Scott targets Major glory

Adam Scott feels he is ready to contend for major titles after securing his fourth European Tour victory in the Scandic Carlsberg Scandinavian Masters.

Scott carded a final-round 69 for an 11-under-par total of 277 in Malmo, two shots clear of England’s Nick Dougherty.

Dougherty birdied the last to avoid a four-way tie for second, the 18-foot putt worth €85,000 to the 21-year-old, with his Walker Cup team-mate Luke Donald, Scotland’s Andrew Coltart and Swede Robert Karlsson sharing third on eight under.

Scott has been tipped for greatness after an outstanding amateur career but has so far only one top-10 finish in a major to his credit.

The 23-year-old also missed the cut in the Open championship last month after an opening 82 at Royal St George’s, but travels to the USPGA Championship next week full of confidence.

“I said at the start of the year I would like to contend in majors but my game was not in any kind of shape, but now I feel I’m free to go there and just play,” said Scott, whose best finish in a major is a tie for ninth in the US Masters last year.

“I don’t have any pressure on me and this takes a bit of weight off my shoulders. I can go there with nothing holding me back. I played the US Amateur there in 1998 and like the course, even though I lost in the first round.

“Look at what happened at the Open. Ben Curtis hung in there and got a score in the clubhouse that proved good enough. It’s just important for me to keep the positive vibes going with the putter.”

After two months of being let down by the shortest club in the bag, Scott did not have a single three-putt all week despite the greens not being of the highest quality, and admitted: “That made a huge difference.

“I feel if I don’t three-putt this is where I should be at the end of the week and I’m very happy. It’s been a year since I last won and it feels a long time in between drinks.”

Dougherty was delighted to claim second place outright courtesy of his closing birdie and final-round 69, the £150,000 prize securing his card for next season and allowing him to promise, if not entirely convincingly, to follow doctor’s orders and get some rest as he battles glandular fever.

“I have shot one under on the weekend on a course that’s pretty difficult with a really bad third round,” said Dougherty, who had been three ahead at halfway but found himself chasing home Scott for the second time having finished a distant runner-up in Qatar last year.

“To come out and shoot three under is big, especially with the position I was in with my tour card. It would have been quite easy just to be a couple of shots worse and I wouldn’t have done it.

“All in all it’s a great week for me. It was a big putt on the last. It gives me heart after all those I missed to hole the one that really mattered. I knew how much that was worth. To go ahead and do it means a lot to me.

“But I need to work on my golf game. As chuffed as I am to do what I have done I kind of blew the tournament away on Saturday. You have got to think Adam Scott with a three-shot lead would have sealed the deal but I didn’t. I let all the boys back in and it cost me yesterday.”