One bad swing by Adam Scott led to two balls in the water on the same hole Saturday in the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
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A small measure of satisfaction might come from the silence he hopes will follow.
“If I came out at the back end of last year with the short putter and just had very mediocre results and no confidence and started really poorly this year, no confidence, I’d feel like I’m a long way behind that standard that was set”.
In just three events this new season, Adam Scott has not only ended a six-year wait to taste success using a conventional-size putter, but in the process has swept his way to favouritism for a second Masters green jacket after a stunning Honda Classic success at PGA National today.
Almost two years removed from No. 1 in the world, he was on the verge of falling out of the top 20 when he began his first big stretch of golf leading into the Masters.
“Good for me because maybe we don’t have to go over it too much anymore”, Scott said after winning for the 10th time on the PGA Tour.
Scott became the first player since Phil Mickelson in 2009 at the Tour Championship to win on the PGA Tour with a quadruple bogey. “I went off by the applause by the fans off the green, and I thought, ‘OK, that’s got to be pretty good'”. “I’m going to try and get better next week and it’s certainly validated making the move to the short putter”. Scott and Garcia were tied with eight holes to play until Garcia missed a 3-foot par putt on No. 11 and Scott hit out of a fairway bunker to 2 feet for birdie on the 12th. Scott left his 40-foot birdie attempt 10 feet short, and the par putt stopped short of the hole to keep the margin at one heading to the raucous 17th, a par 3 over the water. I’ve played really well the last couple of weeks, and a couple of those guys who were so outstanding last summer haven’t played that great in the last couple of weeks. I always look forward to coming to Thailand to play Siam Country Club.
“It felt like hard work out there to get it in the clubhouse and Sergio stuck with me the whole way and did not give me an inch”. That’s the good thing. “It’s going to reward great shots and punish those that are a little off. Hopefully I’ve gotten that out of the way”. “There are a lot of people having a good time there, and I’m happy for them”.
His margin of victory was a stroke over Sergio Garcia, with whom he was tied entering the final round. After watching the younger generation of golfers like Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Fowler rise through the ranks over the past couple of years, Scott’s title win is validation that he remains competitive against a fresher field. “I got some good breaks in the first two rounds”.
“I want to feel somewhat relevant out here when it comes to being one of the best players in the world”, he said. Barber (70) and Thomas (69) tied for third, four shots back.
“I was just saying I had to make birdies to win this thing”.
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However, the tournament belonged to Scott, who shot 65 on Friday and 66 on Saturday to put himself in position to survive a final round that included three birdies and three bogeys.
