Hilton Head Island, S.C. – Aaron Baddeley won the Verizon Heritage tournament for his first PGA Tour title Sunday, rallying with two late birdies and finishing off Jim Furyk with a scrambling par on Harbour Town’s lighthouse closing hole.
Baddeley was tied with Furyk entering the round, had a two- shot lead by the fifth hole, then was down by that many to Furyk after No. 11.
But the 25-year-old Australian proved unflappable, birdieing two of the hardest holes on the PGA Tour – the 14th was statistically the hardest par 3 on the tour last year and the 15th was the hardest par 5 – to move in front for good.
Baddeley shot a 1-under-par 70 to finish at 15 under, a stroke ahead of Furyk (71) and two ahead of Vaughn Taylor (66) and Billy Mayfair (69).
“It’s been a special day. Yesterday was my anniversary,” Baddeley said. “It has been a special weekend, it really has.”
Furyk, the 2003 U.S. Open winner seeking his first victory since the Western Open last summer, was seemingly in the clear when his birdie on No. 10 and Baddeley’s miscue on No. 11 put him up by two shots. However, Furyk missed a 5-footer for par on the 12th hole and could not match Baddeley at the end.
Furyk had his chances to tie after Baddeley chunked a chip shot at the par-3 17th and made bogey. But Furyk followed by missing a 10-foot par putt to remain one back.
Again on the 18th hole, Furyk had a tying 12-foot birdie putt, but slid it left. Baddeley, who missed the green when his second shot went long and right, then won with a 6-foot par putt that caught the right edge of the cup and dropped in.
“I just needed some of those putts on the back nine to go in,” said Furyk, who finished second at Harbour Town for the second straight year.
Baddeley raised his arms in triumph after his winning putt, his wife, Richelle, squealing happily alongside the green.
Baddeley won $954,000 and, perhaps more importantly because he was ranked 158th on the money list coming in, gained a tour exemption through 2008.
He has three wins in Australia, winning the Australian Open as an 18-year-old amateur in 1999 and successfully defending his title as a professional in 2000.
Baddeley also won the 2001 Greg Norman Holden International, and finished 10th on the Nationwide Tour money list in 2002 to qualify for the PGA Tour. He has twice been a runner-up, in 2003 at the Sony Open and a year later in the Chrysler Classic of Tucson.
The golfer who kicked himself the most was probably Ernie Els.
Els was the only one of the world’s top five players on hand after last week’s Masters. He got himself back in the mix with 65 on Saturday and, with five top 10s in seven previous appearances here, seemed the logical choice for a thrilling final-round charge.
Els’ shot-making skill was evident right away. After cracking his drive in the woods right of the first fairway, he punched a mid-iron through a narrow opening between two trees to about 5 feet of the cup. The birdie moved him within three shots of the lead as he stepped to the par-5 second, a hole where he had gone eagle-birdie-birdie the first three rounds.
This time, Els drove it out of bounds – remember, the Big Easy blew the 2003 Verizon Heritage while leading when he went OB on No. 16 – and made bogey.
Els rebounded with three more birdies on the front to close within two shots of Furyk and Baddeley. Els, though, could not mount a charge to get closer. He missed birdie putts inside of 10 feet on the ninth and 10th holes. His chances ended for good after bogeys on Nos. 12-13.
Still, Els’ 71 left him tied for seventh at 10 under, his sixth top-10 finish in eight visits to Harbour Town.
