GOLF: Australia's Adam Scott blew away the rest of the field with a record-breaking 10-shot victory in the Scottish PGA Championship at Gleneagles yesterday.
Scott carded a final-round 63 for a 26-under-par total of 262 to claim the first prize of £166,660, his second win of the season and third European Tour title.
The 22-year-old's 10-shot winning margin bettered by two strokes the previous best this season, set by Retief Goosen in winning the Johnnie Walker Classic in January.
It was also the lowest score on tour this season, beating Jose Maria Olazabal's 22 under in the Hong Kong Open, and was one short of the European Tour record of 27 under held by Americans John Daly and Jerry Anderson.
Scott was also an incredible 22 under par for the 20 par fives. His 63 will not count as a joint course record as preferred lies were in operation because of the wet.
Scotland's Raymond Russell closed with a 68 to take second place, his best finish since winning his only tour title in 1996. Sam Torrance was a shot further back in third, the Ryder Cup captain also enjoying his best finish since his last win in 1998, the day after his 49th birthday.
There was little joy for Irishmen Des Smyth and Philip Walton, who shot final round 73s to finish on the same 287 mark.
"When you're hot, you're hot," admitted a modest Scott after a grandstand finish of eagle-birdie-eagle on the last three holes. "It was almost winner's luck, there is no real pressure on you when you're leading by a few, you can just go and play your shots.
"I felt comfortable, just tried to stay patient and got off to the ideal start. I just planned to dominate the par fives and knew if I needed to pick up shots I could do."
A superb 65 amidst a continual downpour on Friday set the foundations for Scott's victory and more than made up for his disappointment at missing out on the NEC Invitational in Seattle this week.
"There was one reason to come here and that was to win," added the Queenslander, who dropped out of the all-important top 50 in the world rankings after missing five cuts in six events in mid-season.
Runner-up Russell had been languishing in 133rd on the money list at the start of the week, but ironically reaped the rewards of some hard work with coach Bob Torrance, the father of the man he pipped to second place.
"My dad would have wanted Raymond second because he gets a cut of his prize money, he gets nothing of mine," joked Torrance, who also secured his card for a 32nd consecutive season on tour next year.
"But I'm delighted I'm going to be properly exempt next year rather than relying on the career money list."
Scott's five-shot lead at the start of the day was briefly cut to three as Russell birdied the first two holes, but Scott's birdie on the second coupled with a dropped shot from Russell on the third soon restored this overnight lead.
A birdie on the fourth stretched the lead still further and although Torrance closed within four thanks to three birdies and an eagle in his first eight holes, Scott was never in danger of being caught.
Two more straightforward birdies on the par-five ninth and 12th kept him firmly out of sight and there was still time for another grandstand finish. An eagle on the 16th, was followed by birdie on the 17th and a 35-foot eagle putt on the 18th to be home in 30 shots.
