G’Day for Ogle Brings Victory : Golf: Aussie overcomes problem at 10th hole, wins by three shots at Pebble Beach.

Brett Ogle was walking on the beach with the ocean lapping at his shoes midway through the final round of the AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

It wasn’t a casual Sunday stroll. His tee shot on the par-four 10th hole rolled down a cliff onto the beach, and Ogle wasn’t enjoying the scenery.

“I thought my day was gone,” said the 28-year-old Australian, who was playing in the Pebble Beach tournament for the first time.

Ogle recovered with a bogey on the hole and went on to win the tournament by making three birdies in the next eight holes while his playing partner, Billy Ray Brown, was faltering.

Ogle, a 6-foot-2, 165-pounder with a wide grin and unflappable manner, has made quite a splash as “rookie” on the PGA Tour.

He is a rookie here, but he has played and won tournaments all over the world.

After having been turned down by sponsors when he wanted to play in tour events in the United States, Ogle has a two-year exemption.

“My dream is to play in the U.S. Masters,” Ogle said, and that dream will be realized in April.

Ogle, the leader since the second round here, shot a one-under-par 71 for a 72-hole score of 276, 12 under. He beat runner-up Brown by three strokes.

Ogle earned $225,000, and with his fluid swing and relaxed manner, he might be a factor on the tour for years to come. He doesn’t seem to be intimidated by the game’s best players, even England’s Nick Faldo.

“I’ve beaten him before in tournaments,” Ogle said. “He’s a great golfer, but he’s not unbeatable. He’s only human, not a mechanical man.”

The young pro could easily have become unnerved after his tee shot on the 10th hole found the beach. He couldn’t find the ball after a man strolled off with it.

The ball was near a rock, but Ogle couldn’t drop it to his satisfaction. “I felt that safety was the better part of valor,” Ogle said.

He returned to the fairway, taking a one-stroke penalty, then hit a five-iron 180 yards to within seven feet of the cup. He barely missed his par putt.

Brown parred the hole to draw even with Ogle at nine under par, then took a one-stroke lead with a birdie at the par-four 11th hole while Ogle was making par.

However, Brown got bogeys on the next two holes while Ogle was making par and birdie. There was a two-shot swing on the par-four 13th hole, which Brown bogeyed to drop to eight under and Ogle birdied to improve to 10 under.

It began to rain as Ogle and Brown approached the par-five, 565-yard 14th hole. Brown got a par, and Ogle hit his third shot out of a bunker to within four feet of the cup. He made his birdie putt for a three-stroke lead.

They both birdied the par-three, 182-yard 17th hole, Brown sinking a 22-foot putt and Ogle an 18-footer.

“That putt was very critical to me,” Ogle said. “It made my heart feel better.”

He reasoned that if he had missed the putt, it would have been “so easy” to make a six on the par-five, 18th hole, forcing a playoff.

Instead, the 18th was a victory stroll for Ogle, who played the hole safely, hitting a two-iron off the tee and getting his par.

After his last putt dropped, Ogle kissed the ground.

Asked what the victory means to him, Ogle said, “Man, it’s unbelievable especially after I sloshed into the ocean on 10.”

Ogle has a home in London as well as Australia, and now he’s looking for a residence in the United States.

“I’ll probably settle in Orlando,” he said. “I was looking in Denver, but there is snow there and there’s not much meat on my bones.”

He probably will be a regular on the U.S. tour.

“I feel I should be playing here with the best in the world,” Ogle said. “There’s more depth here.”

Brown, who has played in only a few tournaments since he injured his left wrist last August, said his lapses at the 12th and 13th holes cost him any chance to win.

“I feel better about my game, but I have a sour taste because I had my hands on it (the victory) and it’s gone,” the 29-year-old pro said.

As for Ogle, Brown said: “He’s a well-seasoned pro. He’s played all over the world--and he (even) had a chance to make four on 10 with an incredible golf shot.”

Golf Notes

Greg Twiggs, Joey Sindelar and Trevor Howard tied for third at 280, four strokes behind Brett Ogle. . . . Payne Stewart and Jim Morris won the pro-amateur division at 257, 31 under par. Four teams tied for second. . . . Mark O’Meara, the defending Pebble Beach champion, finished at 287, in a tie for 36th.

Ogle has a 60-acre farm in the hills about an hour from Melbourne. “I have steers, cows and sheep,” he said. “I round them up. I love farm life. And we’ve got owls, kookaburras and kangaroos.” . . . Ogle likes to tell stories on himself, such as in the 1990 Australian Open, when he was one shot behind with two holes to play on the final day. He hit a two-iron that slammed off a tree, shattering his left kneecap. “I hit the deck and when I went down they were looking for some ice,” he said. Instead, he was administered to with a six-pack of beer from someone in the crowd. “They put it across my knee, but I never got a bloody free beer out of it,” he said.