Scott too hot as Aussie ends three-year title drought
What happened at the Australian PGA Championship?
Adam Scott secured his second Australian PGA Championship title on the Gold Coast as he got the better of Michael Hendry in a final-round duel.
The Australian finished two shots ahead of his challenger from New Zealand as both players endured less than straightforward fourth rounds.
HE'S DONE IT! 🏆@AdamScott wins the #AUSPGA and his first title on home soil in 2,266 days 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/CFproFgTqG
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 22, 2019
Scott was the 54-hole leader by a single shot and got off to the ideal start when he birdied the first. But from there a series of pars would follow, giving hope to those chasing pack.
He was joined at the top for the first time on Sunday after he found the water at the 8th and dropped a shot to kick off a fascinating back-nine tussle.
Hendry made the most of Scott’s mid-round wobble with three consecutive birdies from 8 to take the lead.
But the World No. 18’s class shone through as he forced his way back into the driving seat at a crucial point coming down the stretch. He made birdie at 14 and immediately backed that up with an impressive eagle at the next.
EAGLE! 🦅
Adam Scott reclaims his 2 shot lead.@AdamScott #AUSPGA pic.twitter.com/dWIqFrNasX
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 22, 2019
In the end Hendry dropped shots at 17 and 18 to hand Scott, who also bogeyed the last, a two-shot win and his 11th European Tour title.
"That's your shot of the day there."
Courtesy of Michael Hendry 🙌#AUSPGA pic.twitter.com/Nrn1muhqqd
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 22, 2019
Elsewhere, there were top-5 finishes for four more Australians as Min Woo Lee, Wade Ormsby, Nick Flanagan and Cameron Davis all shared 3rd place alongside Carl Yuan. Cameron Smith tied for 10th while Cameron Champ took a share of 27th.
Australian PGA Championship leaderboard
-13 Adam Scott
-11 Michael Hendry
-10 Cameron Davis, Yechun Yuan, Min Woo Lee, Nick Flanagan, Wade Ormsby
-9 Andrew Dodt
-8 Minkyu Kim
-7 Johannes Veerman, Brett Rankin, Denzel Ieremia, Cameron Smith, Bryce Easton
What the winner said
"I'm stoked with this, it's been a long time coming and I'm really happy to win another #AUSPGA!"
Hear from a delighted @AdamScott 🎤 pic.twitter.com/iwxkWUjpcq
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 22, 2019
What’s next for the European Tour?
That’s it for 2019 – the calendar year, that is – and with that comes the close of another decade on tour.
The 2020 season will resume in the new year when we head to South Africa from January 9-12 and then onto Abu Dhabi for the first Rolex Series action of the campaign.
See the full schedule here.
Joe Hughes
Tour editor covering men's golf, women's golf and anything else that involves the word golf, really. The talk is far better than the game, but the work has begun to change that.
