GOLD COAST, Australia, November 10 - U.S. Masters champion Adam Scott shrugged off a two-hour lightning suspension to fire a four-under-par final-round 67 on Sunday and claim a four-stroke victory in OneAsia’s Australian PGA Championship, presented by Coca-Cola.
Aussie Scott, who spent his childhood on the Gold Coast, was 14-under-par for four rounds at the 6,747-meter RACV Royal Pines Resort course, with American Rickie Fowler (68) second and Australian PGA academy trainee Jack Wilson (68) alone in third at eight under.
Indonesia's top player Rory Hie was able to recover from a disastrous round yesterday, and with a final round 70 he was able to gain a few spots to a tie for 45th. With 3 rounds under par it was really the third round that kept him from being in the top 10 here, which would have been a major boost to his career.
The win means Scott now has a career Australian Triple Crown, having won the Emirates Australian Open in 2009 — the first year it featured on OneAsia — and adding the Australian Masters last year.
While his Major victory at Augusta in April will probably always be regarded as his greatest, it was clear how much winning the Joe Kirkwood Cup meant to the 33-year-old.
“This is the one I wanted desperately, and it’s kind of the icing on the cake for me,” he said. “This one is for my folks — especially for my dad, who is a PGA member. I hope he’s feeling proud at the moment.”
He earned A$225,000 for the win from the $A1.25 million purse.
Scott had seen his three stroke overnight lead whittled down to one when play was suspended for two hours by lightning flashing around the course.
Until the break Wilson was the man of the moment with four birdies that put him level second with Fowler, but the siren sounded immediately after he pulled his tee shot into the bunker on the par-three 14th, while Scott had just split the fairway with a towering drive on the par five 12th.
The tournament was decided by the first shots after the restart.
Scott drilled a four iron from 240 m (260 yards), missing an albatross by inches as it came to rest about two feet behind the cup, while Wilson flew the flag from the bunker and three-putted for bogey.
While Fowler made a comfortable four, Scott’s eagle meant the next six holes were a victory parade made easier by a brace of birdies.
“I kind of had some momentum as the delay came in. I made a putt and then hit a great drive down 12, and then we went and cooled down,” said Scott.
“But I came out and knew I had to do something great — that’s what happens at these tournaments, someone always does something great. I came out and hit some great shots and that four iron was just perfect — I mean, I just flushed it!”
Scott has passed up potentially millions in appearance fees and U.S. PGA Tour purses to take his Green Jacket on a month-long tour of his homeland after becoming the first Australian to win at Augusta, and he has been fēted like a rock star in public appearances since arriving last week.
The parade continues next week when he gets the chance to become only the second man since Robert Allenby (2005) to claim the Triple Crown in the same season -- at the Australian Masters in Melbourne and OneAsia’s Emirates Australian Open a fortnight later.
Fowler, whose first professional victory came at OneAsia’s Kolon Korea Open in 2011, rued the weather delay.
“I had some good momentum going until up until we had the rain delay,” he said. “I got to within one, and then he came out swinging. It’s a little tough to catch a guy when he’s making an eagle and a couple of birdies.
“That was the highlight, walking up 18 with everyone around. Obviously I wasn’t going to win, but being alongside Adam and seeing him win in front of his hometown crowd, and the support we had this week, was great.”
Scores after the final round of the Australian PGA Championship, presented by Coca-Cola, being played at the 6,747-m par-71 RACV Royal Pines resort course:
270 - Adam Scott (AUS) 65-67-71-67
274 - Rickie Fowler (USA) 63-72-71-68
276 - Jack Wilson (AUS) 68-71-69-68
277 - Cameron Percy (AUS) 69-73-67-68
278 - Michael Wright (AUS) 69-70-68-71
279 - Jason Norris (AUS) 67-74-71-67, Ji-man Kang (KOR) 72-68-70-69, Gareth Paddison (NZL) 68-67-73-71, Nathan Green (AUS) 66-69-73-71, Ashley Hall (AUS) 68-69-71-71
Selected:
286 - Rory Hie (INA) 69-70-77-70
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