Adam Scott Dominates, Wins WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

With the pressure of leading on the final day of a World Golf Championship event, Adam Scott responded—impressively.

Scott fired a bogey free five-under-par 65, en route to a four shot victory in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on the South Course at Firestone Country Club in Akron, OH.

Scott fought off a host of young challengers that would have otherwise capped this tournament with a thrilling finish, pulling away with birdies on Nos. 10, 12 and 14, then closing it with a birdie at 18 to put an exclamation point on his dominant afternoon.

I guess it's somewhat ironic that Scott's new caddy is Steve Williams, the recently fired bag-toter of Tiger Woods. The hype to begin the week was centered around Woods and his return to the PGA Tour after a three month layoff. But it was Williams who would share the spotlight with Scott by week's end.

To describe Scott's play today as outstanding would be an understatement. During his post- round presser here in the media center, Scott said he took his best warm up of the week, and the matching confidence, with him to the course Sunday.

"I ended up playing a really solid round of golf for this golf course," he said. "With this win, I mean, I'm really stoked to have won a World Golf Championship and win around this course in nice fashion. The way I closed it out, I was really happy with, too, so overall extremely happy."

Finishing in a tie for second place at 13-under-par was Rickie Fowler and Luke Donald, who both shot four-under-par 66s Sunday.

For Fowler, it was once again an outstanding effort, but he still hasn't realized his first PGA Tour victory. The fact that he's knocking on the door so often over the past few months, however, shows promise for the popular young player.

As I roamed the Firestone CC course this afternoon, I noticed what seems to be a growing number of young fans wearing Fowler's signature Sunday orange colors. It's only a matter of time before he cashes in with a win. Look for him to be a strong favorite next week at the PGA Championship.

Donald, the world's No. 1 player, looked every bit the part, as he managed to make five birdies with only one bogey.

Another shot back at 12 under par was Ryo Ishikawa, who played in the final group with Scott, and Jason Day.

Ishikawa, at one point Sunday, tied for the lead with Scott, but bogeys at Nos. 4, 8, and 15 kept him from seriously contending. He also bogeyed the final hole to miss a chance to tie for second place.

Day continues to keep his name on major tournament leaderboards. While the WGC-Bridgestone is not a true major, it is a WGC event with an extremely impressive field. It's like a second-tier major. And like Fowler, I expect Day to be a contender at Atlanta Athletic Club next week.