Tied for 10th at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in his return to the Middle East last week, Scott began the final round of the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic tied for 20th yet put himself within reach of the top-five midway through his final round.

Birdies at two, three and five thrust Scott inside the top 10 and when he added a fourth at the par-4 10th was just three strokes off the lead.

An untimely bogey at the 12th stalled Scott’s forward momentum, a birdie at the par-5 13th offset by another dropped shot at 17 in a final round of three-under 69 and tie for ninth, five shots back of the winner, Viktor Hovland (66).

A wild week that included a double bogey or worse in each of his four rounds ended with Lucas Herbert earning a share of 18th at five-under par while a first ace on tour in the third round was the highlight of Ryan Fox’s week, the Kiwi finishing tied for 26th at three-under.

As a result of his second consecutive top-10 Scott moved from 50th to 43rd in the world rankings but the big mover among the Aussies this week was Jason Day.

Seeking his first PGA TOUR win since the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship and third at Torrey Pines, Day began the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open tied for the lead.

A hole-out eagle at the par-4 14th saw Day re-join the leaders but two late bogeys and a birdie at the par-5 18th meant he missed contesting the playoff for the title by one shot.

His tie for third was, however, his best result since that Wells Fargo triumph and resulted in a return to the top 100 in the world rankings, moving up 46 spots from 129th to 83rd, his highest position since mid-October.

She may have finished in a tie for 52nd but it was a successful return for Karrie Webb at the LPGA Tour’s Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Raton in Florida.

Making her first appearance in an LPGA Tour event since November 2020, Webb was one-under through two rounds to comfortably qualify for the weekend where in difficult conditions she shot 75-74.

Su Oh was the best of the Aussies in a tie for 27th as New Zealand’s Lydia Ko (69) recorded her third worldwide win in the past 12 months, finishing one shot clear of American Danielle Kang.

Results

DP World Tour
Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic
Emirates GC, Dubai, UAE
Winner Viktor Hovland  68-69-73-66—276           €1,219,756
T9          Adam Scott        69-72-71-69—281           €145,414
T18        Lucas Herbert    70-73-70-70—283           €85,143
T26        Ryan Fox             72-73-69-71—285           €69,239
T66        Maverick Antcliff             69-75-71-78—293           €16,143
MC        Scott Hend         76-73—149
MC        Wade Ormsby   76-73—149
MC        Jason Scrivener 78-74—152

LPGA Tour
Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio
Boca Rio Golf Club, Boca Raton, Florida
Winner Lydia Ko              63-70-72-69—274           $US300,000
T27        Su Oh    69-70-78-70—287           $15,881
T52        Karrie Webb      71-72-75-74—292           $6,254
MC        Katherine Kirk    76-76—152

PGA TOUR
Farmers Insurance Open
Torrey Pines (South Course), La Jolla, California
Winner Luke List             67-68-72-66—273           $US1.512m
Won on first hole of sudden death playoff
T3          Jason Day           70-65-67-72—274           $445,200
T16        Marc Leishman 71-67-69-70—277           $132,300
T56        Cam Davis          68-72-71-73—284           $19,152
MC        Danny Lee          76-67—143
MC        Matt Jones         71-73—144
MC        Brett Drewitt     71-73—144

Korn Ferry Tour
The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club
Abaco Club on Winding Bay, Great Abaco, Bahamas
Winner Brandon Harkins             69-65-68-68—270           $US135,000
Won on second hole of sudden death playoff
MC        Rhein Gibson     74-71—145
MC        Curtis Luck         73-77—150