MELBOURNE, Australia — Defending champion Adam Scott stayed in contention at the Australian Masters on Friday with a 4-under 68 to leave him six shots off the lead after two rounds at Metropolitan Golf Club.

Leader Michael Wright shot a 68 Friday for a 36-hole total of 9-under 135, two strokes ahead of fellow Australian Paul Spargo on a crowded leaderboard.

Scott, who was tied for 12th, has won the last two Australian Masters, also at Melbourne sand-belt courses – Royal Melbourne last year and Kingston Heath in 2012.

His playing partner, 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, was five strokes behind after a 71.

Canada’s Riley Wheeldon, who finished as the runner up for the 2013 PGA Tour of Canada’s Order of Merit, backed up his opening round 71 with a 2-under par 70 on Friday.  He is tied with Scott for 12th place at -3.

All three Americans made the cut – Kyle Stanley was 2 under after a 73, Boo Weekly (72) was even and Zac Blair (75) was 1 over.

Scott birdied three of four holes on the front nine, but was frustrated by poor approaches with wedges on the back nine.

“There were some positive signs early, some putts went in on the front, and I feel like I created some chances,” Scott said. “It was a bit slow on the back nine, I was disappointed. I have been working on a few things with the wedges, and I may have more work to do.”

The 40-year-old Wright, who has won three second-tier Australasian PGA events, said he wasn’t worried about the players behind him, including Scott.

“I’m not concerned what he’s doing,” Wright said. “Obviously he’s a fantastic player and I would expect him to play well over the weekend, but I expect myself to play well, too.”

Earlier Friday, Golf Australia championship director Trevor Herden said Scott would not be paired with No. 1 Rory McIlroy over the first two rounds of the Australian Open next week at The Australian in Sydney.

McIlroy birdied the 18th hole at Royal Sydney last year to win the title and prevent No. 2 Scott from winning the so-called Australian “Triple Crown” – the Masters, PGA and Open.

Scott said two weeks ago he’d like to be paired with McIlroy over the opening rounds.

“It’s very tempting, but there are several considerations when pairing the strongest world-class players,” Herden said. “Just like all the major championships do, we will spread out the superstars across the draw to ensure as many people as possible see them.”

Tiger Woods criticized Hall of Fame golf writer Dan Jenkins on Tuesday for a parody in which Jenkins fakes an interview with him and covers topics from his reputation as a bad tipper to his failed marriage to his six-year drought in the majors.

The online headline of the Golf Digest column is “My (Fake) Interview with Tiger,” with an asterisk to add, “Or how it plays out in my mind.” The print edition of the magazine has “fake” in parentheses on the cover, but not in the headline above the column.

Woods rarely goes public with his criticism of stories written about him. But on Tuesday, he wrote a guest column for Derek Jeter’s new website, http://www.theplayerstribune.com , which is a forum for athletes to connect directly with fans. The title of Woods’ column was “Not True, Not Funny.”

He said the fake interview “fails as parody, and is really more like grudge-fueled piece of character assassination.”

Jenkins, who has been covering the majors for more than 60 years, was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011. While he has covered all the greats dating to Ben Hogan, he never was granted a private interview with the 14-time major champion early in Woods’ career.

“I like to think I have a good sense of humor, and that I’m more than willing to laugh at myself,” Woods wrote. “I’ve been playing golf for a long time, 20 years on the PGA Tour. I’ve given lots of interviews to journalists in all that time, more than I could count, and some have been good and some not so much. … But this concocted article was below the belt.

“Good-natured satire is one thing, but no fair-minded writer would put someone in the position of having to publicly deny that he mistreats his friends, takes pleasure in firing people and stiffs on tips – and a lot of other slurs, too.”

Jenkins said on Twitter after Woods’ response, “My next column for Tiger: defining parody and satire. I thought I let him off easy.” He declined further comment.

In the “fake” interview, Jenkins asked why Woods hasn’t fired longtime agent Mark Steinberg.

Q: Why haven’t you fired Steiny, by the way? You’ve fired everybody else. …

A: I’ll probably get around to it. I like to fire people. It gives me something to do when I’m not shaping my shots.

Jenkins also had a series of questions related to Woods crashing his car into a fire hydrant on Thanksgiving night in 2009 at the onset of revelations that he had multiple extramarital affairs.

Q: You haven’t talked about it, but after all of those New York Post front pages during the scandal, what’s the moral of your story?

