Round 4: World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational
August 7 2011
7:45 pm
Inside the numbers: Great Scott
Adam Scott got his eighth career victory Sunday at Firestone Country Club, where he ranked in the top 10 in the field in driving accuracy, greens hit and putting. He also earned 550 FedExCup points and moved to 15th in the standings. Here are some other numbers on Scott from this week:
* He held at least a share of the lead after each round this week. Prior to that, 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 when he finished in a tie for 10th.
* In eight previous starts at Firestone Country Club, scott had only finished under par twice (2006, 5 under; 2010, 5 under).
* His opening-round 62 is the lowest start by a winner at the Bridgestone Invitational. Stewart Cink had the previous record with a 63 (2004).
* For the week, Scott averaged 319.6 yards off the tee, hit 64 percent of his fairways, 71 percent of his greens and picked up 7.352 strokes putting on the field.
7:15 pm
It wasn’t Day’s day — again
On Sunday, Jason Day recorded his eighth top-10 of the season, which ranks second on the PGA TOUR. What he’s missing, of course, is a win.
Day shot a 1-under 69 in the final round, but he slipped up early and was never able to recover. After a birdie on the opening hole, the Aussie bogeyed the par-5 second, which must have felt like a double bogey given how many birdies were being made there this week.
In the end, Day’s four birdies were mostly erased by three bogeys and a balky putter — he took 31 putts — and he had to settle for another good, but not great, result.
“After I bogeyed [No. 2], I knew I needed to just stick around, just see what I can do.” Day said. “There were plenty of holes left, and it felt like the day went really, really quick today.
“I felt like I hit it great all day, and you know, when I had the opportunities, I just didn’t capitalize on them.”
As a result, Day finished five shots back of Adam Scott, who, in fairness to Day, was largely unbeatable Sunday with a bogey-free 65. Day, a fellow Aussie, on the other hand was just “average.”
”When you have those opportunities, when your game is just average through the day, sticking around, those opportunities, if you hole them, they can kind of propel you to make more birdies coming home,” Day said.
And in the end, they never came for Day.
6:26 pm
McIlroy ready for final major
AKRON, Ohio — Four rounds in the 60s at Firestone Country Club have put Rory McIlroy in a very positive frame of mind entering the PGA Championship.
McIlroy rode Sunday’s 67 into a tie for sixth at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. He had a very solid afternoon on a major-caliber course, hitting all but three fairways and greens in regulation while using 27 putts.
"Yeah, it’s been a very productive week to shoot four rounds in the 60s, have a good weekend," McIlroy said. "There’s a lot of positives going into next week, which is great. It would have been nice to give myself a little more of a chance to win this week, just didn’t hole enough putts. But you know, again, it was a good week and a good confidence builder going into next week definitely."
McIlroy will play the first two rounds of the PGA Championship with Charl Schwartzel and Darren Clarke. He says he’s comfortable with being in the limelight at the Atlanta Athletic Club.
"I’m playing well," he said. "I’m really happy with the way I’m hitting it and driving it a lot better than I have done the last couple weeks, so yeah, I’m ready for it."
6:17 pm
Congratulate Scott on his victory
Adam Scott closed out a wire-to-wire victory with Sunday’s 5-under 65, good enough to give him a four-shot cushion over Rickie Fowler and Luke Donald. Post your note of congratulations for Scott, who earned 550 FedExCup points with his eighth career PGA TOUR victory.
5:50 pm
Scott wins at Firestone
It took six tournaments for Tiger Woods and Steve Williams to get their first win together. It took Williams and Adam Scott just four with Scott shooting a 65 to win by four Sunday the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.
While Williams was on the bag for 13 of Woods’ majors, not to mention seven wins at Firestone, this victory stood out to the caddie.
"I’ve been caddieing for 33 years, 145 wins, and that’s the best week of my life,” Williams told CBS afterward.
While Williams played a role in Scott’s victory — for Williams it was his eighth at Firestone with seven previous victories under Woods — most if not all of the credit should go to Scott. The Aussie was flawless on Sunday with five birdies and no bogeys. It was a microcosm of his week with Scott ranking in the top 10 in putting and driving. He also played the back nine at Firestone in a combined 12 under with 13 birdies — four of which came on Sunday, including on the final hole.
“Today it was on; I stayed so patient,” Scott said. “It was a good round of golf.
“To win here at this place, and a World Golf Championships it’s huge.”
So was Williams’ help, according to Scott.
“Are u kidding me?” Scott continued. “He knows this place better than anyone.”
The victory is the eighth of Scott’s PGA TOUR career and his first since last year’s Valero Texas Open. With the win, Scott earns 550 FedExCup points.
5:24 pm
Westwood pleased with closing 65
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM
AKRON, Ohio — Lee Westwood saved his best round for last at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.
Westwood’s 65 on Sunday tied Aaron Baddeley and Matt Kuchar for the low of the day and gave the Englishman a top-10 finish at 9 under. Equally importantly, it sent Westwood off to the PGA Championship with a boost of confidence.
