Adam Scott seemed as surprised with his victory at The Barclays, the first leg of the FedExCup Playoffs, as much as anyone else considering he had to wait out for Justin Rose, Graham DeLaet, Gary Woodland, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods to finish their rounds.
"I'm pretty shocked," said Scott after the tournament, moving him up to number two in the world. "There were so many guys out there with a chance and I really didn't think I had much of a chance. If you hang around the lead long enough, you're going to win some, you're going to lose some. And this one went my way."
Starting the day nine groups ahead of the leaders, Scott nailed three consecutive birdies on the front nine and took a share of the lead with two more birdies on the 14th and 16th hole, before retiring to the locker room to await the final results. Scott's bags were packed and ready to go as Woods, Woodland and Rose attempted to force a overtime playoff but fell sort of taking the lead away from the 2013 Masters winner in the end.
"I guess it's different playing an hour-and-a-half in front of the leaders, the guys who have been under pressure all day than when you're out there," said Scott. "I know how they feel. When the pressure is on you to close out, it's much harder, and the holes become much harder and shots are far more crucial."
Woods kept pace with the leader until his back spasms forced him to take a knee at the 13th hole. Woods told reporters that his back started acting up while playing the previous hole.
"I felt great until that tee shot at 12," said Woods. "I was perfectly fine. I was playing pretty good, and I was hanging right there and at the time Kevin Chappell just made double at 11, and I was only one back. So I figured, you know, I was in the perfect spot, and unfortunately just couldn't finish off the rest of the day."
Woods, who tied for second place but had a chance to tie Scott with a 26-foot putt at 18th, complained of back and neck problems earlier in the week, during the Barclay's pro-am event, blaming his accommodations he was sharing with his girlfriend, Lindsey Vonn, for his aches and pains.
"It was stiff this morning after a soft bed," said Woods earlier in the week. "Just one of those things, sleeping in hotels and I didn't want to push it, so just took it easy and chipped and putted."
Woods would not say whether he will play in this week's second leg of the FedEx Cup, the Deutsche Bank Championship, which begins on August 30th.
"That's hypothetical right now," said Woods after finishing his round. "I just got off and I'm not feeling my best right now."
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