Woods finishes third at Australian Open

The loudest cheers were for Tiger Woods. The Australian Open belonged to Greg Chalmers.

Chalmers won his national championship for the second time Sunday in Sydney, closing with a 3-under-par 69 to hold off a late charge by Woods and a 50-foot birdie putt by John Senden that nearly forced a playoff.

Woods had his best chance of winning all year.

Two tee shots led to bogeys on the back nine, though he also made birdie on the second-toughest hole at The Lakes on No. 12, then chipped in from just off the green for eagle on the 14th. Woods missed a 12-foot eagle putt on the 17th for a share of the lead.

Behind him, Chalmers made his final birdie with a brilliant tee shot on the par-3 15th hole to tap-in range, then played mistake-free down the stretch and picked up a meaningful par on the par-3 18th with an up-and-down shot from the bunker.

Chalmers last won the Australian Open in 1998 at Royal Adelaide, a week before the Presidents Cup in Melbourne. The matches return to Royal Melbourne next week, and Woods at least showed that he wasn’t a complete waste of a captain’s pick by Fred Couples.

Chalmers finished at 13-under 275. Senden shot a 72, and Woods had a 67 to finish third, two strokes behind Chalmers.

LPGA

Catriona Matthew won the Lorena Ochoa Invitational for her fourth career title, closing with a 1-under 71 for a four-stroke victory in the 36-player event in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Matthew, the 42-year-old Scot whose last victory came in the 2009 Women’s British Open, had a 12-under 276 total at Guadalajara Country Club and earned $200,000.

Anna Nordqvist and 2010 winner I.K. Kim tied for second. They each shot 71. Hall of Famer Juli Inkster had a 72 to tie for fourth with Ai Miyazato (71) and Hee Kyung Seo (69) at 5 under.

Michelle Wie, the 2009 winner, tied for ninth at 2 under after a 71.

Singapore Open

Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano won the rain-delayed Singapore Open, beating Juvic Pagunsan of the Philippines with a birdie on the second hole of a playoff.

After tying at 14-under 199 after the third and final round, Pagunsan and Fernandez-Castano teed off on the playoff hole before play was suspended for 90 minutes because of rain and the threat of lightning. The storm let up briefly, allowing players to hit one more shot before more rain stopped play for good.

Anthony Kim (64) and Louis Oosthuizen (65) tied for third, a stroke back. Phil Mickelson shot a 70 to tie for 33rd at 5 under.

Fernandez-Castano earned $990,520 for the victory.