Scott Wins Hole Thing

The soggy Nissan Open finally came to an end Monday, its day-late climax as watered down as the rest of the week at Riviera Country Club: Nobody won.

Not officially, anyway.

Adam Scott collected a trophy and a winner’s check of $864,000 after he made a four-foot par putt on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff with Chad Campbell, but the victory is unofficial.

PGA Tour officials had hoped to complete the third round Monday but canceled it at 7:30 a.m. because the rain had made conditions unplayable. Instead, Scott and Campbell, who were tied at nine-under-par 133 after 36 holes, were sent sloshing up the 18th hole to determine a winner.

A tour rule instituted after 1996 states that tournaments are official only upon completion of 54 holes. So although Scott’s winnings will count on the 2005 prize money list, his career victory total remains at three, he does not receive an invitation to the winners-only Mercedes Championships next year, and he said he didn’t feel as though he had won a tournament.

“Not really,� said Scott, 24. “I don’t feel tired and drained like you normally do when it’s finally over and you’ve been battling with some guy for the last 36 holes or something. It’s been an odd week, you know.�

Odd indeed. Over five days of competition, nobody played more than 37 holes. The second round was delayed Friday, washed out Saturday and finally completed Sunday.

It was the first time in the 79-year history of the Los Angeles tournament that it was shortened to 36 holes. Once, in 1993, it was reduced to 54 holes, also because of rain.

Campbell was among the few who completed the second round Friday. His six-under 65 put him at nine under for two rounds, a lead that lasted until Sunday, when Scott completed his second round with a 20-foot birdie putt on his last hole, tying Campbell.

The two met Monday morning during a downpour on the driving range, Campbell’s first swings since Friday, then went off to divvy up the prize money.

“It was pretty weird, just me and Adam out on the range hitting balls,� said Campbell, who won $518,400 for second place. “That was pretty interesting. But there is nothing you can do about it. And, you know, we were just at the mercy of the weather this week.�

Though the outcome was unofficial, Campbell said the loss hurts just as much as any other.

“You never want to get beat in a playoff,� he said. “That’s never a good feeling.�

Among the others who left Riviera feeling ill on Monday were first-round leader Brian Davis and Darren Clarke, who were a shot off the lead after two rounds. Colin Montgomerie shot a second-round 64 and was two behind the leaders in search of his first victory on American soil.

Tiger Woods, needing a fourth-place finish or better to surpass Vijay Singh and return to No. 1 in the world rankings, finished at five under and tied for 13th in his 10th unsuccessful try for the Nissan title.

The 18th hole, a 451-yard par four, was selected for the playoff mainly because it was the only one without a bunker that resembled a Jacuzzi. Even so, 10 minutes before Scott and Campbell teed off, workers were using squeegees to dry the green and fairway.

Scott, hitting first, hooked his drive into the soggy left rough 218 yards from the front of the green. The Australian’s second shot, with a three wood, still left him short. An 80-foot chip ran toward the hole, located at the back left of the green, and skidded to a halt about four feet away.

Campbell hit a perfect drive down the middle. From 213 yards out, he hit a five wood and lost it to the right. The ball came to rest in a puddle and he took a drop in a saturated area -- “the only place I had to go,� he said -- and chipped five feet past the hole.

His attempt at par hit the left side of the hole and lipped out. Scott then rolled his left-breaking putt into the middle of the hole. The 150 fans who came out clapped politely when Scott gave a half-hearted hand raise, as if he’d just made a par putt on the sixth hole of the first round.

“I wanted to win just as bad as any other playoff, but it was a different feeling for sure,� Scott said.

He is the first player since Michael Bradley at the 1996 Buick Challenge to take home the trophy from an event shortened to 36 holes.

Scott’s victory, however, is the first deemed unofficial, because the tour rule came into play after Bradley’s victory.

Scott acknowledged that he didn’t deserve all the fruits of a 72-hole victory. The first two rounds of a tournament, he said, are quite different from the fourth.

“I never really played under pressure all week apart from that one playoff hole,� he said. “The rest of it was the first two rounds of the golf tournament. That’s not coming down the stretch on the back nine playing 72 holes, testing every element of your game, physical and mental.