Australian golfer Steven Bowditch gave himself an early birthday present by winning the coveted AT&T Byron Nelson Championship by four shots at the water-logged TPC Four Seasons course at Irvine, Texas.
Bowditch, who turns 32 next Saturday has long suffered from severe depression and this magnificent win should do wonders for his confidence.
If ever he was going to crumble under intense pressure from half a dozen world class golfers, today was it.
Dustin Johnson, Charley Hoffman, Scott Pinckney, Jimmy Walker, Zach Johnson, and Brandt Snedeker threw everything at the Australian, who never faltered.
He carded a USPGA season record 27 birdies for the tournament, including seven in the final round.
Bowditch’s main challenge looked like coming from big-hitting Dustin Johnson, who was in the final group with the Australian.
Johnson’s quadruple bogey eight at the sixth hole proved disastrous.
But the other five all carded consistent birdies to pressure Bowditch, especially Hoffman who came home with seven threes and two fours in his 29 – six of those threes were in succession from the 10th.
Zach Johnson turned in the best round of the day with a 63, but to prove Bowditch was made of stern stuff, he carded a final round 64.
With a smile as big as the Sydney Heads, Bowditch stood with his trophy not far away from where he married the love of his life four years ago.
He joins Adam Scott in 2008, and Jason Day in 2010, as Australians who have won the Byron Nelson.
As for the other Australians in the field:
Cameron Percy finished T10, at 10-under.
Rod Pampling finsihed T22, at 8-under.
Greg Chalmers, John Senden, and the promising Cameron Smith finished T46, at 4-under.
Matt Jones finished T64, at 1-under, while Aaron Baddeley and Geoff Ogilvy missed the cut.
Outrageous from the Aussie at the Byron Nelson tournament!
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