Adam Scott Wins World Golf Championships
Adam Scott wins the World Golf Championships by 4 strokes over Rickie Fowler. Scott joins Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and Henrik Stenson as the only four players to win THE PLAYERS Championship and a World Golf Championships event in their careers. Scott now has the fourth most wins by an Australian on TOUR: Greg Norman (20), Steve Elkington (10), Stuart Appleby (10) and Adam Scott (8). Scott moves to No. 15 in the FedExCup standings, almost guaranteeing a spot in the season-ending TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. He won at East Lake in 2006, the year before the FedExCup began, but has only qualified for the PGA TOUR Playoffs finale twice in the past four years.
The third-round leader/co-leader has now won eight of 13 times at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone
Invitational. Scott is the first third-round leader to go on to victory since 2008 when Vijay Singh won after finishing
54 holes tied with Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood. Scott held at least a share of the lead after each round of the Bridgestone Invitational. Scott’s only lead in a World Golf Championships event coming into this week was after the first round of the Bridgestone Invitational in 2006 (finished T10). Scott, who has eight PGA TOUR wins, had never led or shared the lead in all three rounds of a PGA TOUR event and gone on to win. Scott has now won six of eight events when holding the 54-hole lead/co-lead. This is Scott’s ninth time playing the Bridgestone Invitational. In his eight previous starts at Firestone Country Club, the Australian has only finished under par twice (2006 -5, 2010 -5).
This is the fourth event that Steve Williams has caddied for Adam Scott. Williams was on the bag for Tiger Woods
for all of his seven victories at the Bridgestone Invitational.
Scott’s opening round 62 is the lowest start by a winner at the Bridgestone Invitational. Stewart Cink had the record with a 63 in 2004.
Rickie Fowler led the field with only 100 total putts this week. Fowler finished T33 in his first start at the Bridgestone Invitational last year. Fowler has two top 10s in four previous starts in World Golf Championships events (T9/2011 Accenture Match Play Championship and 8/2011 Cadillac Championship). Fowler, who moves into the top 30 of the FedExCup standings, records his fourth top-10 finish of the season. He had seven top 10s in 2010.
Luke Donald moves from fifth to third in the FedExCup standings.
Ryo Ishikawa’s T4 finish is his best in seven starts in the World Golf Championships. In March, Ishikawa pledged to donate all of his earnings in 2011 to help the survivors of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated his Japan’s Pacific coast. He is also donating $1,200 for every birdie he makes. Ishikawa was looking to be the first winner in TOUR history born in the 1990s. Ishikawa was trying to become the second-youngest winner in PGA TOUR history, exactly one week older than Johnny McDermott was when he won the 1911 U.S. Open at the age of 19 years, 10 months, 14 days. Ishikawa is gunning for an automatic spot on Norman’s squad for the November 2011 event in Australia. Entering this week he was ranked No. 13 in the International Team standings, with the top 10 automatically making the team on Sept. 18. In 2009, Ishikawa was one of Norman’s captain’s picks (with Adam Scott). He was ranked No. 20 in the standings at the time the team was finalized. Ishikawa has recorded nine victories on the Japan Golf Tour, but has yet to win an event on the PGA TOUR schedule. Only three Japanese players have ever won on TOUR: Ryuiji Imada, Shigeki Maruyama (3) and Isao Aoki.
Jason Day has eight top-10 finishes in 14 starts on the PGA TOUR this year, including runner-up finishes at the Masters and the U.S. Open. Day moves to 12th in the FedExCup standings. Entering the week, he was No. 1 in the International Presidents Cup Team standings.
Final Round Leaderboard
Adam Scott 263 (-17)
Rickie Fowler 267 (-13)
Luke Donald 267 (-13)
Jason Day 268 (-12)
Ryo Ishikawa 268 (-12)
