By Tony Webeck

Adam Scott has registered his second top-10 of the DP World Tour season and Jason Day has made a significant jump in the Official World Golf Rankings in a week in which Karrie Webb made her competitive return to golf.

Tied for 10th at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in his return to the Middle East last week, Scott began the final round of the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic tied for 20th yet put himself within reach of the top-five midway through his final round.

Birdies at two, three and five thrust Scott inside the top 10 and when he added a fourth at the par-4 10th was just three strokes off the lead.

An untimely bogey at the 12th stalled Scott’s forward momentum, a birdie at the par-5 13th offset by another dropped shot at 17 in a final round of three-under 69 and tie for ninth, five shots back of the winner, Viktor Hovland (66).

A wild week that included a double bogey or worse in each of his four rounds ended with Lucas Herbert earning a share of 18th at five-under par while a first ace on tour in the third round was the highlight of Ryan Fox’s week, the Kiwi finishing tied for 26th at three-under.

As a result of his second consecutive top-10 Scott moved from 50th to 43rd in the world rankings but the big mover among the Aussies this week was Jason Day.

Seeking his first PGA TOUR win since the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship and third at Torrey Pines, Day began the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open tied for the lead.

A hole-out eagle at the par-4 14th saw Day re-join the leaders but two late bogeys and a birdie at the par-5 18th meant he missed contesting the playoff for the title by one shot.

His tie for third was, however, his best result since that Wells Fargo triumph and resulted in a return to the top 100 in the world rankings, moving up 46 spots from 129th to 83rd, his highest position since mid-October.

She may have finished in a tie for 52nd but it was a successful return for Karrie Webb at the LPGA Tour’s Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Raton in Florida.

Making her first appearance in an LPGA Tour event since November 2020, Webb was one-under through two rounds to comfortably qualify for the weekend where in difficult conditions she shot 75-74.

Su Oh was the best of the Aussies in a tie for 27th as New Zealand’s Lydia Ko (69) recorded her third worldwide win in the past 12 months, finishing one shot clear of American Danielle Kang.

Results

DP World Tour

Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic

Emirates GC, Dubai, UAE

Winner Viktor Hovland  68-69-73-66—276         €1,219,756

T9        Adam Scott       69-72-71-69—281         €145,414

T18      Lucas Herbert   70-73-70-70—283         €85,143

T26      Ryan Fox           72-73-69-71—285         €69,239

T66      Maverick Antcliff           69-75-71-78—293         €16,143

MC       Scott Hend        76-73—149

MC       Wade Ormsby   76-73—149

MC       Jason Scrivener 78-74—152

LPGA Tour

Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio

Boca Rio Golf Club, Boca Raton, Florida

Winner Lydia Ko            63-70-72-69—274         $US300,000

T27      Su Oh   69-70-78-70—287         $15,881

T52      Karrie Webb     71-72-75-74—292         $6,254

MC       Katherine Kirk   76-76—152

PGA TOUR

Farmers Insurance Open

Torrey Pines (South Course), La Jolla, California

Winner Luke List           67-68-72-66—273         $US1.512m

Won on first hole of sudden death playoff

T3        Jason Day         70-65-67-72—274         $445,200

T16      Marc Leishman 71-67-69-70—277         $132,300

T56      Cam Davis         68-72-71-73—284         $19,152

MC       Danny Lee        76-67—143

MC       Matt Jones        71-73—144

MC       Brett Drewitt    71-73—144

Korn Ferry Tour

The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club

Abaco Club on Winding Bay, Great Abaco, Bahamas

Winner Brandon Harkins           69-65-68-68—270         $US135,000

Won on second hole of sudden death playoff

MC       Rhein Gibson    74-71—145

MC       Curtis Luck        73-77—150