Australian Aaron Baddeley takes a stunning victory at the PGA Tour Northern Trust Open
The Professional Golfer’s Association Tour Northern Trust Open played at the Riviera Country Club in California, has finally concluded in dramatic style with Australian Aaron Baddeley taking the victory. He was very emotional after dropping the final putt
and shared the moment of joy with his family, who were waiting around the green.
The crowds in the gallery were cheering for the Australian, who held his nerves and battled it out on the field against his opponents. Fred Couples birdied his first three holes to post his name on the leader board, as the crowds were roaring in support
of their favourite player, but it was the Aussie who kept his cool and managed a victory.
The 29-year-old Aussie had only a single blemish in the day on the par-4 12th where he made a double-bogey and lost two strokes. He instantly recovered on the next hole with a birdie to card a round of two-under par 69 for the final day which
was enough for a victory.
Baddeley won by two shots over his nearest competitor Vijay Singh of Fiji. Singh also completed the final round with a closing score of two-under par 69 to finish for the second spot. It was the best finish of Singh in two years.
Couples who is 51, has been suffering with a back injury for some time now, as he managed a great start to his day, but fell apart after a few holes. He made two bogeys on his finishing three holes to end up with a score of two-over par 73. It was the par-4,
7th where Freddy’s drive ended up in the thick rough and made a double-bogey. From there on, it was difficult for the veteran to recover the blemishes he made.
This was Baddeley’s third career win at the PGA Tour after 2006. He last marked his victory at Verizon Heritage Open a few years back, as he slipped to the number 224 spot in the World Rankings. This victory was not enough for him to move in the top-50,
as he will be looking forward to play the Masters at Augusta National in April.
Singh improved his rankings after finishing second in the championship. He moved out of the top 100 and this is his best finish since he last won the Deutsche Bank Open in 2008. He was very pleased with his putting stroke throughout the tournament.
The American Kevin Na finished with an even-par round of 71 and was placed third for the Open Championship. He made a couple of bogeys and birdies in his moderate round.
Baddeley was over-whelmed with his victory after such a long time. He was in great touch with the putter and also made a 20-foot long birdie putt to mark the victory.
In his interview Baddeley said, “It has definitely been a long wait for victory, but it was worth every bit. I really feel that the last couple years is actually what made it easier today." Baddeley received the winner’s purse of 1.17-million-dollars and
the coveted trophy.
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