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Scott's loss at Open parallels Els' win
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It's hard to attribute the result to Els' success or solely to Scott's collapse down the stretch.
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Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -
It was hard not to feel bad for Adam Scott just after he missed that putt at the 18th on Sunday at the British Open.
Having already squandered a 4-shot lead, he needed to make the 8-foot par save to get into a playoff with Ernie Els. Scott hit a good putt, but the ball veered ever-so-slightly to the left and ran by the cup.
And in that fraction of a second when Scott and everybody else realized it wasn't going in, that moment when his chance of winning his first major title formally disappeared, the Australian buckled. He slumped into a squat, still holding his putter.
That was the final moment of Scott's collapse, but in reality, it has begun at the 15th with the first of four consecutive bogeys.
With every subsequent bogey, it was hard not to think that Scott wouldn't secure the title and that Els would win. When Els fired in a quick 15-foot birdie at the last, it seemed almost certain.
In terms of the outcome, it's hard to separate Scott and Els. It's hard to attribute the result solely to Els' success or solely to Scott's collapse down the stretch.
Scott, after all, was the ultra-talented golfer who had never won a major. He was the guy who, after firing a 6-under 64 in the first round at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, essentially admitted he psyched himself out of shooting a record 62.
And Els was the Hall of Fame golfer who had already won three major titles, the Big Easy, the guy with knowledge that he can get it done in majors. Sure, he hadn't won one since the 2002 Open Championship, but he knows how to handle those final-round nerves.
For Els, the victory is an incredible affirmation of his golfing skill and poise, and the way he handled it is an affirmation of his sportsmanship. He verged on being apologetic to Scott, his friend, for seeing the Open finish like it did.
"I really said to him, I'm sorry how things turned out," Els said. "I told him that I've been there many times and you've just got to bounce back quickly. Don't let this thing linger."
You have to wonder how Scott will bounce back. He's 32 and has a lot of golf in front of him, and Els said he thinks Scott can win more than four majors.
But Scott will still need to prove it. He's part of that group of players to never win a major, despite being otherwise very successful, and the longer you stay in it, the worse the scrutiny gets.
He clearly has the game to contend for majors, having finished in the top 10 a total of eight times. Twice in the last two years he's come excruciatingly close to winning.
Last year at the Masters, he held the lead late on the back nine, but took a share of second after Charl Schwartzel birdied his final four holes.
Then, Sunday happened.
You have to wonder how Scott will respond to the defeat. To his credit, he handled every question posed to him with grace, thoughtfulness and poise.
But he admitted that "he's never really been" in the situation he found himself after that missed putt.
"I'll have to wait and see how I feel when I wake up tomorrow," Scott said.
It may take some time for him to process the Open. He could use it as a learning experience, or he could use it as fuel for despair. After all, if he came that close to winning and couldn't shut the door, would he ever if he got the chance again? At some point, you expect someone like Scott to come through in a situation like that.
He very well might, and has plenty of time to do so. And it has to be remembered that it wasn't just that Scott lost. It's that Els won. A lesser golfer may not have been able to hole that birdie putt with such confidence, and a lesser golfer may not have been able to pour in four birdies in his final nine holes. It can't be overlooked that Els was plus-2 over his first nine Sunday.
The South African is 42 and just captured his fourth major. Like Els wisely pointed out, Scott still has 10 years until he gets to that point. So if Scott is looking for a way to respond to his misfortunate Sunday, he could do a lot worse than emulating his good friend.
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