Oberholser seals maiden Tour win

R4 LEADERBOARD US unless stated -17 A Oberholser -12 R Sabbatini (SA) -11 J Byrd, M Weir (Can) Selected others: -9 V Singh (Fij), B Davis (Eng), Luke Donad (Eng) -8 P McGinley (Ire) -7 JM Olazabal (Sp), C DiMarco -5 J Furyk -4 D Love -3 P Mickelson, F Jacobson (Swe)

American Arron Oberholser claimed his first PGA Tour title with victory in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am as Mike Weir crashed on the final day.

Oberholser, 31, who was tied for the overnight lead with Weir, had a level-par 72 to finish on 17 under.

Weir slumped out of contention after carding a disastrous 78, a round that included six bogeys as well as a double-bogey seven at the second.

South African Rory Sabbatini fired a 70 to finish alone in second on 12 under.

England's Luke Donald, who led after the opening day following a 10-under 62, was six shots adrift going into the final round and was unable to climb into contention.

He birdied the first but suffered bogeys at the second, ninth, 11th and 13th before a birdie at the 17th gave him a 74.

He finished tied for seventh on nine under, together with fellow Englishman Brian Davis who closed with a 73 and Fiji's Vijay Singh, who eagled the last for a four-under-par 68.

Oberholser survived a shaky finish to equal the tournament's previous best margin of victory.

He was six ahead with six holes to play but bogeyed the next two holes and then badly pushed his drive down the 15th.

I felt I hit good shots in there, I just ended up in the wrong places Mike Weir

The ball landed on the cart path, went into a tree but rebounded into the clear and he was able to pitch to within seven feet.

He made the birdie putt which gave the chasing pack too much to make up.

"This is just unbelievable," Oberholser said. "I always dreamt of winning on the PGA Tour, but I never dreamt of winning this tournament.

"Walking up 18 at Pebble Beach is incredible knowing you are champion. It is pretty special.

"I was struggling with my golf swing, especially on the back nine, but I was able to piece it together, hit some good shots and get the job done."

Weir, chasing his first PGA Tour title since the 2004 Nissan Open, was understandably disappointed after letting the title slip away.

"I thought I was going to win, no question," he said. "For some reason, it wasn't meant to be. It is frustrating, real frustrating.

"My wedge game and putting killed me. I think the greens got firm and I didn't adjust well.

"I felt I hit good shots in there, I just ended up in the wrong places."

Sweden's Daniel Chopra was the leading European, closing with three birdies in his final five holes to end joint fifth on 10 under.

Dubliner Paul McGinley suffered a bogey six at the last for a round of 70 and was joint 12th on eight under while 2005 winner Phil Mickelson ended on three under after a closing 77.

It was his worst round since the 80 he carded in the Chrysler Championship at the end of 2003 and is the first time this year he has finished out of the top 10.