ Getty Images)

Uihlein was 8 under through 13 holes, but finished with four pars and a bogey on the 17th.

The dropped shot came after he hit a chip shot short of the green and then failed to get up and down.

“I just got too cute on the 17th. It happens,” Uihlein said. “But it was nice to finish with a good par on 18.”

Henrik Stenson started with a disappointing 70, while Sergio Garcia was way behind after a 75.

SYDNEY – Kel Nagle, a former Canadian Open (1964) and British Open (1960) winner, as well as a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, has died. He was 94.

The PGA of Australia said in a statement Thursday that Nagle died overnight at a Sydney hospital. It did not give a cause of death.

The Australian golfer, who won a tournament every year for 26 years after turning professional in 1946, collected 61 victories on the PGA Tour of Australasia and two on the U.S. tour.

His win at St. Andrews came by one stroke over Arnold Palmer, who was attempting to win his third consecutive major that year after taking the Masters and U.S. Open.

Nagle finished second to Gary Player at the 1965 U.S. Open at Bellerive in St. Louis, losing an 18-hole playoff to the South African. Player said then that Nagle was “one of the best short-game players” he had seen.

Nagle also won the Australian PGA championship a record six times and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2007.

He also played on the PGA Senior Tour (now Champions Tour) in the United States in 102 events from 1981-1989.

Nagle’s other achievements included wins at the 1954 World Cup in Montreal and 1959 World Cup in Melbourne with partner Peter Thomson, a five-time British Open champion.

“It’s a sad day for golf, we’ve lost a champion of our game,” said PGA chief executive Brian Thorburn.

In 1980, Nagle was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the sport of golf and was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1986.

“Kel was a giant of the game,” said Golf Australia chief executive Stephen Pitt. “But much more than that, he was an ambassador for his sport and his country, universally liked and admired by his peers.”

OCALA, Fla. – Jessica Korda pulled a hand warmer out of each jacket pocket, showing just how cold she was during the opening round of the LPGA opener.

Her scoreboard told a much different story.

The 21-year-old American shot a 6-under 66 in the opening round of the Coates Golf Championship on Wednesday and was in a three-way tie with fellow American Stacy Lewis and Azahara Munoz of Spain. All three teed off in windy conditions and finished in chilly temperatures just before dark.

“I can’t feel my fingers right now,” Korda said.

She might be in for more of the same Thursday morning, with temperatures expected to be the mid- to late-30s for the early tee times.

Twenty players failed to complete the opening round at Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club, which boasts eight tribute holes from famed courses around the world. They will finish up beginning at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, just before Korda, Lewis and Munoz tee off in the second round.

Only 26 of 120 players were under par when play was halted.

American Austin Ernst and Ha Na Jang of South Korea finished at 5 under, one stroke ahead of New Zealand’s Lydia Ko and South Korea’s Na Yeon Choi. Nineteen-year-old American Lexi Thompson and Mi Jung Hur of South Korea were 3 under.

Top-ranked Inbee Park was 1 under, one shot ahead of reigning U.S. Women’s Open champion Michelle Wie. Cheyenne Woods, the niece of Tiger Woods, was 4 over through 17 holes.

Ernst was maybe the most surprising name on the leaderboard. She hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation and made just about every putt inside of 10 feet.

“I’ve had rounds in the past where you’ve hit it close and then you can’t get anything to go in,” Ernst said. “But today everything was going in so I was really confident with everything.”

Korda, Lewis and Munoz were feeling it, too.

Korda straightened out an errant driver on the front nine and birdied six of her final 13 holes. Considering she’s won two of the last three LPGA season openers – in Australia in 2012 and in the Bahamas last year – starting fast is nothing new.

“I just feel like I’m refreshed and ready to go,” she said. “I try and bring the mentality with me all the time, every time I try to play, but for some reason it just shines brighter the first event of the season. Honestly, I don’t know what it is about it. I’m just happy to be back. It’s so much fun. It’s like the first day of school; you’re always happy to be back the first week of school.”

Lewis birdied five of her final six holes, the last coming on an uphill, 6-footer just after the horn blew.

