SINGAPORE, 31 January 2005 — England’s Nick Dougherty cruised to victory in the Singapore Masters by five shots yesterday to earn his maiden Tour success.

Dougherty, 22, carded a five-under-par 67 to finish at 18 under par on the Laguna National course, completing his final round with a superb birdie at the last hole.

Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie, the defending champion, bogeyed two of his closing three holes in a round of 70 to finish second on 13 under par, tied with Dutchman Maarten Lafeber.

Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn, who recorded a double bogey at the 17th, finished fourth on 11 under par after a round of 72.

Dougherty was delighted with his victory just a week after finishing fourth in the South African Open.

He took the lead with an eagle at his 15th hole in the second round and never relinquished his position at the top of the leaderboard.

“I am honestly delighted and the win hasn’t quite sunk in yet and when you are playing with players like Colin (Montgomerie) and Thomas (Bjorn) you really don’t think it is over till it is over,” Dougherty told reporters.

Montgomerie, contesting his first event of the year, lost his chance of defending the title end when he three-putted for bogey at the par-four 16th. After a wayward iron shot at the par-three 17th the Scot superbly chipped in for par but his hopes of defending his title were dashed when he left his second shot at the last short and three-putted from 30 feet.

Lafeber bogeyed the first hole and double-bogeyed the ninth before two late birdies helped him close with a 69.

Front-Running Ogilvie Looking Good for Maiden Win

In Toronto, Joe Ogilvie sat atop the Bob Hope Classic pro-am leaderboard for the fourth successive day on Saturday after carding a three-under-par 69 to forge two shots clear of Australia’s Peter Lonard going into the final round. Normally, after four rounds, the American would be celebrating his first PGA Tour title.

Ogilvie, though, will have to hang on for one more round with the Bob Hope being the last of the tour’s 90-hole events, a five-day marathon played out in the Californian desert on four different courses around La Quinta.

The 30-year-old Ogilvie, who began the day two strokes ahead of Lonard, finished with a 26-under total of 262.

“I like having the lead,” said Ogilvie, whose fourth round included yet another eagle, giving him four for the tournament.

Lonard, a winner on the European circuit but also seeking his first PGA Tour title, posted a 69 for 264, 24 under. Former British Open champion Justin Leonard moved into third place after firing an eight-under 64 for 265.

South African Tim Clark was four off the pace after a six-under 66 gave him a total of 266. He was followed on 267 by Americans Loren Roberts and Jim Furyk, Sweden’s Fredrik Jacobson and Britain’s Ian Poulter.