Aaron Baddeley already had conquered the pressure of leading down the stretch on the PGA Tour. Jeff Quinney still hasn’t.
Baddeley birdied three of the final four holes and took advantage of Quinney’s late collapse Sunday for a one-stroke victory in the FBR Open in Scottsdale, Ariz. It was the Australian’s second win on the tour.
It was a dramatic late turnaround for two golfers who are close to neighbors in north Scottsdale.
Baddeley trailed Quinney by three shots with four holes to go but birdied the 15th, 16th and 17th holes.
“I’m sure Jeff is disappointed with the way he finished, but I was just trying to put pressure on him towards the end,” Baddeley said. “When I got three back, I was really just thinking, ‘If I can be one back playing the last hole, I’ve got a chance.”‘
Quinney, a PGA Tour rookie after five seasons on the Nationwide Tour, had led since late in the second round but bogeyed the final two holes, marking the third consecutive tournament he has led or shared the lead in the last round but failed to win.
His misery began when his tee shot splashed into the water at the 332-yard, par-4 17th. After his drop, his third shot landed just 4 feet from the cup, but he missed the short putt for a bogey.
Baddeley, meanwhile, rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt on the 17th to go from one shot behind to one ahead.
Baddeley shot his second consecutive 7-under-par 64 to finish at 21-under 263.
John Rollins tied the best round of the tournament at 63 and was second at 20-under, one shot ahead of Quinney (68). Bart Bryant was 18-under, and Billy Mayfair followed at 17-under.
“You knew a lot of birdies were going to be flying,” Rollins said. “The weather was perfect, the golf course has been fantastic all week. You just knew you had to make a bunch of birdies.”
Quinney tried to be satisfied with his third consecutive top-seven finish.
“I’m just going to look back and learn a few things this week,” he said. “I mean, if you would have told me this a couple of weeks ago, that I’ve made whatever amount of money I made, I’d take that in a second.”
Going from first to third cost Quinney $672,000 in prize money.
European Tour: Henrik Stenson shot a 4-under 68 to win the Dubai Desert Classic in the United Arab Emirates, finishing one stroke ahead of Ernie Els and two in front of defending champion Tiger Woods.
Els (71) had three bogeys, the same as Woods (69), who shared third place with Niclas Fasth (68) at 17-under.
Women: Karrie Webb captured her third Women’s Australian Open title in Sydney, shooting an even-par 72 in the final round for a six-stroke win.
“Hopefully, it’s a good start to a good year,” Webb said.