“I stayed patient out there,” Lewis said. “Finally, on the back nine, I got more comfortable with being back playing again and just started hitting golf shots. It was a good day. I almost wish we didn’t have darkness and I could keep going since I finally got into a rhythm there. “

Munoz was solid throughout, hitting 17 of 18 greens in regulation, and closed with consecutive birdies to make it a three-way tie at the top. The only green she missed was at the par-4 13th, her approach shot coming up just a few feet short and rolling off the front.

“I gave myself a lot of opportunities and I made them, too,” she said. “If I didn’t hit a really good shot, I made a couple nice 5-, 6-footers for par, so that was nice.”

Canada’s Alena Sharp, the lone Canadian in the field, opened with an even-par 72.

Oakville, Ont. (Golf Canada) – Former Golf Association of Ontario (GAO) Executive Director Dave Mills along with SCOREGolf Editorial Director and television personality Bob Weeks, and the late (Arthur) Gordon Stollery of Markham, Ont. will be honoured for their contributions to the game of golf as the 2015 co-recipients of Golf Canada’s Distinguished Service Award.

Golf Canada’s Distinguished Service Awards will be presented on Saturday, February 14^th as part of the National Sport Organization’s Annual General Meeting to be held at the Delta Meadowvale Hotel and Conference Centre in Mississauga, Ont.

“Golf Canada is proud to acknowledge Dave Mills, Bob Weeks and Gordon Stollery and celebrate their outstanding contributions to the game of golf as our 2015 Distinguished Service Award recipients,” said Golf Canada Chief Executive Officer Scott Simmons. “They’ve all made a significant impact on the game within their communities and across Canada. Their commitment and passion for our sport makes each of them a truly deserving recipient.”

Created in 1993, Golf Canada’s Distinguished Service Award has been awarded annually to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the game of golf in Canada.

Recipients of Golf Canada’s Distinguished Service Award are traditionally selected from within the province or region of the organization’s incoming President. On Saturday, February 14^th, Paul McLean of King, Ont. will be sworn in as Golf Canada’s 112^th President.

As President-elect, McLean will succeed 2014 President Doug Alexander of London, Ont.

Golf Canada’s Annual General Meeting and presidential appointment will conclude four days of meetings, February 11-14 at the Delta Meadowvale Hotel and Conference Centre in Mississauga, Ont.

DAVE MILLS

In January 2014, after 27 years of involvement with the Golf Association of Ontario (GAO), Dave Mills retired as the association’s executive director, a post he had held since 1997. He began playing golf in Peterborough, Ont. at Pine Crest Golf and Country Club and then Kawartha Golf and Country Club. Mills first became part of the association in 1986 as club representative for the Bay of Quinte Golf and Country Club in Belleville. His initial involvement with the association focused on the growth of junior golf throughout the province, with Mills chairing the Junior Development Committee for a number of years prior to joining the Board of Directors. After concluding a 27-year career with Ontario Hydro in 1997, Mills became executive director, leading the formerly male-only Ontario Golf Association through amalgamation with the Ontario Ladies’ Golf Association in 2001 to form the Golf Association of Ontario. Since retiring as executive director, Mills has continued to serve the GAO in various activities as a proud volunteer.

BOB WEEKS

Bob Weeks has been with SCOREGolf since 1987 and is currently the Editorial Director, overseeing all content at the media company. He was recently listed as the sixth most influential person and the No. 1 media person in the Canadian golf industry by the National Post.

Weeks is the host of SCOREGolf TV and the golf analyst for TSN, where he has covered more than 50 major championships as well as hundreds of top Canadian and international tournaments. For 20 years he has been the host of the SCOREGolf Show, a daily 90-second golf radio program heard in more than 70 markets across the country. An award-winning writer, Weeks also authors a highly popular blog on SCOREGolf.com, Canada’s leading golf web site, and has written for GOLF Magazine, Golf Digest, Golfweek, the Globe and Mail, Maclean’s as well as countless other publications throughout the world. Weeks, who began playing golf at the age of 11 in Prince Edward Island, has been a proud member of Weston Golf and Country Club in Toronto for more than 40 years. He is a member of the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame and winner of the Dick Grimm Award presented by the Golf Journalists Association of Canada.

