News

Adam Scott Finds Victory at Nelson

Published

18 years ago

Apr 27, 2008

Whether deserved or not, Adam Scott has the reputation as a golfer who struggles to close out tournaments.

So when Scott began the final round with the 54 hole lead, many were anxious to see how he would finish. Earlier this season Scott won the European Tour’s Qatar Masters with a final round 61. Considering his strong play during today’s victory at the TPC Las Colinas, many will be reconsidering their view on the young Australian’s ability to close. With a cold front moving through the area, cooler temperatures and gusting winds made the difficult course play even harder.

Scott faltered early in the round, with a bogey on the first hole and a double on the par three fifth hole. Ryan Moore began the day among a tight group chasing Scott and quickly caught him after birdies on 7 and 8. For much of the day Scott and Moore remained tied. Scott looked to distance himself on the driveable par 4 11th. After crushing a drive just past the green he left himself a short chip for eagle. Scott would leave with a disappointing par after running his chip five feet past and failing to convert his birdie opportunity. Almost simultaneously Moore stumbled as well with bogies on 13 and 14 to give Scott a one shot lead. However, almost as quickly as he got the lead, Scott would lose it when Moore birdied 16 and 17. A final par on 18 and Moore posted a final score of -7 to lead Scott by one.

Scott stepped onto 18th tee and it looked like the self-fulfilling prophecy was once again coming true – another lead and another loss. However something was different about today. Earlier on 17 with the pin on the far right of the green, Scott pulled his tee shot to the left leaving himself a long, difficult putt that had to traverse several ridges. It would have been an easy three putt during a practice round but Scott was burdened with the pressure of a championship. But he hit an excellent lag putt for a relatively easy par. On 18, Scott’s drive found the fairway leaving himself a short iron in which finished just behind the hole leaving a realistic birdie putt to tie Moore. After reading his putt, he picked a line, hit it, and it dropped to the bottom of the cup. Scott said, I hit it, I had a look, and it felt like it was pretty high. But it did break in the end and went in the middle, too."

The playoff began on the 18th. Moore hit his drive just off the fairway into the right rough but his approach found the green pin high. Scott hit a huge drive in the middle of the fairway and with 94 yards to the pin, his approach finished just inside Moore’s. Both players would two putt and take the playoff to the 196 yard par 3 17th. On the 17th, it was Moore who pulled his tee shot this time and left himself with a very difficult two putt similar to the one Scott faced in regulation. Scott took a daring line on his tee shot and it just barely cleared the hazard and bounced to a realistic birdie opportunity. Moore hit a tremendous lag putt that traversed the green to finish close to the pin and managed to make par. Scott missed his birdie putt and the two went back to 18 continuing the playoff.

The scales seemed to tip in Moore’s favor when Scott’s tee shot found the edge of the bunker, leaving him with a difficult stance and the ball below his feet. Moore hit the fairway and sent his approach just past the pin to the back edge of the green. The tension built as Scott took his stance and hit his 105 yard approach shot that came up well short leaving him a difficult 48 foot putt. As Scott lined up his putt he had a good feeling, "I had a pretty good line on it. Sometimes you can just see them straight away, and I got a good grip on that one. I had Tony (my caddy) looking at every other putt for me in the playoff, and I didn’t have him look at that one. Not that he can’t read a putt (laughter), but I just had a good feeling," said Scott.

The crowd roared as Scott’s putt tracked right on the hole and disappeared in the bottom of the cup. Moore still had an opportunity to extend the playoff, but his putt barely hit the lip and darted out of the hole leaving Scott with his first PGA Tour victory of the 2008 season.

One of the criticisms faced by Scott and some of the other young players on PGA Tour is a lack of "killer instinct" especially compared with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Scott rationalized his calm demeanor on the course saying, "I struggle to bring that out to show people. I don’t play well if I get too pumped up, if I don’t bring myself back down to hit a shot. It doesn’t come out. I was grinding inside today. I was playing hard. I wasn’t going to let it slip. I felt like I worked hard all week." Indeed, with his tremendous performance to catch Ryan Moore in regulation and focus during the playoff, a lack of desire is one thing Scott will never have to prove again.

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 Memorial Tournament

Published

2 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site this week at the Memorial Tournament, with both Alistair Cameron and Tour Photographer Greg Moore on the ground in Dublin, Ohio, where a strong field is assembled to pay homage to the Golden Bear.

In addition to WITB galleries, we’ve already been treated to an in-hand look at Tommy Fleetwood’s new TaylorMade Spider putters.

Check out links to all our photos below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

News

Tour Tech Rundown: Heroic Henley

Published

2 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Around the world, the golf wheel spun this final week in May of 2026. From New Jersey to Austria, with stops in Korea, Texas, and North Carolina (don’t let me route your next trip) the world’s finest put their golf games on display. There were three playoffs, some known commodities and some new talent. It was the sort of week that we hope to have at this point in the seasons. June and July afford double-digit major events, and perhaps, one of this week’s champions will use this success as a springboard to new heights. Time to run it all down, tech style, in this week’s Tour Tech Rundown.

Thanks to WITBHub, Today’s Golfer, GolfWRX, and Inside Tour Golf for initial research into equipment.

