Australian duo Richard Green and Brendan Jones have finished in a tie for third place at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup. The Aussies finished equal with Japan after a disappointing four-over-par 76 on the final day left them at 18-under overall nine shots behind the winners from Sweden. “Just didn&apost happen for us today. We went out there with all of the right intentions and give it as good of a shot and tried our best and things didn&apost happen,” Green said. “We didn&apost have too many opportunities, unfortunately. It was just a bit of a struggle most of the day.” Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson combined to produce a scintillating performance in the final-round foursomes to capture the title. Although they did not lead in any of the previous rounds, Sweden gradually improved upon each performance before saving their best for last to card a superb nine-under-par 63 and comfortably secure a second-ever World Cup title for Sweden by three strokes. The last time Sweden prevailed at the tournament was when Per-Ulrik Johansson and Anders Forsbrand won the trophy in 1991. Spain, who had started the day tied for the lead alongside Australia, were unable to match their stunning nine-under 63 in second-round foursomes as Miguel Angel Jimenez and Pablo Larrazabal returned to the clubhouse at two-under 70 to finish in second place at 24 under overall. “I was starting to run out of tournaments, so it was nice to win this one. It has been a while,” said Ryder Cup player Stenson, who despite enjoying a great season in 2008 had failed to secure any victories. Sweden, featuring the tournament&aposs highest-ranked players in Karlsson and Stenson, were four shots off the pace at the start of the final round today but quickly made their move up the leaderboard with five birdies in a flawless run on the front nine that saw them climb alongside Spain into a share of the lead at the turn. They then added two in succession from the 11th before moving three clear when Stenson chipped in from the back of the green for a birdie at the 14th. Sweden added one more on the 555-yard par-five 15th – the Olazabal course&aposs signature hole – and then made par on the remaining holes to return to the clubhouse at 27 under overall. They were left to wait for Spain to complete their round as Jimenez and Larrazabal approached the last needing to card an eagle to force a play-off. However, Larrazabal sent his tee shot into a bunker and although Jimenez recovered well, Spain could only putt for a bogey and confirm a World Cup victory for Sweden. England&aposs Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher finished strongly as a five-under-par 67 today meant they finished in sixth place. However, the resurgence came too late after disappointing scores in the first two rounds all but ended their chances of a World Cup victory. “We should have had a chance to win this golf tournament. That&aposs what we come here for,” said a disappointed Poulter. “It didn&apost happen on Thursday and Friday and that&aposs just such a shame to be so far out of the picture.”
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