Back-to-back birdies at the final two holes were not quite enough for Adam Scott to secure his 12th PGA TOUR title as two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson won the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles.

Scott, who will rue back-to-back bogies at the 14th and 15th and a careless double at the eighth, produced some of his best golf of the last two years to challenge for the title and despite the near miss will take plenty of confidence into the rest of the season.

In what turned out to be a great week for the Australian contingent, Marc Leishman also showed some of his best recent form to finish, his best result on US soil since last year’s Memorial tournament.

But it was Scott who grabbed the attention of Australian and international fans alike at Riviera Country Club after opening his final round with an eagle and two birdies in his first four holes.

A chip in birdie at 18 also had the crowds in a frenzy but Watson, playing two groups behind Scott, hung tough with a birdie-par finish of his own to secure the win.

While the loss will sting it was an encouraging week for Scott whose 2015 was more than a little disappointing.

A blistering finish at the Australian Open in November in finishing second to Matt Jones suggested things might be turning around for the 2013 Masters champion and this week’ performance confirms it.

Most encouraging were Scott’s putting statistics, the former Worlds Number 1 picking up more than a shot on the field in the strokes gained putting category.

Much like Scott, Leishman will be encouraged by his play at Riviera after a bizarre reaction to medication prescribed for bed bug bites two weeks ago.

The Victorian revealed in the lead up to this week’s tournament he had felt uncharacteristically
angry on course at the Torrey Pines event a fortnight ago.

But back to his laid back self in Los Angeles Leishman produced some excellent golf, consistent rounds of 68-67-68-69 suggesting all parts of his game are strong.

Also continuing to impress this week was Aaron Baddeley whose march back to the TOUR continued with another made cut and vital FedEx Cup points.

Baddeley has missed just two cuts in his nine starts to the season and currently sits 60th on the FedEx Cup standings.

If he can hold on to a top 125 finish by season’s end he will regain full playing privileges for the 2017 season.

Stuart Appleby posted his best result since late 2014 after a dismal 2015 saw him undergo back surgery early in the year.

Playing this season on a medical extension his best result prior to his T26 at Riviera had been a T52 last November.

Appleby’s final round was particularly impressive, a 4-under 67 that included an eagle and three birdies to climb 32 places on the leader board.

Camron Smith and Rhein Gibson were the last of the Australians to make the cut, Smith finishing T63 at 2-over for the week and Gibson 76th at 7-over.

Matt Jones, Jarrod Lyle, John Senden, Steven Bowditch and Robert Allenby all missed the weekend’s play.