GORDON STOLLERY (1947-2011)

Until his untimely accidental death, Gordon Stollery was a passionate golfer and dedicated supporter of the game in Canada. As a member of Rosedale Golf Club in Toronto, he won their club championship four times and was runner-up at the 1965 Canadian Junior Golf Championship. An all-round athlete, Stollery attended Princeton University and then the University of Toronto before moving to Alberta in 1979 to become involved in the oil and gas business. In 1994, when his father Arthur passed away, he returned home and became involved in Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ont., which his father had built. The club, which opened in 1995, saw the hosting of multiple championship events including the 2002 and 2007 RBC Canadian Opens. In 1996, following the opening of the golf club, he took the vision of his father one step further by building a community surrounding the Angus Glen Golf Club. In 2007, Goodwood Golf Club was completed—a course he enjoyed as his private sanctuary.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – A defiant and at times angry Robert Allenby stood by his story Tuesday that he was robbed and beaten in Honolulu, basing the account on what he remembered and what he was told by a homeless woman who came to his aid.

“There has definitely been a lot of confusion,” Allenby said. “But I think the No. 1 thing that you should all remember is that my story stays exactly the same as the way I told it. I told you what I knew, and I told you what someone told me. That’s the bottom line. I never lied to anyone.”

Honolulu police are investigating the Jan. 16 incident as second-degree robbery. No arrests have been made.

Allenby says he was at Amuse Wine Bar with his caddie and a friend from Australia on the night he missed the cut at the Sony Open. He said surveillance tape shows him leaving the bar with three people he doesn’t recognize, and that his next memory is being in a park. He said a homeless woman told him he had been thrown out of a trunk, which he said caused his injuries.

Allenby posted a photo of his bloodied forehead and a swollen eye to his private Facebook account. He said he was robbed of wallet and phone, though the credit card he used to pay for dinner and wine was still in his front pocket.

In the last week, however, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser quoted the homeless woman, Charade Keane, as saying she never told Allenby she saw him in a trunk and did not how he was injured. The newspaper quoted another homeless man in the park, Chris Khamis, as saying Allenby told him he was depressed and drugged at a strip club and that he passed out and hit his head on a lava rock.

Exactly what happened remains a mystery, even for Allenby. He said Tuesday he has “no memory in my brain” from about 11:06 p.m. to 1:27 a.m. on that date.

“I have been trying and overlooking and going backward and forward, and there is just nothing,” he said. “I can’t tell you how frustrating that is because we all want to know the truth.”

The 43-year-old Australian said headaches subsided a few days ago and he chose to play in the Phoenix Open to try to get his life back on track.

His face looked relatively clean as he spoke to reporters – his injuries drew more attention than any of his 22 wins around the world – and the crowd was even larger because the podium was in front of the caddie hospitality tent.

Allenby saved his anger for the media, whom he sarcastically claimed to be “amazing experts at investigations.”

“I was a victim, and all of a sudden you’re putting all the blame on me,” Allenby said. “I take full responsibility if I did do something wrong. … At the end of the day, I was in a place having a nice dinner and having a nice night, and then I became a victim. And now, it’s all been turned around.

“The police will come out with the right story.”

Pressed for details, Allenby kept referring to the 2 1/2-hour stretch where he blanked out. He previously told The Associated Press he had two receipts in his front pocket – along with his credit card used to pay for dinner and win – that were time stamped at 10:06 p.m. and 10:48 p.m.

Allenby said he was not drunk. “There’s no way in the world what I drank could do what was done to me – not a chance in the world,” he said. He also said he had blood tests to see if anything was detected in his system. He told the AP last week that doctors chose not to do a drug test the day after the incident because whatever was in his system likely would not be there for more than a few hours.

The photo, first shown on Golf Channel during the third round of the Sony Open, is what generated so much attention. Allenby said he posted it as a way to reach his family – he is divorced with a 15-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter – because he was so disoriented he couldn’t remember his phone number.

Tiger Woods, returning from his own dose of a photograph gone viral, was asked about Allenby before anyone quizzed him on how he lost his front tooth.

“I know he got beat up. I don’t know much about it. I just saw a quick headline,” Woods said. “I saw a photo. He didn’t look very good.”