PGA Tour @ Charles Schwab Challenge: Heroic Henley denies Cole

Eric Cole did nearly everything that a fellow can do, to secure a first PGA Tour title. He stayed one shot clear of Ryder Cup player Ben Griffin. He kept US Open champion Gary Woodland and wunderkind Michael Brennan two shots distant. He posted 70 on day four to reach twelve under par. And then, Russell Henley revealed his Dr. Strange cloak. Henley made 47 feet of birdie putts on holes 16, 17, and 18, to jump from minus-nine to twelve-deep, and secured a spot in a playoff with Cole. The duo returned to the final tee, and put on a stripe show.

Both golfers found the fairway off the tee, and Henley improved on his regulation play with an approach to four feet. Cole did himself proud, tucking an iron to a dozen feet, but he was unable to convert the putt for three. Henley is one of the best putters on tour, and he proved it once more by draining a putt for a fourth consecutive birdie, and a sixth PGA Tour title. For Eric Cole, that first victory should come, and soon. He has done everything necessary to earn the chalice lift.

Henley’s Suitcase

Driver: Titleist TSi3 at 10 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 70g 6.5 TX
Metal: Titleist TS3 at 16.5 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist TSi2 at 21 degrees. Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT hybrid 100 TX
Iron: Titleist T250 4-iron. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 5-6 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 7-9 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 48 and 50 degrees. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 54 and 60 degrees. Shaft: rue Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue S400
Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron T5 Tour Prototype

LPGA @ Shoprite LPGA: Welcome back, Celine!

Soo Bin Joo had her eyes on a maiden LPGA title. She held the lead after two rounds, then hit a red light at the intersection of can-I and how-To. Joo posted plus-two on day three in New Jersey, and dropped to a T4 finish, which was still a career-best for the young Korean golfer. Instead of a new face, a familiar face returned to the top of the podium.

Celine Boutier was the It Girl in 2023. She collected four victories, including a major title at Evian. Boutier reached world number one status, then simply faded into the background. No wins came her way over the next 30 months. On Sunday, she collected LPGA victory number seven, at the same trace as LPGA victory number two.

Day three saw Boutier manage the windswept Seaview Bay course with six birdies and a bogey. She was challenged in the end by Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol, who signed for a 66 of her own. Yubol came up one shot shy of the top ladder rung. Finishing in third place at -7, two back of the winner, was Ireland’s Lauren Walsh.

Celine’s Suitcase

Driver: PXG 0311 Black Ops Tour-1 at 9 degrees. Shaft: Graphite Design AD IZ-5
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Black Ops at 19 and 22 degrees. Shaft: KBS Hybrid Prototype
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Gen5.
Iron: PXG 0311 P Gen 4 5-9 irons
Wedge: PXG 0311 T Gen 4 PW
Wedges: PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy II at 50, 54, 58 degrees
Putter: Bettinardi Studio Stock 3 DASS

DP World Tour @ Austrian Alpine: KK? KK!

Kota Kaneko has a rhythmic name. It has strong vowels and a run of voiceless stops in its crunchy K sounds. On Sunday in Austria, Kaneko put a stop to a challenge from Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia and everyone else, and claimed a first-ever title on the DP World Tour. Gouveia did well to reach 16-under par over four days, but Kaneko held firm, two shots in the clear.

Davis Bryant of the USA also forged a strong challenge for the win. He ended in a tie with Gouveia for second place. Kaneko began and finished his final round in a bit of a malaise, but he caught fire midway through. Birdies at 10, 12, and 13 provided the necessary cushion to cruise to the finish line without breaking a serious sweat.

Kaneko’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping Max G440
Metals: TaylorMade Qi4D at 15, 16.5, 21, and 24 degrees
Irons: TaylorMade P760 5 and 6 irons
Irons: TaylorMade P7TW 7-9 irons
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design at 46, 52, 56, and 60 degrees
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Cruiser Arm Lock #7

Korn Ferry Tour @ UNC Health Championship: Improbably Alvaro

Alvaro Ortiz may have had a bit of scare on the outward nine on Sunday, but he came through in clutch fashion in the end. Ortiz began the day bogey-double, and added another double bogey at the 11th hole. He was mired in a downward trend, spiraling away from the top of the leader’s board. Ortiz found hope at the 14th, where his first birdie of the day tumbled home. Inspired, he closed with birdies and 17 and 18 to catch Ross Steelman at 10-under par, and the duo returned to the 18th deck for overtime.

The extra session concluded in brief time. Ortiz, buoyed by his newly-retrieved confidence, hit the fairway with driver, then approached to six feet and drained the putt. Gobsmacked, Steelman could do little more than smile and applaud, as his run at the top came to a close. The victory was the first for Ortiz on the KFT, and will implant him squarely in the chase for a PGA Tour promotion.

Alvaro’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping G430 MAX driver at 9 degrees loft
Metal: Ping G430 MAX 3W
Iron: Ping iDi Driving Iron
Irons: Ping Blueprint S irons
Wedges
Putter: Scottsdale TR Piper C

A party on the green!

Alvaro’s time comes in Raleigh with his first win @UNCHealthChamp ? pic.twitter.com/2dmtZdbSzk

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 31, 2026

LIV @ Korea: Me llamo Joaquin

Chile’s Joaquin Niemann had been away from the LIV winner’s circle throughout all of 2026. This week in Korea, he reminded us that he is still a force to consider. Niemann chased down Taylor Gooch over the closing holes at Asiad Country Club, then claimed victory with a hole-one birdie in extra time. Bryson DeChambeau claimed solo third, one shot in arrears at minus-eleven. Dustin Johnson finished on fourth, one putt farther back.

Niemann’s Suitcase