“My game has come into a really good place”. Not to shoot a good score, certainly not to win.
Advertisement
“Well, what else can you do?” he said. “If you’re putting like that all day, you’re always going to make some putts”. He hit a birdie on the final hole, pushing him into a tie with Scott for the lead. He stretched his lead to three shots. Scott will learn from his biggest mistake, while Garcia has kept the major disasters at bay to make for an interesting dynamic with one round left.
Nothing went right for Jimmy Walker, starting with the first tee. The Aussie did what he needed to do, making just enough birdies to overcome the unavoidable mistakes at PGA National, a round of even-par 70 enough to secure his 12th PGA Tour title. The Australian reached 12 under par.
“I was just saying I had to make birdies to win this thing”. “Two more in the water, Adam”, one man yelled. I’m playing great, and the way I played [Saturday] was lovely. “So hopefully, we both play well and it’s a good show”. It was a little loose previous year, it started to slip a little bit. That’s the real error. As Scott fell down the rankings, Jordan Spieth and Jason Day dominated, and Rory McIlroy was there all along. Obviously I had my problems. But it can happen to anyone at any time. “And therefore, good for me”.
However, with Scott dropping a shot on the ninth after failing to get up and down from a greenside bunker and another on the 10th after a wayward drive, Garcia was back on level terms before missing from two feet for par on the 11th after his approach only cleared the water by a few yards. Rickie Fowler, the 36-hole leader, shot 71 and finished in a tie for sixth with 53-year-old Vijay Singh, who closed with a 70.
“I hit a lot of good putts, some didn’t go in but fortunately that was enough in the end”. That’s how challenging holes like 15, 16 and 17 are. And then if it becomes a two-horse race on the last three or four holes, I’ll welcome that.
This tournament has been so unpredictable thus far, so Garcia is probably correct to stay on his toes in order to avoid something bad happening so close to the finish line. It could easily fall apart, and go from a commanding position to struggling to be in the tournament tomorrow. So you’ve got to keep some things in perspective and not get panicky.
Scott recorded his first victory since 2014 and his first with a short handled putter since 2010 after the introduction of new regulations in January of this year. He has two World Golf Championships before he even gets to the Masters. He is also the first player to switch from anchored strokes and win a PGA TOUR event. “He deserved it. I don’t feel my swing is anywhere near where I would like it. I scored well”. The reality is Augusta National never has been happy that Amen Corner is visible through the trees from Augusta Country Club and considers it an eyesore for its members and patrons to see golf carts driving around Augusta Country Club through the trees.
Advertisement
What a great 2016 is in store for the game of golf!