Allenby has had a contentious relationship with the media throughout his career. He got into a public argument with fellow Melbourne native Geoff Ogilvy that Australian media said was close to a fight. And at the Presidents Cup in 2009 in San Francisco, he accused Anthony Kim of being out partying until the wee hours of the Sunday matches – this after Kim beat him in a singles match, 5 and 3.

The reception is gets at the TPC Scottsdale could be brutal. This is the rowdiest tournament of the year, especially at the par-3 16th that is set up like an arena.

“Mentally, I’m preparing myself for probably one of the toughest weeks of my life,” Allenby said. “It hasn’t been an easy week last week, and it wasn’t an easy decision to come to this tournament. But I thought that I need to get my life back on track. I’m a professional golfer. And why should I let controversy put me out of the game that I love?”

Talk about having big shoes to fill.

When Bill Paul worked his first RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club 38 years ago, his boss, the tournament chairman, was a man… no, a legend … known as “Mr. Canadian Open”—Richard (Dick) Grimm.

At the time, Paul was a Grade 12 student in Oakville, Ont., and was painting for Grimm’s son, Bob. Dick asked Bill to consider working at the first Canadian Open in 1977. He pounded in stakes, strung gallery ropes, hung signs and did all the other grunt work. When Paul, a varsity athlete, graduated from University, he declined an offer from the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the Canadian Football League and came on board full-time at Golf Canada, learning the ropes (excuse the pun) about every detail of conducting a PGA Tour event under Grimm’s tutelage.

When Grimm left his post in 1992, Paul assumed the role of tournament director. Since then, he has indefatigably overseen much more than the convoluted logistics involved in putting on Canada’s only tour event, Canada’s national open championship. Starting in the mid-1990s, he ran our country’s first entry on the Champions Tour for several years, was the Tournament Director at the World Amateur in 1992, and ensured the LPGA Tour  went off without a hitch when Golf Canada took on the event in 2001. As golf grew, so did the scope of his job. Pounding stakes and stringing rope became the least of his worries. It was a whole new world with millionaire players, TV contracts, partnerships, sales, venue changes and more.

Now, four decades later, Paul and Golf Canada CEO Scott Simmons have determined that another transition is in order. As Chief Championship Officer, Paul’s evolving responsibilities have become enormous: liaison with players, the tour, sponsors, government, clubs, arranging for future tournament venues, assisting with business development, and much more. Inevitably, the ground-level logistics of both the RBC Canadian Open and the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open needed more constant and consistent attention.

Bill has played such an important role in championships and with our organization for so many years; now we have an opportunity to focus his experiences towards strategic activities that can impact the long term success of our championships,” said Simmons. “Succession planning is important and what allows us make this change with confidence is the quality of experts within our championship division ready to take on a larger role.”

“About 10 years ago, I saw that Brent McLaughlin was the one to succeed me in those responsibilities,” said Paul, 56. “He conducted himself so well with clubs and volunteers and has great attention to detail. He was the ideal choice.”

And so, in an orderly, seamless and predetermined transition of responsibilities, McLaughlin has been tabbed to be responsible for the successful operation day-to-day of both the RBC Canadian Open and the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, an LPGA event. Big shoes to fill again.

For McLaughlin, it is a natural progression. For the past 15 years, McLaughlin has proven himself invaluable in various portfolios including Rules, amateur championships and handicapping, and for the past two years, has been Tournament Director for the CP Women’s Open.

“Conducting world class golf competitions is a big part of Golf Canada’s mandate and I’ve been fortunate over the past 15 years to tap into some incredible expertise,” said McLaughlin. “It’s an exciting time; we’ve got a solid tournament operations team in place ready to continue a legacy of championship excellence driven by Bill and Dick Grimm before that.”

For McLaughlin, this evolution means Paul will continue to mentor him in the increasingly demanding role of conducting professional championships. For Paul, it means he can take a longer-term view of these tournaments.

But no matter how big the shoes, there is no doubt that all concerned have hit the ground running.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Tiger Woods was all smiles Tuesday – and with a full set of teeth.

