Highlights from the final round of Barclay Scottish Open – Part 3
Lee Westwood once again failed to impress his fans and critics with poor strokes and weak putting. The Englishman teed-off from the front, as the greens there were less severe than the greens at the back. However, the 38-year-old pro could not take advantage of the setup and dropped a shot against two birdies, which left him with a score of one-under-par, 35. On his way to the back, the player carded three more birdies and wrapped the day with a score of 33.
Westwood posted a score of 68, which left him standing in the Top 14 players on the leaderboard. The player admitted that he did not give his best performance in the three-day session and could have done a lot better on certain holes.
While speaking to reporters after the day’s play, Westwood remarked, “It's not a very good score, because I think the course is there for the taking: I just made too many mistakes.”
A six-way tie was seen for the 25th spot on the leaderboard, which included 2010 Grand Slam winner Ernie Els, Paul Lawrie, David Lynn, Simon Dyson and Alastair Forsyth.
It has been a missed year for South African, Ernie Els. The player competed in six events out of which he missed the cut in two. Moreover, the lowest score attained by him at any of these tournaments was 68, which proved that the form he carried into the tournament wasn’t ideal. However, a very interesting aspect was noticed in Els’ game at the Castle Stuart. The 41-year-old veteran dropped only three shots in 54 holes, attaining a success rate of a staggering 94 percent.
The lowest score of the group was composed by Forsyth, who posted a 65 with the help of seven birdies and one eagle in the day.
2010 Ryder Cup captain of the European team, Colin Montgomerie wrapped the day with a score of two-under-par. The Scottish player started the final round from the front with an eagle, which he fired on the second hole for the second time in three days. The player clipped one more birdie on the front and wrapped it with a score of 33, a decent start indeed. However, things got a little out of control for Montgomerie on the back, as he double-bogeyed the par-3, eleventh and dropped two consecutive shots starting from the 13th hole.
To counter for the huge loss, the player found some motivation to fire three back-to-back birdies and dragged himself back into the realms of par. Unfortunately for Montgomerie, even saving par could not help him secure a spot in the Open Championship, which is the next major of the season.
A disappointed Montgomerie said while speaking to reporters, “It was going well and then I sort of ran out of puff. It was always too soon, too short. So there you go. A week off next week.”
The Scott will now have to wait until Lytham St. Anne's in 2012 for another opportunity to win the Open.
Article continued in Part 4…
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