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Ogilvy holds off charges for PGA win

MIAMI, March 24 (UPI) -- Geoff Ogilvy held off several charges and the weather delays in winning the WGC-CA Championship and ending Tiger Woods' tournament winning streak.

Ogilvy made nine consecutive pars Monday in taking the weather-delayed tournament, including a chip-in at the par-3 13th hole. It was his fourth PGA title and first since his 2006 U.S. Open.

He finished at 17-under-par 271, one stroke better than Jim Furyk, Retief Goosen and Vijay Singh. Woods, who had won seven consecutive tournaments, was fifth at 15-under 273.

Ogilvy led by two strokes when play was stopped Sunday. On the 13th hole he missed one chip from the rough that left him another chip. He hit it hard and the pin stopped the ball from going well past the hole and into likely double bogey territory.

Others players were threatening his lead, too. Goosen posted birdies on 14 and 16 to get within one stroke, Furyk did the same on 15 and 17 and Singh beat par on 16 and 17. But none got the needed birdie on 18 to catch Ogilvy.

Woods' own charge included birdies on 12, 15 and 17 but he couldn't overcome the hole he dug himself with a third-round 72 and settled for fifth place. It was the first time since Sept. 3 that he finished out of first place in a tournament.

Olympic Torch starts off on Beijing relay

ATHENS, Greece, March 24 (UPI) -- The Olympic flame was lit in Greece Monday and carried off on an 85,000-mile journey that will end in Beijing for the start of the 2008 Summer Games.

The sun's rays, focused by a parabolic mirror, were used to light a torch in Greece at the site of the ancient Olympics. An actress playing a priestess then lit a torch held by Greek athlete Alexandros Nikolaidis, a Taekwondo silver medalist in 2004, to begin the first leg of the relay.

Chinese Olympic officials have scheduled a route for the torch that takes it across five continents before reaching China. The tour relay there will pass through more than 100 sites before reaching the 2008 Games' opening ceremonies Aug. 8.

"The 2008 Olympic torch relay wants to be a journey of harmony, bringing the message of peace to people of different nationalities, cultures and creeds," International Olympic Committee Chairman Jacques Rogge said Monday.

Demonstrators have said they would try to disrupt the torch relay and Monday ran into the stadium during the torch-lighting ceremony and a speech by Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee President Liu Qi. The protesters were apprehended by police.

Belmont winner Rags to Riches retired

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla., March 24 (UPI) -- Rags to Riches, which won the Belmont Stakes last season, has been retired due to a hairline fracture in her right front leg, the horse's trainer said Monday.

Trainer Todd Pletcher said Rags to Riches still suffered from the fracture in the horse's right front pastern. The injury was originally diagnosed after Rags to Riches finished second to Lears Princess in the Gazelle Stakes last Sept. 15.

Rags to Riches won five or her seven career starts and $1,342,528 in her short career. Included in the wins was last year's Belmont Stakes, when Rags to Riches beat Curlin, which was later named Horse of the Year. Rags to Riches was the third filly to win the Belmont in 139 runnings.

Rags to Riches also won the Santa Anita and Kentucky Oaks and was voted champion 3-year-old filly.

Garnett, Paul take NBA's weekly honors

NEW YORK, March 24 (UPI) -- Boston's Kevin Garnett and New Orleans' Chris Paul were selected the NBA's Eastern and Western Conference players of the week, the league said Monday.

It was the second time each player was honored by the NBA for the weekly award. Monday's announcement covered performance from March 17-23.

Garnett helped the Celtics to three wins in Texas. He averaged 20.5 points, 11 rebounds and 2 steals over four games. He had 22 points and 11 rebounds in a 94-74 victory that ended the Houston Rockets' 22-game winning streak.

Paul took the Western Conference honor while the Hornets were going 3-0 on the week, including a win Sunday against Garnett's Celtics. He averaged 25.7 points, 10 assists and 3 steals a game. He had 16 points in the fourth quarter of a win over Chicago and scored 7 points in the final 2:12 of the 113-106 come-from-behind win over Boston.

Nationals Park surrounded by construction

WASHINGTON, March 24 (UPI) -- Nationals Park, the new home of the Washington Nationals, is surrounded by construction zones that stretch for blocks, despite its impending opening.

The park, which is scheduled to host its first game during the coming weekend, is surrounded by the shells of soon-to-be office buildings and condominiums, as well as an operating Metro station that remains home to visible concrete and multiple steel girders, The Washington Post reported Monday.

The 500-acre area houses about $6.1 billion of construction projects, including 12 million square feet of office space, 9,000 condominiums and apartments, 1,200 hotel rooms and 800,000 square feet of stores, restaurants and various entertainment outlets.

"It's really going to be the center of a lot of development," said former Mayor Anthony Williams, D, who pushed for the ballpark's development in the southeast region of the District.

D.C. Council member Jack Evans, D-Ward 2, urged patience in awaiting the completion of the area's projects.

"You're looking at a decade before you really see the effects of the baseball stadium. But it will happen," he said.