Tour Wrap Up: Fowler on Fire & Spotlight on Spieth

Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements

THE last time an American won the Scottish Open, Phil Mickelson went on to claim The Open at Muirfield the following week. Mickelson has spent a great deal of time mentoring Rickie Fowler, who became the latest golfer from the other side of the pond to triumph in Scotland.

Just as he did when winning the Players  Championship at TPC Sawgrass earlier this year, Fowler produced a stunning finish to steal the Scottish Open title from his fellow American, Matt Kuchar, who recorded his 46th top 10 finish in five years.

Kuchar appeared to have won the tournament when he came off the final green having shot a 68 in windy conditions at Gullane. It took him to 11 under par, one ahead of Scotland's Marc Warren, who had reduced the course to 64 blows - a scarcely credible score bearing the conditions in mind.

Fowler had dropped a shot at the 14th to fall back to nine under par and seemed to be out of the running. However, he hit his approach at the 15th to ten feet and holed the putt for a birdie. Another one followed at the par-five 16th. And he hit his wedge at the 18th to 12 inches and tapped in for yet another birdie to move to 12 under par.

European Tour Scottish Open Video Highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZosWqGVMSUQ

But the drama was not yet over. Raphael Jacquelin, of France, had led for much of the day but dropped a shot at the 14th and failed to birdie the 16th. He was 10 under par as he stood on the final tee, needing an eagle two to force a playoff. Jacquelin split the fairway with his drive and then hit a glorious approach that danced around the hole before coming to rest six inches away. He finished tied with Kuchar.

Daniel Brooks, the young Englishman who led after 36 and 54 holes, struggled to stay in touch as his driver let him down. It was only his remarkable short game that prevented him tumbling down the leaderboard. He held on sufficiently well to secure a spot in The Open, along with Jacquelin.

Luke Donald finished with a 66 to suggest that his two-year struggle with his game may finally be coming to an end. The Englishman finished four shots behind Fowler. The American, meanwhile, will be hoping that his victory at Gullane is an omen and that he can go on to emulate Mickelson by winning at St Andrews. He certainly has the game, the confidence and the belief, and he loves links golf.

PGA Tour - Spotlight on Spieth

And speaking of The Open, Jordan Spieth will arrive at St Andrews as a warm favourite after the withdrawal of Rory McIlroy with an ankle injury sustained playing football. Spieth has been criticised  for choosing to play in the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run rather than the Scottish Open, but the 21-year-old Masters and US Open champion poked his critics in the eye by chalking up yet another win. This was the scene of his first win as a pro two years ago when he was just 19 years old.

Spieth appeared to be out of contention when he came to the par-three 16th at 18 under par, trailing the veteran Tom Gillis by two shots. Spieth missed the green but holed his pitch to close the gap to one. His playing partner, Danny Lee, who won the Greenbrier Classic last week, followed him in for a birdie that also took him to 19 under.

As the pressure grew, Zach Johnson birdied the par-five 17th to make it a three-way tie at 19 under. But Spieth and Lee still had the par five to play - and Spieth had eagled it during the third round.

Gillis, who is almost 47, has been a professional for 25 years without ever winning on the PGA Tour. He put his approach to the 18th on the edge of the green and managed to get down in two more for a par.

Gillis then had to wait to find out whether his 20 under par total would be good enough for victory and the final place in the field for the 144th Open Championship. In his long career, he has only played in a total of five majors. There was exemption for anybody in the top five who hadn't already qualified.

Johnson was the first to challenge it, putting his approach to the final green 15 feet from the hole. His putt seemed destined for the hole but missed by a whisker.

Lee birdied the 17th after a terrific recovery from a greenside bunker, and Spieth followed him in. Now we had a three-way tie at 20 under. And Lee should have been one shot better - at the fourth hole, he marked his ball on the fairway, picked it up and cleaned it. There was just one problem - they had been playing lift, clean and place during the third round, but not in the final round. It cost him a one-shot penalty.

When Justin Thomas failed to hole his second shot to the 18th, Gillis knew that he was heading to St Andrews regardless of whether he won the tournament or not. He will celebrate his 47th birthday in Scotland on Friday.

Spieth parred the 18th to ensure a playoff, but a poor drive from Lee cost him a bogey. He won't complain about his two weeks' work though - a win and a third-place finish.

PGA Tour John Deere Classic Video Highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S-iNs-lUY8

And so Spieth, seeking his fourth win of the season and his sixth since the beginning of December, headed back to the 18th to face Gillis, looking for the first PGA Tour victory of his career.  At the first time of asking, both men parred the hole, although Spieth had lipped out with his birdie attempt from 30 feet.

Back to the tee they went.  And this time Gillis hit his drive into thick rough on the right and then dumped his second shot in the water. Game over!

"It feels great to win here again," Spieth said. "It has brought back so many great memories, especially winning it in a playoff again [as he did in 2013]."

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