Steven Bowditch cruises to 2nd PGA Tour win at the Nelson
Aussie Steven Bowditch has made Texas his adopted American home, and the Lone Star State has been site of three of the greatest days in his life.
In 2011, he was married to wife Amanda at TPC Four Seasons. Last year, he won the Valero Texas Open to earn a berth into the Masters. On Sunday, again at TPC Four Seasons, Bowditch became a two-time PGA Tour winner.
After opening with an 8-under 62 to start a rainy week at the AT&T Byron Nelson, Bowditch, who had missed three of his last six cuts, shot 5-under 64 (yes, that's right) to win by four shots over Charley Hoffman, Jimmy Walker and Scott Pinckney on 18-under 259.
With much of Texas covered with rain, the TPC Four Seasons ground crew had to put in a lot of hours just so golf could be played. However, the fairway at the par-4 14th had become so wet that, by Friday, the hole had been shortened to right about 100 yards. At first, the PGA Tour had intended to keep it as a par 4, so as to keep the scorecard the same. Then realizing that a 100-yard albatross would be bogus, the 14th played as a par 3 for the final three rounds.
Bowditch made a par 3 on Sunday at the 14th, leading into a tricky closing stretch, where the Aussie made consecutive birdies on the par-5 16th and water-guarded, par-3 17th to set up a relaxing finish. However, Bowditch took an aggressive line, even if accidentally, off the tee and left himself a flip wedge into the final green. Two putts later, Bowditch locked up an unlikely win.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
