Scott ends tour season with a big victory
ATLANTA — When Adam Scott holed a shot from the bunker, turning a possible bogey into yet another birdie, Joe Durant and Jim Furyk knew they were playing for second.
Never mind there were still five holes to go in the Tour Championship.
"Once he did that, I kind of looked at Jim and laughed," said Durant, who was playing with Furyk, just ahead of Scott in the final pairing Sunday. "We didn't have much to say, but we pretty much knew it was game, set, match as far as the winner was concerned.
Heck, a sizable portion of the gallery at East Lake Golf Club didn't need that long to figure it out.
When Scott made the turn at least three strokes ahead of everyone in the PGA Tour's version of the All-Star game, some fans just kept right on walking through the front gate, heading for home rather than walking the back nine.
Indeed, Scott made it look easy in the season finale, shooting a 4-under 66 that buried the rest of the elite field. Jim Furyk was the closest challenger, not that he was all that close. He never got any closer than two strokes, trailed by as many as five on the back side and wound up three behind.
Durant was another shot back and only five other golfers were within 10 strokes of the winner, who put up four straight rounds in the 60s for his first victory of the year.
Starting out the final round with a three-shot lead on a cool, colorful afternoon, Scott sank a slick, 15-foot birdie putt on No. 3 to turn back an early threat from playing partner Vijay Singh.
When Furyk and Durant made a move, Scott responded with three birdies in a four-hole stretch around the turn. Then he delivered the clincher, holing out from the front left bunker at No. 13.
"I heard the big roar," Furyk said. "That was probably a chance to pick up a shot and we lost another one. He did all the things he needed to do to win the golf tournament."
Scott desperately wanted a win to ensure that his best year has some meaning. He wound up third on the PGA Tour money list, and can move as high as No. 3 in the world rankings before the year is actually done.
"You can't be that (No.) 3 or 4 player in the world without winning tournaments," Scott said. "That shouldn't happen. I feel more comfortable in that position seeing I've won an event."
Scott finished at 11-under 269 and earned $1.17 million to finish the season with nearly $5 million in winnings. With tournaments coming up in his native Australia, he will have a chance to surpass Phil Mickelson at No. 3 in the world ranking by the end of the year.
Furyk shot a 65 to match low round of the week, playing bogey-free golf over his final 31 holes.
