The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES—Bubba Watson packed plenty of memories from his week in L.A.
He has a kidney stone as a keepsake. He had a cameo in “Girl Meets World.” He received a text Sunday morning from Steph Curry offering shooting tips to Watson’s son.
And he capped it all with the best memento of all.
“Hold on a second, my trophy is coming,” Watson said, interrupting his press conference as the shiny prize was placed on the table next to him.
It wasn’t clear if passing the kidney stone or winning the Northern Trust Open was more difficult.
Two shots behind with four holes to play, Watson rallied with flawless golf and a pair of birdies over the last three holes to overtake Jason Kokrak and hold off Adam Scott to win at Riviera for the second time in three years and move back to No. 4 in the world.
He closed with a three-under 68 for a one-shot victory over Kokrak and Scott.
“The highlight is definitely winning,” Watson said.
“When you come to Hollywood, there’s a lot of things you can do,” he noted.
“It’s fun. And winning is the cake.”
Meanwhile, it was a bitter taste for Kokrak—going for his first PGA Tour win and making it look like it was his time when he fired at a dangerous pin on the 13th and pulled it off for a short birdie putt that gave him a two-shot advantage.
But he made bogey from the fairway on the 15th, had to scramble for par on the next two holes, and narrowly missed a birdie on the 18th that ended his chances.
“You’ve got to eliminate the mental mistakes,” Kokrak said after a 68 yesterday.
“Hitting it in the middle of the green on 15 is just . . . I had a two-shot lead at the time.”
Scott raced off to a big start with an eagle and three birdies over his opening six holes.
He then missed a pair of four-foot par putts on the back nine—only to bounce back with a key birdie on the 17th and a chip-in for birdie from behind the 18th green for a 67 that tied him for the lead, but only briefly.
Watson, two groups behind him, two-putted from 40 feet for his go-ahead birdie.
“A guy like Bubba, he’s very tough to beat,” Scott noted. “He’s proving tough to beat from that position.
“He’s wearing the course out on the toughest day.”
Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C. shot a five-under 66 in the final round to rocket 34 spots up to 16th.
Nick Taylor, also from Abbotsford, tied for 26th after a two-under 69.
