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Former Rebel Wins PGA Tour Event
Adam Scott takes Booz Allen Classic title.
June 27, 2004 By JOSEPH WHITE, AP Sports Writer POTOMAC, Md. (AP) - After having his lead cut to two on the back nine, former UNLV golfer Adam Scott survived an adventure with a cart path to hold off Charles Howell III for a four-shot victory Sunday at the Booz Allen Classic. Howell, trailing by seven shots after six holes, made a charge with five straight birdies on the back nine. But Scott recovered with back-to-back birdies and saved par with a tough 11-foot putt at the 16th to avoid tying Norman and three others for the biggest final-day collapse in PGA Tour history. An Australian with Greg Norman's coach and Norman's former caddie might have felt an extra dose of nerves taking a six-stroke lead into the final round of a tournament. No worries, mate - well, maybe a few. Scott closed with a 68 for a 21-under-par 263 total, tying the tournament and TPC at Avenel course record set by Billy Andrade and Jeff Sluman in 1991, when Andrade won in a playoff. Scott also broke the 36-hole Avenel record on Friday and tied the 54-hole mark on Saturday. Howell, who broke the 18-hole record with a 61 on Thursday, finally faded when he three-putted the 17th and finished a 65 for a 267 total. Defending champion Rory Sabbatini shot a 66 to finish third with a 269, six strokes back. Olin Browne, six behind and in second place going into the round, finished tied for seventh after shooting a 72. It is the third PGA Tour victory and seventh worldwide win for Scott, who won the Players Championship in March. At No. 15 in the world, the 23-year-old Aussie was by far the highest ranked player in the field, and he clinically handled a course he had never seen until last Tuesday. The only players to lose after taking a six-stroke lead into the final day on the PGA Tour are Bobby Cruickshank, Gay Brewer, Hal Sutton and Scott's boyhood idol Norman, who had the infamous Sunday meltdown to lose to Nick Faldo at the 1996 Masters. Tony Navarro was carrying Norman's bag at Augusta that day, and Butch Harmon was Norman's coach. Both now work with Scott, whose powerful drives and unflappable confidence have made him one of the sport's rising stars. Scott led Howell by seven after making a third straight birdie at the fifth hole, but the gap started to narrow when Scott overshot the green at the par-3 ninth and made bogey. Howell then birdied Nos. 11-15 with putts of 9, 20, 13, 11 and 18 feet. Meanwhile, Scott put his tee shot at the edge of the cart path to the right of the fairway at the par-5 13th, one of the easiest holes on the course. After three failed drops, Scott placed the ball on a slope and made a nice shot to the green - but then he three-putted for par. At the short 14th, Navarro appeared to overrule Scott's preference for the driver. Scott used an iron instead on his tee shot and birdied the hole with a 12-foot putt. Scott also started the day slowly, putting two drives in rough, an approach in a bunker and missing a 3-foot birdie putt in his first two holes. But he made a difficult 26-foot putt along a ridge at the third, a 17-footer at the fourth and an 8-footer at the fifth to get his score to 20-under and the lead up to seven. The record scores and relatively good weather over four days made for an appropriate way to bid a temporary farewell to the Avenel course. The tournament will be held at nearby Congressional Country Club next year while Avenel gets an overhaul.
Three former Rebels have won PGA Tour events, including Scott. The others are Chris Riley (2002 Reno-Tahoe Open) and Chad Campbell (2003 PGA Tour Championship).
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