Two shots behind with four holes to play in the Northern Trust Open, Watson rallied with two birdies over the last three holes to overtake Jason Kokrak and hold off Adam Scott to win at Riviera for the second time in three years and move to No. 4 in the world ranking.
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Pacific Palisades – Bubba Watson fired a four-under par 67 in Saturday’s third round of the PGA Northern Trust Open to take a one-shot lead over three Americans, including Dustin Johnson, whom Watson edged for the 2014 title.
Rory McIlroy is just two shots off the lead heading into the final round of the Northern Trust Open as Bubba Watson emerged at the top of a congested leaderboard.
Nestled in among a hefty pack, Bubba broke free with back-to-back birdies on the 16th and 17th holes, which could only be replicated by Aussie Adam Scott on the 17th and 18th holes, but he was recovering from consecutive bogeys on the 14th and 15th.
Sometimes, he said, “I want to go and hide”.
But shortly after Scott’s incredible finish, Watson two-putted for birdie on No. 17 to grab the lead for good.
“Hold on a second, my trophy is coming”, said Watson, interrupting his news conference as the shiny prize was placed on the table next to him. I couldn’t see it. You were kind of blind from up there, but we had a good crowd around there that all kind of jumped up in the air when it went in.
After his birdie on 17, Watson got up and down on 18 for par with a superb 100-foot chip from off the green that landed two feet from the cup. I was (a cumulative) 12 under after the first hole today, played a solid round of golf after that and let a few shots slip away.
Overnight leader Watson had 10 players within three shots of him going into the final round.
Watson said after the win Sunday at Riviera Country Club that he passed a kidney stone on Monday after seeing blood in his urine the day before.
“It is better than booing me”, Watson joked.
It was a bitter taste for Kokrak, who led by two after a birdie on 13.
Meanwhile, Marcus Fraser took advantage of Soomin Lee’s dramatic late collapse to clinch the inaugural Maybank Championship Malaysia for his first win in nearly six years.
It is the second time in three years that Watson has won this event and with the win he is now fourth ranked player in the world.
“I think that’s awesome”, Moore said.
It was a big disappointment after a great start as McIlroy struck an early blow when he eagled the par-5 first hole.
A final-round shootout was always on the cards and the day began explosively as playing companions Scott and McIlroy both sank lengthy putts to eagle the par-five first, Scott sinking a 36-footer and McIlroy a 24-footer.
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Watson finished at 15-under par.
