Adam Scott's staggering moment amid $26 million golf drama
Adam Scott has left golf fans in awe with a "half a million dollar bunker shot" that sealed his spot in the PGA Tour's season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta.
The Aussie completed a pressure-filled up-and-down from a greenside bunker on the last hole at the BMW Championship - the second event in the season-ending FedEx Cup playoffs won by Patrick Cantlay.
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Having started the week at 45th in the FedEx Cup standings, Scott needed to finish inside the top-30 to qualify for the lucrative Tour Championship - an event where even the last-placed finisher in the 30-man field at East Lake receives $US500,000 ($A727,000).
With the Aussie's approach on the 18th hole finding the bunker, the equation was simple for Scott: hole it or get it close enough to make par or his season was over.
Scott needed to make a pressure-filled clutch par from a greenside bunker on the last hole to tie for fifth for the second week running and secure his place in next week's season finale, which offers $US18 million ($AUD26.1 million) to the winner.
The 42-year-old rose to the occasion when the pressure was at its greatest, rolling the bunker shot to within five feet and making his par to book his ticket to the season's final event on the PGA Tour.
The incredible up-and-down left fans singing the Aussie's praises on social media.
Massive bunker shot right there for Adam Scott. Not only is he going to save par and sneak into next week's Tour Championship, he'll now be qualified for three of the four major championships, which is perhaps more important than ever.
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelTAN) August 21, 2022
#BMWChampionship the bunker shot Adam Scott hit on 18 was unreal! Moving on to the finals of the FedEx!
— Jamie Lavigne (@emasdad) August 21, 2022
Adam Scott with a half of a million dollar shot from the bunker. Show him the money!!!
— Frank (@FimboZosh) August 21, 2022
Adam Scott has to get up and down from a bunker or Shane Lowry goes to the Tour Championship instead. It’s somewhere between a $500,000 and $18M shot 😱
— Nathan Hubbard (@NathanCHubbard) August 21, 2022
$500K for 30th at East Lake - Adam Scott just hit a half-million dollar bunker shot at 18. Needs par to move on.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) August 21, 2022
Australia's former world No.1 became the only player to fight his way through both Fedex Cup playoffs tournaments in the past two weeks after starting from outside the required ranking number.
He went into last week's St Jude Championship in Memphis languishing in 77th spot in the FedExCup standings but rose to 45th after finishing joint fifth to earn his BMW Championship spot.
Scott finished at 10 under, four shots behind Cantlay, who edged out fellow American Scott Stallings to become the first player in the 16-year history of the FedEx Cup to successfully defend a playoffs tournament title after closing with a two-under 69.
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Cantlay is also the defending FedExCup champion and will enter the final tournament of the 2021-22 season as second seed behind world No.1 Scottie Scheffler.
The 30-year-old Cantlay got a great bounce on the 17th hole that helped set up a short birdie and led to a two-under 69, just enough to pip fellow American Scott Stallings, who had also carded a 69.
A year ago, Cantlay made one clutch putt after another about an hour down the road at Caves Valley and beat Bryson DeChambeau after six extra holes. That gave him the top seed at the Tour Championship, which comes with a two-shot margin before the tournament starts, and he went on to win the FedEx Cup and its $US18 million prize with a one-shot win over Jon Rahm.
This time, Cantlay will go into the 30-man FedEx Cup finale as the No.2 seed, meaning he will start next week two shots behind Masters champion Scottie Scheffler.
Cantlay was tied for the lead on the 420-yard 17th hole when he decided to hit driver, and he feared it would get hung up in a series of bunkers down the right side.
But the ball landed short of the last bunker, took a big hop over the sand, and tumbled through the first cut and into the fairway just 64 yards from the hole, from where he set up his winning birdie.
"I hit a lot of solid and got a lot of good breaks," Cantlay said. "That break was something I was not expecting. It was big for me to take advantage of it."
Scheffler put on a late charge with three birdies in a four holes and was one shot behind. But he missed a 4-foot par putt on the final hole for a 70, and it looked like it might cost him.
Xander Schauffele, playing in the final group with Cantlay, had a 7-foot birdie putt. If he made it, Schauffele would have finished alone in third, moving Scheffler to fourth. That would have made Cantlay the top seed. But the putt slid by on the right. Schauffele had a 71.
with AAP
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