Puerto Rico Open 2013: Day 4 Leaderboard Analysis and More

Scott Brown used the strength of a two-under final round to surpass Fabian Gomez—as well as hold off Jordan Spieth—and take home the 2013 Puerto Rico Open title.

Brown, the 291st-ranked player in the world, won an up-and-down affair for his first career PGA Tour title. Even after bogeying holes 11 and 12 back-to-back—in what seemed like a "wheels falling off" moment—he was able to battle back and score the victory. 

According to the Associated Press (via CBS Sports), he also "earned a two-year exemption on tour and a spot in thePGA Championship this summer."

The event, which runs adjacent to an admittedly bigger PGA event (the WGC-Cadillac Championship), is a true testament to the quality and depth of modern golf. Even with some—rather, most—of the sport's biggest names playing elsewhere, the Open was still a fun, down-to-the-wire event. 

Hopefully, having seen how successful this past week was, bigger names will choose to play in Puerto Rico in the future.

In other news, former U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein tied for sixth at 17-under—an encouraging sign for the young, 23-year-old's future.

Here's how the final leaderboard turned out: (via PGATour.com)

Place	Name	Final Score
1	Scott Brown	-20
T2	Jordan Spieth	-19
T2	Fabian Gomez	-19
T4	Justin Bolli	-18
T4	Brian Stuard	-18
T6	Andres Romero	-17
T6	Peter Uihlein	-17
T8	David Hearn	-16
T8	D.J. Trahan	-16
T8	Boo Weekly	-16

The tournament's inevitable denouement came on 18, where Brown sealed his victory over Fabian Gomez once and for all.

On the course's final hole, the biggest stage of the week, Brown came up big where Gomez came up small. He knocked in a birdie that, coupled with Gomez's bogey—the result of an unfortunate bunker shot and subsequent missed putt—moved him from one stroke back to one stroke ahead.

Talk about clutch.

Andres Romero's run on the back nine qualifies as a highlight, too. The veteran from Argentina shot five-under on the back half, birdieing five of the last seven holes, including three consecutive on 12 through 14, and both of the last two.

The surge helped Romero shoot up the leaderboard, making him a comfortable top-10 finisher. On the heels of a disappointing 75 in the third round, that was no small feat at all.

Other strong finishers? How about Justin Bolli, David Hearn, D.J. Trahan, Dicky Pride and Brian Harman (among others), all of whom matched Romero's six-under as the round's best score.

The weakest finisher has to be Gomez, who, even before bungling the 18th hole, looked off his game all day. His one-under in the final round was the lowest among all top-10 finishers.