Adam Scott Wins the 2013 Barclays

As we walked the course at Liberty National during early practice rounds, we noticed a few contenders who seemed to be locked in on the pristine New Jersey course. Among them was one of our picks to win this week, Adam Scott.  Scott came into the the first round of the FedExCup Playoffs in 13th position and the win moved him to number 2, just 162 points behind the leader, Tiger Woods.

It was a crowded day atop the leader board on Sunday with names like Mickelson, Woods, Rose, Fowler, Woodland, and Scott all gunning for the coveted 2500 FedExCup points.

When Scott finished his round with an 11-under for the tournament, he felt his chances for victory were slim with so many holes to play from the guys behind him.  Feeling that -13 or -14 would probably take it,  his caddie Steve Williams packed his bag and began getting ready to clear out. Scott visited the CBS TV tower to talk to broadcasters Faldo and Nantz not thinking he may have a chance.

Noticing that Tiger was approaching the 18th tee box with a birdie chance to force a playoff, Scott unpacked his gear and get back out on the range to stay warm.  Woods missed his birdie by inches leaving Woodland as the only player left in the field with a chance to duke it our with Scott.  Perhaps feeling the pressure, Woodland pushed his birdie putt left leaving Scott alone at the top of the leader board.  Hearing the roar from the crowd and watching the results on the big screen, Adam hugged Williams, and headed to the 18th hole to raise the trophy.

“I’m shocked really that that was good enough to hold up,” said Scott, who earned his first major title earlier this year at the Masters. “But I guess it is different playing an hour and a half in front of the leaders. When the pressure is on you to close out, it’s much harder and the holes become much harder and shots are far more crucial. I feel like I’ve been given a bit of a gift, but I’ll take it, that’s for sure. … It was a good charge but obviously I got a lot of luck as some guys struggled coming in. I’ve been in their position, too. It’s hard getting it done and I was playing from a position of nothing to lose.”

Mickelson had a chance on 18, but decided to use a 9-iron from over 185 yards out, attempting to use the wind to land softly on the green to try and set up a birdie which would have closed him out at 11-under.   Instead, he came up short in a greenside bunker and bogeyed to finish-9.

As for Tiger, his back spasms were the big story as a particularly bad flare up on 13 caused him to drop to his knees will a few holes to go.  Tiger fought through the pain and charged hard, keeping the pressure on Scott to the very end.  The next round of the playoffs begin on Friday (due to the Labor Day extended weekend) which will grant Tiger an extra day to treat the spasms.

When asked about his round  Tiger said,”I had a chance. I hit a good putt. Thought I made it. It was a little double-breaker and I thought I poured it in,” said Woods, who still sits in the FedExCup standings lead with Scott moving to No. 2. “I felt great until that tee shot at 12. I was perfectly fine. I was playing pretty good, and I was hanging right there. I was in the perfect spot, and unfortunately just couldn’t finish off the rest of the day.”

The top 100 will move on to TPC Boston on Friday for Round 2 of the FedExCup playoffs at the Deutsche Bank Championship.