Eagle-eye Scott scorches to 10-shot win
Scott carded a final-round 63 for an astonishing 26-under-par total of 262 to claim the first prize of £166,660, his second win of the season and third European Tour title.
The 22-year-old’s 10-shot winning margin bettered by two strokes the previous best this season, set by Retief Goosen in winning the Johnnie Walker Classic in January.
It was also the lowest score on tour this season, beating Jose Maria Olazabal’s total of 22 under in the Hong Kong Open, and was just one short of the all-time European Tour record of 27 under held by Americans John Daly and Jerry Anderson.
Scott was an incredible 22 under par for the 20 par fives this week, and although his 63 will not count as a joint course record as preferred lies were in operation due to the wet conditions, it does earn him a Rolex watch worth more than £3,000 for the lowest round of the tournament.
Scotland’s Raymond Russell closed with a 68 to take second place, his best finish since winning his only tour title in 1996.
Sam Torrance was a shot further back in third, the Ryder Cup captain also enjoying his best finish since his last win in 1998, the day after his 49th birthday.
‘‘When you’re hot, you’re hot,’’ admitted a modest Scott after a grandstand finish of eagle-birdie-eagle on the last three holes. ‘‘It was almost winner’s luck, there is no real pressure on you when you’re leading by a few, you can just go and play your shots.
‘‘It’s an important win for me to win in Britain and under some different conditions. I’ve won in perfect conditions (in South Africa and Qatar) but this was testing, especially on Friday.’’
A superb 65 amidst a continual downpour on Friday set the foundations for Scott’s victory and more than made up for his disappointment of missing out on the NEC Invitational in Seattle this week.
‘‘There was one reason to come here and that was to win,’’ added the Queenslander, who dropped out of the top 50 in the world rankings after missing five cuts in six events mid-season.
‘‘I feel like I should be up there in the top 50 and I’ve gone about it the right way.
‘‘I can take a lot of confidence from this win if I get myself into contention in another big event. It was disappointing and frustrating to play so badly after finishing ninth in the Masters at Augusta.”
Scott however paid the price for taking three weeks off after the Masters and vowed not to make the same mistake again. ‘‘That was bad scheduling and this time I’ll have a good think about it and try to use it more to my advantage now I’m playing well.”
‘‘I’ll have next week off and then play the Korean Open before the German Masters.’’
Runner-up Russell had been languishing in 133rd on the money list at the start of the week, but ironically reaped the rewards of some hard work with coach Bob Torrance, the father of the man he pipped to second place.
Scott’s five-shot lead at the start of the day was briefly cut to three as Russell birdied the first two holes. But Scott’s birdie on the second, coupled with a dropped shot from Russell on the third, soon restored the Australian’s overnight lead.
A birdie on the fourth stretched the lead still further and although Torrance closed within four thanks to three birdies and an eagle in his first eight holes, Scott was never in real danger of being caught. Two more straightforward birdies on the par-five ninth and 12th kept him firmly out of sight and there was still time for another grandstand finish.
He finished eagle-birdie-birdie on Saturday but went one better with an eagle on the 16th, birdie on the 17th and 35-foot eagle putt on the 18th to be home in just 30 shots.
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