Scott misses out on home title after putter fails him

They were on his side last year when he needed them most, in the playoff with Angel Cabrera at the U.S. Masters, golf's most pressure-packed tournament.

Scott misses out on home title after putter fails him

(Reuters)





Scott held his nerve that time, sinking a clutch putt on the second extra hole to become the first Australian to win the coveted green jacket.

But the golfing gods have not been kind to him since. On Sunday, at the Australian PGA championship in his home town, they were downright cruel.

Despite splitting the fairways time and time again with his reliable booming drives, Scott was unable to get any of his pitches close enough to the hole to make the birdie he needed to clinch the title, which was decided in a three-way playoff with Greg Chalmers and Wade Ormsby.

The playoff eventually went seven holes, with Scott missing chance after chance before finally handing the championship to Chalmers when he three putted from within 30 feet and Chalmers two putted from twice as far.

"In a play off it is a lottery," Scott said. "This one went on and on and on."

For Scott, it was not the first time he had let a tournament slip from his grasp.

He was once branded a choker after blowing a four-shot lead with four holes to play in the 2012 British Open.

Scott seemed to have exorcised his demons with his breakthrough at Augusta National but has only endured more heartbreaking losses since.

A year ago, he led the Australian Open by a shot with one hole to play, and was seemingly poised to complete his homeland's "triple crown" after winning the Australian Masters and Australian PGA.

But a bogey saw him lose the title to Rory McIlroy, who started the day four shots behind Scott but clinched it with a birdie on the final hole.

Earlier this year, Scott led the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando by seven strokes after two rounds, knowing a win would see him overtake Tiger Woods as the world number one.

He was still three shots ahead at the start of the last round but frittered away his lead and eventually finished third.

On Sunday, his fragile putting and failure to get any of his wedge shots closer let him down again, as she squandered a strong of opportunities to win the Australian PGA for the second time in a row.

"(It was) the story of the week - I didn't make any putts," he said.

"I had so many looks. When you have putts to win the tournament you have to make them."





(Writing by Julian Linden; Editing by Patrick Johnston)


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Source: Reuters


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