A: That’s easy. Don’t get caught.

Q: You named your yacht Privacy. Because you’re a worldwide celebrity, do you really expect and demand privacy?

A: I thought about renaming it Serenity, but that pretty much went out the door when the 9-iron hit the window of the Escalade.

Jenkins served up a couple of phony questions on Woods’ reputation as a bad tipper.

Q: I don’t get it. For a guy who can certainly afford it, you’ve become famous for being a bad tipper. It’s almost like you take pride in it.

A: I just don’t understand why you’re supposed to tip people for doing a job they’re already getting paid to do.

Q: In many cases tips are expected to be part of their salary.

A: So let `em go find a better job.

Woods was a playing editor for Golf Digest for 13 years, a relationship that began after his historic victory in the 1997 Masters. Woods and the magazine ended the deal in January 2011 when they couldn’t agree on how many hours Woods should devote.

In his guest column, Woods said of Jenkins, “Frustration or resentment because I have not been more available to him should not give him a license for an underhanded attack on me as an athlete, as a professional and as a person.”

“I guess Golf Digest’s editors believe this is a good way to sell more magazines,” Woods wrote. “I’ll bet their readers don’t think so. Funny they didn’t think this poorly of me when I worked with the magazine. I have to say I was surprised when I saw this piece came from Jenkins, who is one of the most distinguished golf writers out there.”

Woods said he has let “plenty of things slide” during his career, but not this one.

“The sheer nastiness of this attack, the photos and how it put false words in my mouth just had to be confronted,” he said.

Woods has not played since he missed the cut at the PGA Championship. He had back surgery a week before the Masters and missed three months in the summer, and then took three more months to rebuild his strength. He is scheduled to return Dec. 4 at his Hero World Challenge in Florida.

Woods included a link to the letter sent to Golf Digest by Steinberg and spokesman Glenn Greenspan that asks for a written apology.

“Read it, and the original piece if you have to, and decide for yourself what’s fair,” Woods wrote in the column.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico  — Charley Hoffman rallied from a three-shot deficit Sunday by closing with a 5-under 66 for a one-shot victory over Shawn Stefani in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba.

Hoffman ended another long drought with his third career victory on the PGA Tour. He had gone 105 starts between his first and second victory, and this time went 108 starts until winning the final PGA Tour event of the calendar year.

“It’s been awhile between wins,” Hoffman said. “I kept calm and kept hitting good shots.”

He referred to it as a low-stress round, with a few exceptions, including the final hole on the El Camaleon course at this Mexican resort.

Stefani, who closed with a 69, made an 18-foot birdie putt on the 17th to get within one shot. Stefani then hit into a fairway bunker with a lip so steep that he had no option but to hit sand wedge some 50 yards short of the green. Hoffman hit driver that rolled up against the base of a tree, which forced him to play a left-handed shot back to the fairway.

Hoffman pulled his approach some 30 feet left of the hole. Stefani’s pitch came up woefully short, and he chipped to 5 feet. That allowed Hoffman two putts for the win, and he rolled his par putt to within 18 inches for a tap-in bogey.

Hoffman finished at 17-under 267.

Danny Lee ran off seven straight birdies on the front nine to take the lead, but the former U.S. Amateur champion couldn’t hold on. Lee didn’t make another birdie the rest of the way, dropping three shots on the back nine for a 67. He finished two shots behind in a tie for third with Andres Gonzalez, who had a 67 for his best career finish.

Jason Bohn, the 54-hole leader, shot 40 on the front to fall out of contention. He closed with a 74 and tied for seventh.

Carlos Ortiz (68) and Oscar Fraustro (69) both played well in their native country and tied for ninth. Ortiz was the Web.com Tour player of the year in 2014 with three victories. Fraustro will get into the Sony Open at the start of next year by finishing in the top 10.

Canada’s David Hearn made back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18 en route to a 3-under 68 and finished in a tie for 16th place.  His countrymen Roger Sloan and Nick Taylor dropped back into a tie for 56th spot after carding rounds of 72.

Hoffman goes to Hawaii one week early by qualifying for the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua. Hoffman also gets to return to the Masters for the first time since 2011.

Hoffman needed some help from Lee, who began missing all the putts he had been making on the front nine. And he needed a little luck. He was one shot behind Stefani on the par-5 13th hole when Hoffman feared his tee shot went into a hazard. It barely stayed in play, and he went on to make birdie. Stefani, who drove into the fairway, hit his second shot into a hazard and made bogey.

