Scott comes through in the clutch

<br>PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) _ Adam Scott was on the verge of going from champion to choke artist, his face awash in disbelief after pulling a 6-iron into the water on the final hole with a two-shot

Sunday, March 28th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) _ Adam Scott was on the verge of going from champion to choke artist, his face awash in disbelief after pulling a 6-iron into the water on the final hole with a two-shot lead.

Scott couldn't help but think of his idol, Greg Norman.

Not because of the shot he had just hit, but the crucial chip he was about to play.

Relying on a short-game lesson he got from the Shark on the eve of The Players Championship, the 23-year-old Aussie made it pay off just in time Sunday, hitting a delicate pitch to 10 feet and making the bogey putt to become the youngest champion in golf's richest tournament.

``I probably would have lost the tournament if I was chipping the same way I did earlier in the week,'' Scott said. ``I probably wouldn't have been standing on the last with a chip and a putt to win. I definitely did make the most out of that chipping lesson.

``I owe Greg a beer.''

The 10-footer was true as soon as it left his putter, and Scott thrust his fist into the air twice, then threw his cap down in relief. He closed with a 2-under 70 and won $1.44 million from the $8 million purse.

``It's a roller coaster of emotion,'' Scott said. ``I hit such a good chip. And once I knew the putt was pretty straight, I didn't let myself think about anything else but making the putt.''

Padraig Harrington shot a 30 on the back nine of the TPC at Sawgrass, tying the nine-hole tournament record, and closed with a 66 that suddenly looked like it might be enough to get into a playoff.

He was on the practice range, getting details from his wife on the cell phone, listening to the crowd to determine if he would play another hole. The final cheer was among the loudest of the week.

``It sounded like it went in,'' Harrington said, a runner-up for the second straight year.

The final hole overshadowed an otherwise brilliant performance, as Scott attacked early to build a five-shot lead, made some clutch chips as the lead was dwindling, then made the most important putt of his career.

He finished at 12-under 276, and his perks include a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour and a three-year exemption to the Masters.

Kenny Perry and Phil Mickelson each closed with a 71, and Frank Lickliter had a 72 to tie for third at 280.

The other big winner Sunday was John Daly. Despite closing with an 80 to finish near the bottom of the pack, he got into the Masters by finishing in the top 10 on the PGA Tour money list.

Daly would have been out had Perry finished alone in second, and it appeared that might happen until Harrington made his late surge and Perry faltered.

``I'm totally excited to be back in the Masters,'' Daly said.

Jay Haas, a runner-up last year and still going strong at age 50, went birdie-birdie-eagle around the turn and never let up until he was done with a 66. His finish assured him a spot in the field next year.

``When I play rounds like today, and tournaments like this week, it makes me feel like I can compete out here,'' Haas said. ``It's nice to have the opportunity to continue to play out here. It will end soon enough, I know that. But while it's lasting, I'm enjoying it.''

The only TV time Woods got Sunday was being paired with Harrington. He wound up with a 73 and tied for 16th.

Scott soaked up a big victory in golf's fifth major. He won for the second time on the PGA Tour, and sixth time worldwide. Not only does he swing the club like Woods, he knows how to win from in front. The young Aussie is 6-1 when he has at least a share of the 54-hole lead.

And while it wasn't pretty at the end, everyone is starting to predict a big future for Scott.

``I think he's technically better than Tiger Woods was at 23,'' Norman said. ``He needs a bit of confidence, a couple of victories under his belt, and he can be doing what Tiger has done in the last three, four, five years. I really believe that. He can eclipse all of us, I guess.''

Scott is only the sixth winner of The Players Championship who has not won a major championship, but that now looks like it's only a matter of time.

He showed Sunday he has all the shots, and a little moxie, against the strongest field on a tough course.

``I hope this can kick me on to become a champion like most of the guys who have won this,'' Scott said. ``It takes something to win this tournament, because those last three holes are brutal.

Scott might not be in this position had he not bumped into Norman on the practice green earlier this week. He grew up idolizing the Shark, who won The Players Championship in record fashion 10 years ago but has had more than his share of final-round misery in golf's biggest events.

Scott was struggling with his short game, and Norman spent an hour trying to get him to accelerate through the ball.

It paid off all week, and especially at the 15th hole when a five-shot lead had dwindled to two.

Scott was in deep rough left of the green, some 60 feet from the hole. He pitched out beautifully, the ball running across the green and stopping 2 feet from the hole for par.

He also faced a dangerous chip from left of the par-5 16th green, navigating that one to 4 feet. He missed that putt to keep his lead at two, and still faced the island-green 17th that can made any lead disappear.

Cool as ever, Scott found the middle of the green and nearly made his 25-foot birdie putt. When he belted a 2-iron off the 18th tee, smartly down the fairway, the engraver was already putting Scott's name on the crystal trophy.

All that changed when his second shot drifted left and landed with a shocking splash.

``Just one of those things that always seems to happen at this place,'' Scott said.