AUGUSTA: Adam Scott was left to rue what might have been after his Masters defence ended with a whimper on Sunday.
The Australian's prospects of claiming back to back titles
were already a long shot after he started the final day six shots behind
the eventual winner Bubba Watson.
Scott knew that he needed to shoot a low score to put any
pressure on the leaders but try as he might he was unable to mount a
challenge.
Scott closed with a 72 to finish the tournament at one-over-par, nine strokes behind Watson in a tie for 14th.
"I wasn't really thinking about anything, other than trying to right the ship and try to get something going," he said.
"That was just the story of my weekend with some sloppy stuff around the greens, and that doesn't bode well here."
Scott became the first Australian to win the Masters when he beat
Angel Cabrera in a thrilling playoff last year and made a flying start
to his title defence when he opened with a three-under-par 69.
He salvaged a 72 in the second round after playing in tough
conditions when the wind started to blow but tumbled down the
leaderboard with a third round 76.
The 33-year-old was one of the best players of the tournament
off the tee, hitting long and accurate drives, but struggled badly on
the greens.
"It's not been my best week with the putter. My pace was off on the long putts," he said.
"And when it gets on fire around here, you're going to have a
lot of long putts. And I left so much work with them, that nothing was
talking distance.
"I missed my share of them and had some three-putts and it
just makes it very hard to have really good scores every day around
here."
Scott has been a regular contender at the Masters in recent
years after making his move on the final day. In addition to winning
last year, he finished tied for second in 2011.
For a brief moment, Scott looked like he was about to make
another charge on Sunday when he reeled off three birdies in a row from
the seventh hole, but he could not maintain it on the back nine, where
he has excelled in recent years.
"A poor nine holes on Saturday stopped all my momentum and
had me on the back foot and I just couldn't go anywhere from there," he
said.
"That's what it's like at majors. You're nine good holes from winning it and nine bad holes from being out of it."Without being too critical I think I just played an average nine holes and that was going to make it hard for me." Despite his disappointment, Scott said he loved the whole
experience of defending the title, from hosting the annual champions
dinner to presenting Watson with the green jacket in Butler Cabin.
"It's been a week I'll never forget," he said.
"The experiences I've had in playing a tournament as the
defending champion and as a champion, and all the ovations that you
receive around here is amazing memories for me."
Reuters
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