Steven Bowditch goes wire-to-wire to win Byron Nelson: video highlights
Australian Steven Bowditch fought off all challengers to record his second win on the PGA Tour.
Many different challengers came at Steven Bowditch during the final round of the AT&T Byron Nelson and the even the commentators seemed to expect one of the them to overtake the Australian and go on to victory.
But it wasn’t to be and Steven Bowditch posted a final round 5-under 64 to claim his second victory on the PGA Tour, eventually winning the AT&T Byron Nelson by four strokes.
Early on the day it looked like Bowditch’s playing partner Dustin Johnson was going to be the best challenger. After a shaky start from Bowditch and two chip-in birdies through the first three holes from Johnson, the American took the lead at the sixth hole.
A quadruple-bogey from Johnson combined with a birdie from Bowditch at the par-4 6th hole saw a five-stroke swing and Bowditch regain his lead.
Further challenges came from Zach Johnson, Brandt Snedeker, Jordan Spieth, Jimmy Walker and Charley Hoffman – so make no bones about it, this was a first-class performance from Bowditch who held his nerve on the back nine to claim victory.
Bowditch has a unique, lovable way of dealing with the pressure on the golf course. He and his caddy tend to laugh their way around the golf course and it was no more evident than at the par-3 17th hole with Bowditch on the tee with a three stroke lead.
With the flagstick tucked near the water on the right of the par-3 17th hole, middle of the green was the best option for Bowditch. But the Novocastrian pushed his shot right and was lucky not to find the water hazard. Bowditch grinned to his caddy knowing his had firmly dodged a bullet.
“I was trying to hit it 30 feet left of the stick,” Bowditch said. “It was eyes closed and stomach to the floor a little bit.”
The shot could have been disastrous for Bowditch but rather than ponder what could have been, Bowditch stepped up and sunk the birdie putt, his seventh for the round, giving him a four-stroke lead.
Bowditch made par look simple on the water-lined 18th hole at TPC Four Seasons Resort to claim his second PGA Tour victory and jumped into the top-70 ranked golfers in the world.