Woods gave a play-by-play of getting his front tooth knocked out when he was in Italy to celebrate girlfriend Lindsey Vonn breaking the World Cup ski record. He says he was wearing his skeleton-patterned mask to try to blend in and was standing behind photographers at one of two podium presentations. Woods says a videographer stood up and banged into his mouth.

He says the mask covered the blood and he was in pain.

Woods says one tooth was chipped and the other was knocked out. He says they were permanent teeth – not caps – and he had them replaced.

A race official says he was not aware of the incident and nothing was reported.

HALTON HILLS, Ont. – Oakville’s Christian Osborne will serve as the 2015 President of the Golf Association of Ontario (GAO). Osborne, who is a member of Mississaugua Golf and Country Club, was named President at the GAO’s Annual General Meeting held Jan. 24, at Glencairn Golf Club in Halton Hills.

Osborne is the 13^th GAO President in the Association’s history, which was formed in 2001 with the amalgamation of the Ontario Ladies’ Golf Association and the Ontario Golf Association (OGA).

“With regards to this honour of being ‘Head Volunteer,’ as Past President Jim King often referred to the position as, it is an honour that I don’t deserve but certainly am very proud of and will work at it as hard as I can,” said Osborne.

“They say that golf is in trouble, but when we look at the portfolio of success (of Ontario golfers) that we saw this morning, how can it be?” Asked Osborne to those in attendance at the meeting. “There are challenges of course, but the game of golf that we love has survived world wars, depression, famine and recession. The challenges we face now are difficult but nothing compared to what the game faced in the past.”

Osborne went on to underline some of the challenges that the Association will tackle in 2015 and moving forward. “We are financially strong as an Association, but we can always be stronger. We need to look for new streams of revenue whether it be through funding or sponsorship.”

The relationship that the GAO has with Golf Canada was another talking point for Osborne as he emphasized how critical it will be for the two bodies to continue to work together. “We have to work with Golf Canada, they are working on a synergy program to come up with new ways for us to generate funds, to modify our membership model and to ensure we all have a future and we will support them.”

Osborne began volunteering with the GAO in 2011 and cited his experience with the GAO and the OGA as the reason he got involved.

“I am a product of the OGA and GAO. My reason for volunteering is very self-serving because what I wanted to do was settle the score, with an Association that gave me so much. I wouldn’t have had the opportunities in my life if it weren’t for the OGA and GAO.”

During his time with the GAO, Osborne has served on multiple committees. He has chair both the Finance and Risk Management and the Governance and Nominating committees. He has also been part of the Human Resources and Compensation, Marketing and Sponsorship, Scholarship, Sport Development, and Fundraising committees.

A collegiate golfer at Toledo, Osborne has also been a member at The National Golf Club of Canada before Mississaugua. He has served on the Mississaugua Board and as Club Captain. He also captured the Club Championship in 2000. Osborne is currently the Owner and Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Kleen-Flo Tumbler Industries in Toronto.

Osborne summed up how special the game of golf is to him by sharing the friendship it helped to foster.

“The game of golf is like nothing I have ever seen,” explained Osborne. “It brings people together in a manner that I just haven’t seen anything else do. Jim King would be the first to admit that we come from different generations and different parts of the world, but it is amazing that this game of golf has brought us together and we found out very quickly we’re very similar and in a short amount of time, Jim King became one of my best friends in the world.”

The 2015 board also includes: John Turner (GAO Public Player), Alan Trivett (Glencarin GC), Ivy Steinberg (Granite GC), Peter Zakarow (Beacon Hall GC), Carol-Ann Goering (Toronto GC), Anthony Dunn (The Marshes), John Gallinger (Meadowbrook G&CC), Anna Wells (GAO Public Player), Mark Hayes (Rattlesnake Point), and Ottawa Valley Golf Association Representative Tom Hossfeld.

Honorary Life Director Award
Also at the AGM, the GAO presented Past GAO President Steve James with the Honorary Life Director Award. The award recognizes those who contribute their time and hard work over an extended period of time. The recipients of this award have given unselfishly to promote amateur golf, the GAO, and has done so in a variety of ways over a number of years.

