By Tony Webeck

Adam Scott’s decision to rejoin the DP World Tour has paid immediate dividends with a top-10 finish at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links in Abu Dhabi.

Citing adjustments in both his attitude and his equipment for improved showings on the PGA TOUR late last year, Scott began the final round five shots off the lead and in need of a low round to feature near the top of the leaderboard.

Making the turn at even par, Scott gathered momentum with birdies at 10 and 11 but a bogey at 15 and a three-putt bogey to finish saw him post a closing 72 for a share of 10th at six-under par, four shots back of Belgian victor Thomas Pieters.

It was a strong start to the new season too for Scott’s good mate Wade Ormsby, the South Australian fighting through the brutal conditions in the second round on his way to a tie for 25th at three-under par.

Min Woo Lee produced one of the best rounds of the final day – a five-under 67 – to climb 28 spots on the leaderboard into a share of 35th as Jason Scrivener  and Maverick Antcliff both missed the cut.

Queenslander Scott Hend withdrew from the tournament following an opening round of 74, citing “medical reasons” following a procedure he underwent in December.

Four spots at The Open at St Andrews in July were on offer at the Asian Tour’s SMBC Singapore Open with Victorian Zach Murray in position to snare one entering the final round.

Tied for fourth through 54 holes, Murray improved his position with birdies at the sixth and seventh holes at Sentosa’s Serapong Course on Sunday but stumbled on the way in.

A bogey at 12 was followed by a double-bogey at the 15th and another dropped shot at 16, Murray falling to a tie for ninth and four shots from one of the coveted spots at The Open.

Kiwi Ben Campbell shot 69 in the final round to finish eighth with Matthew Griffin (71) and Travis Smyth (72) both earning a share of 16th.

The Singapore Open represented the completion of the Asian Tour Order of Merit that began in January 2020 with Ormsby (third), Andrew Dodt (17th) and Travis Smyth (21st) all finishing inside the top 30.

Jason Day was the lone Aussie to play all four rounds at The American Express on the PGA TOUR while Rod Pampling was tied for 28th at the Champions Tour’s season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship, Kiwi Steven Alker losing at the second hole of a playoff to Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Results

DP World Tour Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship Yas Links, Abu Dhabi, UAE Winner Thomas Pieters 65-74-67-72—278           €1.2m T10        Adam Scott        70-72-68-72—282           €135,562 T25        Wade Ormsby   73-72-69-71—285           €63,897 T35        Min Woo Lee     71-76-72-67—286           €49,600 MC        Jason Scrivener 74-75-149 MC        Maverick Antcliff             73-77—150 WD        Scott Hend         74

Asian Tour SMBC Singapore Open Sentosa Golf Club (Serapong Cse), Singapore Winner Sadom Kaewkanjana      67-70-65-69—271           $US225,000 8            Ben Campbell    70-70-69-69—278           $30,625 T9          Zach Murray      68-73-65-73—279           $22,337 T16        Matthew Griffin              71-69-70-71—281           $14,669 T16        Travis Smyth      72-70-67-72—281           $14,669 T23        Jake Higginbottom          71-71-68-72—282           $11,402 T48        Todd Sinnott      75-68-73-72—288           $5,875 T60        Daniel Fox          73-72-74-72—291           $3,875 MC        David Bransdon 71-75—146 MC        Andrew Evans   74-73—147 MC        Ben Eccles          73-74—147

PGA TOUR The American Express Pete Dye Stadium Course, La Quinta, California Winner Hudson Swafford            70-65-66-64—265 T49        Jason Day           67-75-67-70—279 MC        Danny Lee          65-72-74—211 MC        Brett Drewitt     67-73-72—212

Champions Tour Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai Hualalai GC, Ka’upulehu-Kona, Hawaii, USA Winner Miguel Ángel Jiménez    67-66-66—199  $US340,000 Won on second hole of sudden-death playoff 2            Steven Alker      66-67-66—199  $200,000 T28        Rod Pampling    70-73-71—214  $17,875