Aaron Baddeley has become the first Australian to win on the PGA Tour in 2011 with a two-stroke victory at Riviera Country Club Club in California.
Baddeley played near flawless golf to win the Northern Trust Open and beat a resurgent Vijay Singh by two shots.
His only mistake all day was when he double-bogeyed the 13th hole but re-cemented his position at the top of the leaderboard with an amazing, curling birdie putt on the 14th that no one, perhaps not even Baddeley, saw coming.
He maintained his two shot cushion for the final five holes to claim his first victory since 2007.
Four other Australians finished in the Top-25. Robert Allenby played well on a course where he has previously won to finish in a tie for fourth place.
Stuart Appleby finished in a tie for 12th and marked his fourth Top-30 performance from six tournaments this year. Geoff Ogilvy and John Senden both tied for 21st but Senden’s final round was disappointing after being in contention for most of the week.
The Aussies always play well at Riviera which has similar grass to many courses in Australia and comes on the back of Australia’s summer golf schedule.
Aaron Baddeley was extremely comfortable all week and has slowly come into some good form since disposing of the controversial “Stack and Tilt” swing method last year.
Could we see him in the Presidents Cup team in Royal Melbourne?
Strapper Nick
Roar Rookie
I thought Badds would possibly go on to take a major or two in the States but I think some swing changes have derailed his journey a bit. Always a gifted putter he is regarded by many as a streaky-type player. Still making a comfortable living plying his craft on the PGA Tour with his home base in Arizona.