Scott stays hot to make certain of Singapore win
Australia's Adam Scott belatedly claimed victory in the Barclays Singapore Open today, after Sunday's final round had been delayed when raging thunderstorms held up play for more than five hours.
That left Scott with 10 holes of the Serapong course to conquer, but the Aussie kept his composure to complete his fourth sub-70 round of the week, finishing three-under-par 68 today to end the tournament 17-under. That was enough to see him finish three strokes clear of the Dane Anders Hansen, also three-under on the day - meaning the 30-year-old Scott has now won this tournament three times, having previously triumphed in 2005 and '06.
Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell could only come home one-under-par yesterday, but that was enough to see him tie for third place along with Sweden's Rikard Karlberg on 13-under, while South Korea's Kyung-nam Kang was in fifth place on 12-under, despite a disappointing final round of one-over.
And England's Ian Poulter had a similarly underwhelming finish, the defending champion's early pair of birdies rendered meaningless when play resumed, after he shipped a couple of bogeys and then a double on the 15th. Poulter had ostensibly seemed Scott's likeliest rival, but the 34-year-old never really got going today, finishing two-over for the round and tied for sixth place on 11-under for the tournament.
Miguel Angel Jiménez found his form too late, the cigar-loving Spaniard shooting five-under today for a share of eighth place, while 25-year-old Martin Kaymer, already a four-time winner on the European Tour this year, was never really a factor this weekend; the German who could have become world No. 1 had he won the HSBC Champions finished here in 10th place, and scarcely looking like a world beater.
If Kaymer was disappointing though, his rival for top dog status Phil Mickelson proved even more of a damp squib. The American could only finish three-under for the tourney, in a tie for 37th place after going one-under in his final round - though that was a significant improvement on Saturday's round, when 'Lefty' shot a triple bogey on the 18th to finish four-over on the day.
If Mickelson's best days are behind him, Matteo Manassero's are surely still to come, but the Italian teenager surely won't remember this particular event with much affection. The 17-year-old finished in a tie for 45th place on one-under, having followed Mickelson's lead on the Saturday, coming home five-over with a couple of double-bogeys. He was two-under for his final round.
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