Great Scott! EX-UNLV star claims Genesis Invitational
With bloated 77, Woods last among 68 players who made cut
LOS ANGELES — Adam Scott contemplated the safe shot to get him out of his mess on the 15th hole at Riviera, knowing it would probably cost him his twoshot lead but not yet the tournament.
On a Sunday filled with big blunders and untimely mistakes, Scott changed his mind.
“I thought, ‘Well, you can maybe win the tournament if you hit a great flop shot here.’ So Ithoughti might as well go for it,” Scott said after his two-shot victory in the Genesis Invitational, this one that counts in the record book.
The flop shot to 5 feet allowed him to escape with bogey. Two holes later, he ran in a 10-foot birdie putt for a two-shot cushion and carried that to a 1-under 70 and a win that felt overdue.
Scott won the Australian PGA two months ago and hadn’t played since then. Still, it had been nearly four years since his last PGA Tour victory. That changed at Riviera, his favorite course, on a final day so tough no shot shot better than 68.
Scott made clutch putts for birdie, par and bogey. But it was that decision — and the shot — that stood out.
“I had a little bit of that kind of mindset, not just today but the whole week, of ‘what have I got to lose?’ … Give myself a good chance to get back in the winner’s circcle on the PGA Tour,” he said.
The victory comes 15 years after Scott won a playoff at Riviera that didn’t count as official because rain shortened the tournament to 36 holes. He earned every bit of this victory, his 14th on the PGA Tour and 29th worldwide.
So tense was Sunday that nearly a dozen players had a chance to win. Five players had a share of the least at some point.
The list included Rory Mcilroy, who never recovered from a triple bogey; Harold Varner III, who chunked his 3-wood off the 10th tee so badly that the shot traveled 129 yards and led to double bogey. Matt Kuchar went 15 holes with three bogeys and no birdies to fall behind.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect ittobeasdifficultasitwas, but everyone was finding ittoughoutthere,”mcilroy said after a 73 that left him in a tie for fifth, but still No. 1 in the world. “Adam held on well at the end.”
Tiger Woods had his problems, too, but he was never in contention.
Woods played a five-hole stretch late in his round at 5 over and shot 77 to finish last among the 68 players who made the cut. It was the first time Woods has finished last alone since the Memorial in 2015.
“Good news, I hit every ball forward, not backwards, a couple sideways,” Woods said.
Scott finished at 11-under 273 and moved to No. 7 in the world, his first time in the top 10 in nearly three years.
Scott won by two shots over Sung Kang, who started eagle-double bogey and shot 69; Scott Brown, who played bogey-free on the back nine and birdied the 18th for a 68; and Kuchar, whohada72.
“I’m stoked with this,” Scott said. “It’s a big step, whatever point in my career I’m at. I haven’t won for three years. This feels very special.”
Champions:
At Naples, Florida, Scott Parel overcame a three-shot deficit and closed with an 8-under 63 to win the Chubb Classic by two shots over Bob Estes. Parel finished at 17-under 196 on The Classic at Lely Resort course for his third career victory on the PGA Tour Champions. Estes shot 64 and finished second, while Kevin Sutherland (67) and Bernhard Langer (69) tied for third.