James began as a Tournament Volunteer in 1994 as a starter, scorer and Rules Official. In 2002, he joined the Board of Directors and served as Tournament Chairman. He would go on to serve on both the Finance and Nominating committees. From 2005-07, he chaired the Finance Committee. In 2008, James acted as GAO President. Throughout his time on the broad, James has continued to volunteer as a Rules Official.

PHOENIX – Waste Management has announced that the RBC Canadian Open was named the winner of the second annual Sustainability Challenge, a contest sponsored by Waste Management to encourage all PGA TOUR tournaments to engage in and advance sustainable practices at their respective events. With this distinction, the RBC Canadian Open joins the ranks of the Sustainability Challenge inaugural winner, the Shell Houston Open and the Waste Management Phoenix Open as PGA TOUR tournaments that demonstrate the value of responsible sustainability practices.

The RBC Canadian Open received the highest cumulative score for Materials Management, Natural Resources Tracking and Conservation, Economic Impact and Overall Sustainability. Waste Management sustainability experts scored participating tournaments’ submissions and were pleased to note that ninety-one percent of the 22 PGA TOUR tournaments that submitted applications have a recycling program in place and track their diversion of waste from landfills. As the winner, RBC Canadian Open leadership will attend the upcoming Waste Management Phoenix Open and Waste Management’s fifth annual Executive Sustainability Forum.

RBC Canadian Open employs numerous sustainable practices at the carbon-neutral tournament including: diverting waste from landfills through recycling and organics collection; providing free filtered water at water stations located across the grounds; donating unused food to local food banks; offering sustainable transportation options and more. The Royal Montreal Golf Club, home of the 2014 RBC Canadian Open, is also certified as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary golf course, a designation earned for its certification in six categories: Environmental Planning, Chemical Use Reduction & Safety, Water Conservation, Water Quality Management, Wildlife & Habitat Management, and Outreach & Education.

“We are committed to making the RBC Canadian Open a green event,” said Bill Paul, Chief Championship Officer for Golf Canada. “We are proud to work with RBC and all of our partners to ensure our tournament continues to be a positive example of best practices to reduce the event’s environmental impact within the markets we conduct the championship.”

“RBC is proud of our work with Golf Canada and our other event partners to ensure that the RBC Canadian Open continues to be a positive example of best practices to reduce the event’s environmental impacts,” says Sandra Odendahl, Director, Corporate Sustainability, RBC.

“As a zero waste event, the award-winning Waste Management Phoenix Open has set the ‘green’ standard for sustainability in sports,” said Jim Trevathan, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Waste Management. “The Sustainability Challenge provides Waste Management the opportunity to recognize the successes of a growing number of PGA TOUR tournaments like the RBC Canadian Open that are expanding their green initiatives so that others will continue to be encouraged to ‘green’ the game of golf.”

KAUPULEHU-KONA, Hawaii – Miguel Angel Jimenez rallied to win the Champions Tour’s season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship, birdieing six of the final nine holes Sunday for a one-stroke victory over Mark O’Meara.

The Spaniard closed with a 6-under 66 for his second victory in three career starts on the 50-and-over tour. He broke a tie with O’Meara with a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th.

“It was uphill against the grain and into the wind,” said Jimenez, a 21-time winner on the European Tour. “I knew I had to hit it hard.”

Jimenez won the Greater Gwinnett Championship last year, a week after finishing fourth in the Masters. In his other Champions Tour start, he tied for eighth in the Senior British Open in July. In May, he won the Spanish Open at 50 years, 133 days to break his own record as the oldest European Tour champion.

Jimenez finished at 17-under 199 at Hualalai Golf Club. He played the 12 par 5s in 12 under with an eagle and 10 birdies.

After making two birdies and a double bogey on the front nine, he birdied Nos. 10, 11, 13-15 and 17 and closed with a two-putt par.

O’Meara shot a 64. The two-time Champions Tour winner finished second for the 15th time.

“People remember the winner, not second place,” O’Meara said. “I’m disappointed, but Miguel played well when he had to.”

Fred Couples was third at 14 under, following his second-round 64 with a 66. Rocco Mediate, tied with Jimenez for the second-round lead, had a 70 to finish fourth at 13 under.

The 40-player field featured major champions from the last five years, other tournament winners in the last two seasons and sponsor invitees.