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 Scott frittered away a three-shot lead in the final round at the
Arnold Palmer Invitational, making just one birdie in a
four-over-par 76 as he plunged to finish third behind winner Matt
Every at Bay Hill in Orlando.
Instead of overtaking Tiger Woods at the top of the rankings and
heading to Augusta in a fortnight as a clear favorite, the
33-year-old Australian again faces questions about the apparent
fragility of his putting.
"I'm annoyed I didn't putt at all well today," Scott, who also blew
a four-shot lead in the final round at the Australian Open less than
four months ago, told Golf Channel.
"I really think the putting is let me down on both those occasions.
"Today was a bit shaky. My short game just wasn't there, so that
needs to tighten up. It probably shows I need to do a bit more work
on it to hold up under the most pressure."
Scott scored worse each day, shooting 62, 68, 71, 76.
He had a seven-shot halfway lead and seemed headed for a massive
victory. A final round one-over 73 would have been enough to win.
Nobody has blown such a large 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour since Tom
Weiskopf also led by seven strokes at the 1975 Westchester Classic.
Scott drove the ball with his customary aplomb on Sunday, with the
notable exception of the par-four third, where he yanked his tee
shot into the water, but his iron play was inconsistent and putter
cold.
He sank only one putt longer than seven feet, and shockingly missed
a three-footer at the par-five 16th that would have pulled him back
within a shot of the lead.
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If there is one positive, it is that he will not suffer from
complacency heading to the April 10-13 Masters.
"Playing in contention was fun and I definitely identified a couple
of areas I'll be working on the next couple of weeks," he said.
"It was good to be back in the mix again. If nothing else, it's a
good reminder on how much putting practice I need to do going to the
Masters and just how important it is.
"And if I think back to last year, I made every putt that you expect
to in that last round and ultimately that's maybe what gave me the
chance to win."
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina;
editing by Greg Stutchbury)
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