ORLANDO, Fla. – Adam Scott seemingly made everything he looked at Thursday at Bay Hill. By late Sunday afternoon, the hole must have looked like the size of a Dixie cup.
After needing just 23 putts in Round 1 and extending his lead to seven shots at the halfway point, Scott struggled with his putter the rest of the way and ultimately finished third, two shots behind winner Matt Every.
“I didn’t putt well at all today,” said Scott, who took 32 putts in the final round, his highest total of the week. “I was just a little out of sorts for whatever reason.”
In the first round, Scott brushed in four putts longer than 19 feet. On Sunday, he made just one longer than 6 feet – an 11-footer on 15 that kept him alive for the title.
Arnold Palmer Invitational: Articles, videos and photos
On 16, Scott faced a 20-foot eagle putt that would have tied him for the lead, but he burned the edge with his first attempt, then misread the 4-foot comebacker and settled for a deflating par. On the next hole, he pulled a 7-footer for par. He closed with 76.
“If nothing else,” he said, “it’s a good reminder on how much putting practice I need to do before going to the Masters and just how important it is. If I think back to last year, I made every putt that you expect to in that last round and ultimately that’s what gave me the chance to win.”