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Scott cruises to Open title

Singapore - Australia's Adam Scott cruised to a three-shot victory at the $6m Singapore Open on Monday, capping a fine fourth-round 68 with a birdie to become the first three-times winner of the event.

The Australian, a winner here in 2005 and 2006, returned to the Sentosa Golf Club early on Monday to finish the weather-hit co-sanctioned tournament on 17-under-par.

Denmark's Anders Hansen finished second after a 68 while US Open winner Graeme McDowell (70) was tied for third with Sweden's Rikard Karlberg (67) on 13-under-par.

Last year's winner Ian Poulter started the day three shots off the lead but the Englishman slumped to a two-over-par round of 73 and finished tied for sixth.

Scott said nerves almost got the better of him in the closing stages but a birdie on 15 settled him.

"I haven't been putting my best lately and the demons starting creeping in a little bit on the back nine," Scott said.

"But fortunately I squashed them and made a good putt on 15. That gave me a little buffer and calmed me down for the last three."

Scott held a three-shot lead when the fourth round was suspended due to darkness a day earlier. Play had been suspended for five-and-a-half hours on Sunday due to thunderstorms and lightning.

Coming back to finish 10 holes on Monday was not ideal, Scott said, but he made the best of it.

"It was a bit of a grind this morning," said Scott, who returned to the Serapong course at 07:30 local time.

"It's not an easy back nine to come out and play and I didn't make it look that easy either, so I'm just happy to be done.

"I'm very happy to be a winner here again."

The 30-year-old looked at ease on the tricky Serapong course but his touch with the putter seemed to desert him on the back nine with bogeys at the 10th and 14th.

However, he steadied the ship with a great putt on 15 for birdie and went down 18 with a two-shot cushion over Dane Hansen.

His second into the par-five finishing hole found the greenside bunker, but after splashing out to 20 feet he drained the putt for birdie to cap a fine final round.

McDowell, battling Martin Kaymer for the Race to Dubai title, took a chunk out of the German's lead and it could have been even better but for a three-putt par on the last.

Kaymer, who finished tied for 10th, saw his advantage in the European Tour's money list trimmed to just over $500 000 from $730 000 before the tournament.

Briton McDowell will have the chance to eat into more of Kaymer's lead at next week's Hong Kong Open, which the German is skipping, before the season-ending Dubai World Championship at the end of the month.

"It's still a great week for me. I'm playing Hong Kong and Martin's not," said McDowell, struggling to mask the disappointment of the final hole.

"I'm still very happy with my game, very positive about how I've been swinging the club this week and I hope to take this great form to Hong Kong."

Final round scores from the Barclays Singapore Open at Sentosa Golf Club on Monday.

Play was suspended Sunday because of fading light.

267 - Adam Scott (AUS) 65-65-69-68

270 - Anders Hansen (DEN) 71-66-65-68

271 - Rikard Karlberg (SWE) 64-70-70-67, Graeme McDowell (NIR) 65-68-68-70

272 - Kang Kyung-nam (KOR) 66-67-67-72

273 - Jamie Donaldson (WAL) 66-69-68-70, Ian Poulter (ENG) 69-63-68-73

274 - Miguel Angel Jimenez (ESP) 66-71-71-66, Keith Horne (RSA) 65-72-69-68

275 - Chris Wood (ENG) 63-73-71-68, Martin Kaymer (GER) 68-68-70-69, Liang Wenchong (CHN) 69-65-71-70, Prayad Marksaeng (THA) 69-65-70-71

276 - Shigeki Maruyama (JPN) 64-74-70-68, Joost Luiten (NED) 68-64-73-71

277 - Jeev Milkha Singh (IND) 70-64-74-69, Raphael Jacquelin (FRA) 66-70-72-69, Johan Edfors (SWE) 66-71-69-71, Yang Yong-Eun (KOR) 66-73-66-72, Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 67-69-69-72

278 - Hiroshi Iwata (JPN) 66-70-71-71, David Drysdale (SCO) 68-70-69-71, Darren Beck (AUS) 70-67-69-72, Francesco Molinari (ITA) 69-69-67-73

279 - Colin Montogmerie (SCO) 70-68-70-71, Nick Doherty (ENG) 65-72-71-71, Soren Kjeldsen (DEN) 69-69-70-71, Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 67-70-70-72, Peter Lawrie (IRL) 67-71-68-73

Selected

281 - Phil Mickelson (USA) 67-69-75-70


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