Bubba Watson Wins Northern Trust Open Tournament, Secures Ninth PGA Tour Title

The world number six was feeling the heat from the chasing pack of Adam Scott and Jason Kokrak but held steady to card a score of three-under-par 68 during the final round to finish 15 under overall, one stroke clear of Scott and Kokrak who tied for second.

Watson birdied the 16th and 17th holes to take a one-shot lead with one hole to play.

Harrington’s tee shot travelled 266 yards into a fairway bunker and from there he ended up in two more bunkers before finally reaching the green in four, where he three-putted from 50 feet.

The left-hander birdied the first and fourth before giving a shot back following a wild drive at the eighth, but he got back on track with birdies at 11 and 13, and added another at the 17th as he converted a sublime pitch from the greenside rough.

“This is a tournament that I really enjoy playing”, Johnson said.

And he’ll be back at Riviera, the course that still makes him nervous over every shot (especially on No. 10) and every putt.

“I pretty much know the right spots to hit the ball and I know the greens”, Lee said. That year he also went on to win at Augusta and the big-hitting leftie will start one of the favourites for a green jacket once more following this stirring success. He missed two short par putts on 14 and 15 and those misses turned out to be the difference between winning and losing for the Australia native.

Jason Kokrak was felled by a missed putt on No. 18 that contributed…

“Knowing that I’ve won here and knowing that I can play around here, obviously I have a little bit of an advantage on the guy that probably hasn’t won here”, Watson said. He opened in 66-67-69 to sit in a three-way T2, one adrift of 54-hole leader and eventual champ Bubba Watson.

Kokrak, who held a two-shot lead on the back nine for a stretch, finished in a tie for second at 14 under with Scott after bogeying the par-4 15th. Watson underwent a CAT scan, and before he could receive the results he said he passed the stone without pain.

“It is better than booing me”, Watson joked. He made a cameo appearance in a “Girl Meets World” episode, and he dashed out of Riviera to hang out with his pals at the Clippers-Warriors NBA game Saturday night.

Watson – the 2014 champion in Pacific Palisades – is aiming for a ninth career PGA Tour victory.

“I made some mistakes, but I stayed patient, stayed committed and that’s what we’ve been working on”, Watson told Sky Sports.

“I’ll have a nice day off [Monday], regroup and hopefully put myself in contention next week”, he said.

On Sunday at Riviera, Kang scored his third eagle of the week at the par-five 17th, almost holing out for an albatross from 202 yards. Kokrak, going for his first PGA Tour victory, made bogey on the 15th and struggled to make par the next two holes.