Westwood had been searching after missing the cut at the British Open. He enlisted the aid of sports psychologist Bob Rotella, who works with his friend Darren Clarke, and short-game guru Dave Stockton, who has consulted with Rory McIlroy — with the fact that both Northern Irishmen have won majors this year not lost on Westwood.
"It’s been pretty good," Westwood said of his performance at Firestone. "I haven’t hit many bad shots. I think I’ve missed — not counting semi-rough where sometimes it runs off these fairways — probably three fairways so that’s pretty good golf around here. I have not missed many greens either."
Westwood, who used 27 putts on Sunday, said he felt he was making progress in his putting.
"It’s moving along nicely," he said. "I don’t want to get too ahead of myself, but today I felt a lot more confident on the greens, and saw the ball setting off on the line that I picked a lot more often."
And Westwood is actually looking forward to playing Atlanta Athletic Club, which by all accounts will feature severe rough and challenging greens for next week’s PGA. "That’s good the way I’m hitting the ball, the harder the better," he said.
4:50 pm
Scott coasting toward win
We’re deep into the final round with the leader on the back nine at Firestone, where said leader Adam Scott is now three shots clear with four holes to play.
Ryo Ishikawa is the closest to Scott, while Rickie Fowler is four back.
But they have their work cut out for them. Scott has dominated the back nine this week, playing it in 11 under through three-plus rounds. Here in the final round Scott has been flawless with four birdies — three of which have come on the back nine — and no bogeys.
3:24 pm
Woods needs big week at PGA
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM
AKRON, Ohio — We won’t know where Tiger Woods stands in the FedExCup until after the Reno-Tahoe Open is completed tonight.
But we do know that he’ll need a good finish next week at the PGA Championship to make the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. That’s his last chance since Woods said Sunday he had "family commitments" that would keep him from playing in the Wyndham Championship, the final event of the Regular Season.
Woods, who is a two-time FedExCup winner, started the week at No. 135 in the standings. He was projected at No. 124 when he finished off his final round at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational but that didn’t include the points awarded in Reno.
It was clear, though, that Woods wasn’t ruling out a run toward the $10 million FedExCup bonus. When asked about his fall schedule, he said, “It depends on how I’m doing in the Playoffs.”
Woods, who was playing in his first event since May, closed with a round of 70 at Firestone that included five birdies, three bogeys and one double bogey. He finished 1 over for the tournament and was tied for 38th when he signed his scorecard.
"I had it in spurts this week," Woods said. "I hit it really well, and then I’d lose it and get it back. Today was a good example of that. I hit it well starting out, then completely lost it there, and tried to piece it back together at the end. I found my putting stroke at the end, too, which was nice.
"… I’m still struggling with my alignment and trusting the fact that the ball doesn’t shape as much as it used to. I don’t cut the ball as much, I don’t draw the ball as much, the pattern is much tighter. It’s weird when I look up the fairway or look at the flags; I’m used to seeing the ball move a lot more in my lines, so I’m still fiddling with that."
Woods said his left leg felt “great” with no lingering affects from the strains to the medial collateral ligament or Achilles tendon. He said he would go to Atlanta for next week’s PGA “absolutely encouraged” but his first competitive performance in three months.
"I just keep plodding along,” Woods said. “You have to understand, I’m fresh. I haven’t played. So it’s nice for me to get out there in this competitive atmosphere no matter how I was playing just to figure out how to score because I haven’t been forced to score.
“At home playing money games with my buddies is just not quite the same. Being out here and being forced to have to post a score, hit shots, that’s a different deal.”
2:52 pm
Woods finishes week over par
For a second straight year, Tiger Woods will finish well back in a tournament he’s won seven times.
Woods shot an even-par 70 Sunday at Firestone, where he ended his week at 1-over par after failing to break par in three of his four rounds. Woods’ only sub-par score came on Thursday when he shot 68.
If there’s an upside for Woods, it’s that he finished strong with three straight birdies over his final four holes. Still, that was about the only bright spot on Sunday for Woods, who hit just 36 percent of his fairways en route to five birdies, three bogeys and one double bogey.
“I was hitting it well then absolutely lost it,” Woods said. “I got it back at the end but it’s one of those things I’m still getting a feel for. I keep going back to my old patterns. I was fighting that there for a little bit.”
Woods went on to say that he needs more reps on the range and in competition and that he’s still trying adjust to his ball flight not curving as much as it used to, calling it “an interesting concept.”
2:28 pm
Tight at the top
Adam Scott regained the lead at Firestone thanks to a birdie on the par-5 second. Now the question is can he stay there?
He certainly has some pretty stout experience on his bag in Steve Williams, who caddied for Tiger Woods in all seven of his victories at Firestone. But Scott also has plenty of company backing up behind him with 10 players within four shots of his lead.
Among them are Ryo Ishikawa, who is a stroke back, and Rickie Fowler, who along with Jason Day, is two back after birdies on two of his first four holes.
Luke Donald is also right there at 10 under. Should Donald go on to win, it would be his second World Golf Championships victory of the year. Only Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods have ever won two WGC events in a season.
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