Luke Donald retained his world number one berth with a superb four-shot victory at the shortened Barclays Scottish Open.
Donald had to complete 27 holes on Sunday after bad weather forced the suspension of round two on Friday, before washing out play on Saturday. But, with the tournament reduced to 54 holes, the Englishman did not let the delay affect him and shot 12 birdies on his way to a 19-under total, four better than second-placed Fredrik Andersson Hed.
Donald began Sunday by finally completing a five-under-par second round with three birdies on the back nine, and he continued his charge to the top of the leaderboard when he began his third round on the same day. The 33-year-old showed the form that made him the world’s top golfer as he reeled off four successive birdies between the par-four third and par-five sixth. Donald added two more over the par-four ninth and 10th as the weather held firm, and he made three more over his remaining four holes to finish nine-under and confirm a comfortable victory on 19-under.
Andersson Hed managed to top Donald’s performance on the final day with a fantastic 10-under-par 72, but that was only good enough for a 15-under total that fell well short of Donald. The 39-year-old Swede was in blistering form over the front nine with six birdies, including a run of four between the par-five sixth and par-four ninth. He then added two more after the turn and a last-hole eagle proved to be in vain.
Lee Westwood, meanwhile, was forced to settle for a share of 14th place after a final-round 68. The 38-year-old Englishman travelled to Inverness knowing that a victory would send him back to the top of the Official World Golf Ranking, but he could not keep up with red-hot Donald as he finished 12-under.
