Malmo, Aug 04: Australia`s Adam Scott wins the Scandinavian Masters golf tournament Australia`s Adam Scott claimed his fourth European Tour title with a two-shot victory at the Scandinavian Masters on Sunday (August 3) to bounce back into the race for an automatic Presidents Cup place. Although he was briefly caught in the final round, the 23-year-old from Adelaide birdied four of the last seven holes for a three-under-par 69, taking the $364,000 first prize with a total of 11-under 277. Britain`s 21-year-old Nick Dougherty, the 2002 European Tour rookie of the year, sank an 18-foot birdie putt at the last to secure outright second place at nine under with a final-round 69. Dougherty, who led for the first two days, moved a stroke clear after the sixth hole, but the young Englishman then found birdies less easy to come by than his Australian rival over the closing stretch.


Andrew Coltart, four off the pace overnight, carded a 68 to tie for third at eight under, level with fellow Briton Luke Donald (70) and Sweden`s Robert Karlsson (69).


Scott won his last title just under a year ago when he romped to a 10-shot victory at the Scottish PGA Championship at Gleneagles.


Although his success in Sweden on Sunday was not as convincing, it could have far greater significance. For a long period this season, the Australian`s putting has let him down, but at Barseback he finally shrugged off his tendency to three-putt at crucial moments, completing the four rounds with a clean sheet.


Starting the day tied for the lead with Dutchman Maarten Lafeber overnight, Scott kept his cool as Dougherty initially forged ahead. He returned to the top of the leader board before the turn and then extended his advantage over the back nine.


His victory was double-edged as the win lifted him from 15th spot back into the top 10 automatic qualifiers for Gary Player`s Presidents Cup International team, which will take on the Jack Nicklaus-led U.S. team from November 21-23.


The Australian needs to stay in the top 10 by the end of the U.S. PGA Championship in two weeks` time if he is to book his berth in the International line-up for the biennial Ryder Cup-style competition to be held in George, South Africa.


Lafeber, who had led for the fourth time in 18 months going into the final round, was still found wanting on Sunday and slipped to 11th place, six behind Scott, with a final-round 75.


Leading scores after the final round of the Scandinavian Masters at the par-72, 7,365-yard Barseback Golf and Country Club on Sunday (British unless stated): 277 Adam Scott (Australia) 70 71 67 69 279 Nick Dougherty 67 69 74 69 280 Andrew Coltart 67 76 69 68, Luke Donald 71 68 71 70, Robert Karlsson (Sweden) 71 69 71 69 281 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) 73 70 71 67, Carl Pettersson (Sweden) 69 75 66 71 282 Peter Hedblom (Sweden) 70 70 71 71, Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) 71 70 72 69, Jamie Spence 74 70 69 69 283 Maarten Lafeber (Netherlands) 68 71 69 75 284 Philip Archer 71 70 71 72, Michael Campbell (New Zealand) 70 72 71 71, Richard Johnson (Sweden) 71 71 69 73, Adam Mednick (Sweden) 73 69 71 71 285 Robert-Jan Derksen (Netherlands) 73 71 67 74, Jamie Donaldson 76 69 70 70, Mark Foster 74 67 73 71, Soren Kjeldsen (Denmark) 71 70 70 74, Carlos Rodiles (Spain) 69 72 73 71, Mark Roe 71 70 71 73, Charl Schwartzel (South Africa) 72 72 69 72, Sven Struver (Germany) 72 71 70 72 286 Fredrik Andersson (Sweden) 74 68 75 69, Gordon Brand Jnr 73 71 73 69, Jean Louis Guepy (France) 75 71 69 71, Barry Lane 71 75 71 69, Bernhard Langer (Germany) 70 71 72 73, Ben Mason 72 72 73 69, Damien McGrane (Ireland) 73 73 69 71, Gary Orr 71 71 69 75, Raymond Russell 72 70 71 73, Henrik Stenson (Sweden) 73 72 73 68.


Bureau Report