Adam Scott trumped his rivals winning the WGC – Cadillac Championship winning in a manner he described as ‘ugly but good’.
Scott, brilliant winner of last weeks’ Honda Classic, went into the final round on the Blue Monster course in most minds an after thought given Rory McIlroy led by a commanding three shots in the first major showdown among the world’s best this season.
And while Scott birdied the first to get within two shots of the four-time Major winning McIlroy, the Australian’s chance of winning back-to-back for only a second time in his career faded horribly when he doubled the third and took a similar double bogey at the fifth hole.
As Scott walked down the sixth he was, in fact, six shots off the leading pace.
Adam Scott (AUS) Champion, after the Final Round of the WGC Cadillac Championship, Blue Monster, Trump National, Doral, Florida, USA. 06/03/2016.
Picture: Golffile | Mark Davison
All photo usage must carry mandatory copyright credit (© Golffile | Mark Davison)
Scott mounted a counter attack first in birding the sixth hole and then muscling his way back into contention with three birdies in succession from the 10th hole.
The 35-year old then went into the lead at 12-under par when he managed a seventh birdie of his round at the 14th hole.
Scott pared the next three to head to the last still enjoying a one shot lead before sending his final drive way right of the fairway and with his ball landing nearly behind a palm tree, but not totally blocked out in playing approach.
However that approach shot hit the left bank of the hazard guarding the green, and with Scott’s ball coming to rest on the grassy slope but just inside the hazard line.
After much deliberation Scott played a superb chip shot to just over two meters before the joy of seeing his par putt drop in a back nine score 32 and five shots fewer than his outward half of 37,
“I really can’t believe it,” was Scott’s reaction.
Adam Scott (AUS) Champion, after the Final Round of the WGC Cadillac Championship, Blue Monster, Trump National, Doral, Florida, USA. 06/03/2016.
Picture: Golffile | Mark Davison
All photo usage must carry mandatory copyright credit (© Golffile | Mark Davison)
“I don’t think I’ve processed what’s happened, especially today’s round. It was ugly and good, all in 18 holes.
“So it just feels great to win my second World Golf Championship.
When Scott speaks of playing ugly but good a check of his four rounds reveals one eagle, at the 10th hole on day one, 22 birdies but then also eight bogeys and a pair of double bogeys on the last day.
“It’s just bizarre because I hit some horrible shots today (laughing),” he said.
“I think you have this picture in your mind that you’ve got to play so beautifully to win all the time, and sometimes, especially at a golf course like this, in windy conditions like this, it can’t be that pretty unless you play one of the rounds of your life.
Bernie makes it two weeks in a row reporting on Adam Scott winning on the PGA Tour.
“It was hard for everyone out there, and I told myself that a couple times out there today.
“But yeah, I mean, look, I’m really proud that I was able to come back when it wasn’t feeling good after five holes and the swing had not felt good the whole weekend at that point, and managed to find my rhythm again in these windy conditions. All of a sudden it felt a little easier on the back nine.”
The win is Scott’s 13th PGA Tour victory title and his 28th worldwide.
He is the second Australian to win back-to-back on the PGA Tour in some seven months after Jason Day captured a first Major winning the PGA Championship and teed-up in New Jersey a fortnight later to be handed the Barclay’s Championship crown.
It is also Scott’s second WGC title success after winning the 2011 WGC – Bridgestone Invitational.
And in his first three starts of 2016 Scott has finished T2nd at the Northern Trust Open and now two wins in succession.
He was handed a first prize cheque of $US 1, 098,000 that has seen him jump from 13th to third on the FedEx Cup Points table.
And Scott has moved to ninth overall on the PGA Tour list of leading career money winners with earnings of $US 451, 187, 897.
Scott had moved World No. 9 in capturing last week’s victory at PGA National and his success just over an hour’s drive south to suburban Miami will see him jump to World No. 6.
And it prompted the question if Scott can see himself getting the better of golf’s ‘Twenty something stars’ and get back to World No. 1 and a position he enjoyed in July 2o14.
“I set myself a mini-goal starting the year or back end of last year was to try and get back to world No. 1,” he revealed.
“I think it’s a fair goal, because I’ve been there before, and if you get to that point, I think I’m going to achieve what I want in the game. So that’s probably a bit of a long-term goal. I wasn’t thinking I should just get there by, you know, September this year or something.
“Over the next couple of years, give myself a chance to play consistently well and move back up there and get back to No. 1 and hopefully some wins and another major and another major comes along in that time. But it would be amazing to get back there,”
And among the first text messages Scott received was from Perth’s Brett Rumford.
Scott had singled Rumford out for special mention a week again in winning at PGA National and the putting grip tip that ‘Rummy’ had offered Scott in late 2014 at the Metropolitan Club in Melbourne during the staging of the Australian Masters.
“Well, that’s funny you say that. I just picked up my phone walking in here and the first message I saw was from Rummy who said he was watching,” he said.
“I haven’t sent Brett a cheque (laughing) and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t print any of this so he doesn’t get any ideas, Bernie.
“But I watched him put on a short game clinic at Lake Karrinyup on the highlights last week at the Perth International and he was pulling the pin out from 30 yards and chipping in and stuff. That’s one of the beautiful things about this game is like sharing information and knowledge and feelings and stuff between pros, and Rummy is probably too generous with his short game advice and we have all benefitted from it.
“So thanks, Brett”,
