Adam Scott bagged his second PGA Tour title in as many weeks after outstaying a classy field in the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Trump Doral.
Any chance that the resort’s attention-seeking owner, Donald Trump, had of grabbing the headlines were thankfully stolen following a dramatic Sunday afternoon’s play, which saw Rory McIlroy start the final round with a three-shot lead, but finish it with three players in front of him, after a disappointing 74.
Riding high following his win at last week’s Honda Classic, 35-year-old Scott showed that his switch to the short putter has proved to be a masterstroke, with his 13th tour win coming on the back of a hot run that has his form figures reading 2-1-1 for his last three tournaments.
Despite recording two double bogeys, shanking a bunker shot, and flirting with a water hazard on the 72nd hole, Scott claimed the trophy after sinking a six-foot putt on the final hole for a 69 and a total of 12 under par to beat another hot player, Bubba Watson, by a single stroke.
Laying any fears to rest that giving up the anchored broomhandle putter that he won the Masters with in 2013 would herald his downfall, Scott holed all 18 putts that he faced from 10 feet and in on the final day – a stat he would dearly like to repeat at the Masters in a month’s time.
“I can’t really believe it. I haven’t processed what happened there,” said Scott, who found water on the third and fifth holes. “It was ugly and good, all in 18 holes. 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, but it can’t be that pretty unless you play one of the rounds of your life.”
McIlroy, whose final round included three bogeys and one birdie, seemed stunned by his own ineptitude, which came on the back of three almost flawless rounds. “I didn’t take advantage of the holes I should have,” he said. “It’s frustrating, because that’s two out of the last three weeks. I was leading with 16 holes to play at Riviera, and I was leading here going into the back nine, so to not get the job done in either two of those instances is very frustrating. I’ve got two events left to try to get that win before going to Augusta, and I’m hopefully going to get it.”
Bubba Watson, Danny Willett and Phil Mickelson all held a share of the lead at one point during the final round, but none of them were able to resist Scott’s back-nine charge of 32, which included four birdies.
Willett had to make do with a share of third with McIlroy after a closing 69, one shot ahead of Mickelson. Paul Casey finished seventh, while Dustin Johnson went from tied second after 54 holes to tied 14th after a closing 79.