Adam Scott, meet Jean Van de Velde. And Ed Sneed. And Phil Mickelson.
With a stunning meltdown, Scott gave away the claret jug Sunday and joined aninfamous list of the greatest collapses in golf history. The Aussie bogeyed thefinal four holes of the British Open to finish one stroke behind Ernie Els, whowas almost apologetic about the way he won.
"I'm still numb," Els said. "Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy. It's acrazy game."
Scott missed a 7-footer at the final hole that would have forced a playoff, hisknees buckling as the ball slid by the left edge of the cup. Then, aftersomehow composing himself and signing his scorecard, he had to return to thesame green where his hopes were crushed to accept the runner-up prize.
"I know I let a really great chance slip through my fingers," Scottsaid.
Indeed, this was a blow to gut that will certainly take a while to get over,and it's unlikely that Scott will ever be able to put it totally out of hismind. He played brilliantly for three straight days, building a four-shotadvantage heading to the final round, and he was still up by four after whatseemed a clinching birdie at the 14TH.
Then he knocked one in a bunker on 15. Bogey. Then he missed a 3-footer at thenext hole. Another bogey. Then he hit his worst shot of the whole tournament,an iron from the middle of the fairway that missed left and rolled into sometall grass, leading to a third straight bogey. Up ahead, Els was already done,having birdied the 18th with a clutch 15-footer. As Scott stepped to the finaltee, his lead was gone.
Not surprisingly, he drove it in a bunker, leaving himself no other optionexcept to punch out into the fairway. A brilliant shot from 150 yards gave hima chance, but the tall putter that served him so well all week petered out atthe end.
Els celebrated on the practice green but wasn't real sure how to rect.
"I've got to figure it out still," he said. "Obviously, I'mhappy to have won. But I've been on the other end more than the winning end.It's not a good feeling."
There's plenty of guys who know how that feels:
— In a historical context, Scott's flop ranks alongside Sneed's loss at the1979 Masters. Sneed began the final round with a five-stroke lead and, despitea few wobbles along the way, was still in good position to win coming down thestretch. Three shots ahead. Three holes to play. But, suddenly, his game fellapart. Or, more specifically his putter. Sneed bogeyed the last three holes andlost to Fuzzy Zoeller in a sudden-death playoff. Sneed never came so closeagain to capturing a major title.
— Jason Dufner also knows how Scott feels. In the final round of last year'sPGA Championship, Dufner stepped to the 15th tee with a four-stroke lead on thefield and a five-shot edge on Keegan Bradley. But three straight bogeys byDufner — hmmm, that sounds familiar — and two straight birdies by Bradleyforced a three-hole playoff. Bradley won by a stroke. "Maybe looking backin 10 or 15 years, I'll be disappointed if I never get another chance,"Dufner said, in words that are fitting for the 32-year-old Scott. "But Ihave a feeling I'll have more chances in a major to close one out."
— Of course, Van de Velde's collapse on the 72nd hole of the 1999 British Openis one all others are measured by. The Frenchman had the claret jug in the bag,going to the 72nd hole with a three-shot lead. Instead of playing it safe, hepulled out the driver and knocked his tee shot into the thick rough atCarnoustie. Then he hit it off a grandstand. Then a burn. After brieflyconsidering a whack out of the creek, he took a drop. His now-fifth shot wentin a bunker, and he needed a testy up-and-down for triple-bogey just to get ina playoff. Alas, he was defeated by Paul Lawrie. Like Sneed, Van de Velde nevercame close again.
— For pure shock value, it's hard to beat Arnold Palmer throwing away the 1966U.S. Open at Olympic Club. The game's most popular player started the finalround with a three-shot lead, and had stretched it to seven at the turn. BillyCasper played brilliantly on the back nine, but Palmer was still up ahead byfive going to the 15th. That's when it all fell apart. Casper birdied the nexttwo holes. Palmer bogeyed them. Palmer made his third straight bogey at the17th, and the lead was gone. Even though he made par at 18 to force a playoff,Casper prevailed the following day. Palmer would never get his eighth majortitle.
— Then there's the Mickelson stunner at the 2006 U.S. Open. Lefty threw away achance to win his third straight major with a staggering display of errantswings and ditzy decisions. He struggled all day to control his driver, butkept pulling it out of the bag. He did it again at the 18th, needing a par towin or just a bogey to force a playoff. His drive struck a hospitality tent. Heattempted to slice the next one under some trees, but caught a branch. Then heplugged one in a back bunker, leading to a double-bogey that gave thechampionship to Geoff Ogilvy. Lefty's assessment afterward was priceless:"I am such an idiot."
— Greg Norman was feeling the same way after his performance on the final dayof the 1996 Masters, and there's certainly a kinship between the Shark andScott, who grew up idolizing his countryman. But Norman's dismal showing in thefinal round at Augusta was an 18-hole effort in futility, not just a late chokejob. Starting with a six-shot lead on Nick Faldo, he had thrown it away thetime he made a third straight bogey at the 11th. When his tee shot at the 12thcaught the bank and rolled back into Rae's Creek, it was effectively over. Theremaining holes were a coronation for Faldo, a death march for Norman. Hefinished with a 78, losing to Faldo by five strokes. "I let it slipaway," Norman moaned. Words that Scott essentially repeated on Sunday.
— Finally, let's give a nod to Sam Snead, one of the game's all-time greats butalso remembered for squandering his two best chances to win the U.S, Open. In1939, he could've won with a par on the 72nd hole but thought he needed abirdie (hey, give him a break, the scoreboard technology wasn't what it istoday). Playing aggressively, Snead made a mess of things for a triple-bogey.But 1947 might have been even worse: Snead built a two-stroke lead on LewWorsham with three holes left in a playoff. Worsham birdied the 16th and Sneadbogeyed the 17th to even things up. Then, after Worsham suddenly called for aruling on who was away at the 18th, Snead missed a 2 1-2-foot putt. Worshamrolled in a slightly shorter one to take the victory.
And, now, Scott joins the list.