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SPORTS A19
Monday 7 March 2016
Adam Scott captures Cadillac Championship for 2nd straight win
TIM REYNOLDS formance this year.”
AP Sports Writer
DORAL, Florida (AP) — Scott saved par — and per-
Adam Scott faced a
daunting challenge, a six- haps his win — on the par-
shot deficit with 13 holes
remaining on a course that 4 16th, after his drive went
was playing tougher than it
had at any point this week. over the green and nestled
And after overcoming that,
he needed to survive two in a bunker. His second
brushes with big trouble on
the final hole to finish the shot was dreadful, finding a
job.
Scott won for the second patch of greenside rough.
straight week, shooting a
final-round 69 to win the From there he popped a
Cadillac Championship by
one shot over Bubba Wat- chip 8 feet past the hole,
son. It’s the second win
for Scott in a World Golf then calmly rolled in the
Championships event, his
13th career win on the PGA par putt to keep what was
Tour and he now hasn’t fin-
ished lower than second in a one-shot lead at the time
any of his last three starts.
“Everything fell the right over Willett.
way for me today,” Scott
said. That wasn’t the last of
Scott finished the week at
12-under 276. Watson was Scott’s trouble.
alone in second, and Dan-
ny Willett (69) and Rory Mc- His tee ball on 17 found a
Ilroy (74) were tied for third,
two shots back. bunker while Watson, on
With course owner Donald
Trump popping in on Sun- the green ahead, made
day, arriving by helicopter
and greeting fans as he birdie to get within one.
drove around in a cart,
there was plenty of drama Scott eventually saved par,
away from the fairways
and greens. headed to the final hole
Scott ensured there was
a ton on the grass as well, with that one-shot lead —
after two double-bogeys
in a three-hole span on the and promptly put his tee
front side seemed to send
his round into a tailspin. shot in the right rough, a Adam Scott of Australia, holds the Gene Sarazen Cup after winning the Cadillac Championship
That is, until he got hot at golf tournament, Sunday, March 6, 2016, in Doral, Fla.
just the right time. skinny palm tree impeding
It’s anyone’s guess if Scott Associated Press
will get a chance to defend his path to the green. So he
the title at Doral in 2017.
General Motors’ sponsor- went left, around the tree
ship agreement with the
event ends this week and but toward the water, and
with no sponsor, there’s no
tournament. that shot somehow caught
“Our hope is that the fu-
ture could allow us to stay enough thick grass on a
here and continue to build
the tournament,” PGA Tour sharp slope to stop before
Commissioner Tim Finchem
said Sunday afternoon, getting wet.
meeting with reporters be-
fore sitting down privately “I was so lucky for it to stay
with Trump to talk about
the tournament’s future. up inside the hazard line,”
“But we’ll have more to say
about that after we do a Scott said. “When you’re
full evaluation of our per-
that lucky, you better get
them up and down.”
That’s exactly what he did.
Scott chipped to 6 feet,
made the par putt and
moments later knew the
win was his.
“I can’t believe I’ve won
back-to-back weeks,”
Scott said. “To win a World
Golf Championship is huge
again.”
Watson has now finished
second or third at Doral four
times in the last five years.
He made eagle at the par-
5 8th to get into real con-
tention Sunday, but his big
mistake was a bogey on
the par-4 14th. He couldn’t
get up-and-down from a
greenside bunker, Scott
made birdie on the same
hole just a few minutes lat-
er, and that two-shot swing
proved critical.
“I gave it a good effort,”
Watson said. “What I’m
working on in my head is
working out. Right now,
I’ve got the energy and
the mind-set to play some
decent golf, so very posi-
tive, very happy about
the week and what took
place.”q
