|
 Four years after getting married at the resort, Bowditch became the
latest Australian to win the PGA Tour stop in Irving, Texas, when he
pulled away with a decisive four-birdie burst over the final eight
holes.
“This is a very special place for myself and my wife. We took some
wedding pictures here. Now I get to take some more pictures,”
Bowditch told CBS TV after tapping in his winning putt only a few
yards from where he tied the knot with Amanda.
He finished at 18-under 259, earning nearly $1.3 million for his
second PGA Tour victory, while Americans Charley Hoffman (65), Jimmy
Walker (66) and Scott Pinckney (66) shared second on 14-under.
The odd total came as the par-four 14th was played as a par-three
the final three rounds due to saturated conditions.
Bowditch, who turns 32 next week, is the third Australian winner
here over the last eight years, joining Adam Scott (2008) and Jason
Day (2010). All three players learned their craft at the same golf
academy in Queensland.
He started the day with a two-shot lead and effectively clinched
victory with a brilliant birdie at the par-five 16th.
Bowditch said his apparent calmness masked his nervousness down the
stretch.
“I guess you’d call it a duck on a pond. The feet are churning a
mile a minute and you’re just cruising on the surface. That’s how I
felt out there.”
Born and raised in Australia, where he had a stellar amateur career,
Bowditch has called the Dallas-Fort Worth area home since he moved
to the U.S. to pursue his golf career.
[to top of second column] |
His progress was hampered by a bout of severe depression during his
first stint on the PGA Tour in 2006 and he did not get back onto the
main stage until 2011.
On a sunny day that followed weeks of torrential rain, American
Dustin Johnson came out with guns blazing.
He had chip-in birdies at the first and third holes to tie for the
lead, but his hopes ended with a quadruple-bogey at the par-four
sixth, where he sliced his drive out-of-bounds and then pulled his
next attempt from the tee into more trouble.
Johnson tied for eighth on 11-under, while Masters champion and
hometown hero Jordan Spieth was equal 30th on seven-under.
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Larry
Fine)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