“That was a big change in momentum,” Hoffman said.

The two-shot swing sent Hoffman on his way. He missed a pair of short birdie putts on the 14th and 15th holes, and then hit an approach to 2 feet on the 16th to build a two-shot lead with two holes to play.

Hoffman’s wife and two young daughters greeted him on the 18th when he tapped in his final shot. The last time Hoffman won, his wife was pregnant with their first child.

“My daughter has been wanting to go Hawaii, so I guess we’ll make a New Year’s run,” Hoffman said.

The question is which caddie goes with him. He fired his longtime caddie a few weeks ago. A replacement came down with neck spasms and couldn’t go to Mexico, so Hoffman used Brett Waldman, who had been working for David Toms.

Canada’s David Hearn was the leading Canadian, tying for 16th at 10-under 274.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Jason Bohn looked out toward the ocean Saturday and knew it was going to be tough day at the OHL Classic. He kept it together long enough to take the lead.

Bohn made a pair of birdies, and a pair of tough par saves that were just as valuable, for a 4-under 67 in the rain and wind that gave him a one-shot lead over Shawn Stefani going into the final round of the last PGA Tour event of the calendar year.

“When we started, it was just a little bit breezy. It was nice. It was going to be a beautiful day,” Bohn said. “Then we could kind of see the rain coming in from the ocean. Once it started raining, it got very difficult. The greens got a little bit slower just from the rain. If you were in the rough, you got some squirters where the ball could fly where there was water trapped between the grass and the ball. And it was just tough.”

“I’m just soaked, right down to my boxer shorts,” he said. “I am as soaked as can be right now.”

Bohn was reminded on the final hole how tough it will be to capture his third career victory, and his first since New Orleans in 2010.

He stretched his lead to three shots as Stefani, Ken Duke and 36-hole leader Michael Putnam kept dropping shots. On the 18th hole at the El Camaleon course of Mayakoba, Bohn tugged his approach to the left side of the green.

Stefani, who made bogey from the bunker on the 16th and from a tee shot into the bushes on the 17th, made a 20-foot putt for one of only two birdies on the 18th hole in the final round. Bohn left his long birdie putt about 5 feet short and missed that for a bogey.

That put him at 15-under 198, and his three-shot lead suddenly was down to one shot.

Stefani is looking his first PGA Tour win. He lost to Justin Rose in a playoff at Congressional in July.

“I walked off the green on 17 and said, `Just try to hit one in the fairway.’ Hit a good shot in there and just tried to make birdie to end on a positive note,” Stefani said. “Sixteen and 17 were just kind of mental errors, getting tired late in the day. You can’t do that. It happened. But I stayed positive walking onto 18 tee box, and hit a couple good shots and knocked her in there.”

Charley Hoffman (67) and Alex Cejka (68) were three shots behind, while the group at 11-under 202 included Jerry Kelly and Ken Duke, who hit a tee shot in the hazard on the 16th and made double bogey.

“Only time I hit it in the hazard all week,” Duke said. “It’s just tough to get out there with everything coming down. You’re just soaked out there.”

Fred Funk, 58, whose Champions Tour season is over, was five shots behind.

Oscar Fraustro of Mexico had a 69 and was in the group at 9-under 204, while Carlos Ortiz again held up under all the attention with a 69. He was seven shots behind. Ortiz won three times on the Web.com Tour a year ago and was voted its player of the year.

Bohn is coming off a runner-up finish last week in Mississippi and is 29-under par in his last seven rounds. He believes he has finally figured out that he doesn’t have to smash it off the tee to compete as long as he’s keeping the ball in play. He made a number of key putts for par to grab the 54-hole lead.

“I’ve always tried to do things with the golf ball that maybe I can’t actually do,” Bohn said. “I’m really comfortable in a place where I know my own game. I’m not a bomber, but I can keep it in front of me and I can hit some good, solid iron shots in there.”

David Hearn fell 12 spots Saturday, shooting a 2-over 73.  He is tied for 17th, eight strokes back of the lead, while Nick Taylor and Roger Sloan are both -4 on the week and tied for 44th.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Michael Putnam birdied five of the first eight holes Friday and finished with a 7-under 64 to take the lead in the PGA Tour’s OHL Classic.

Putnam had a 12-under 130 total, playing the first 36 holes without a bogey on Mayakoba’s El Camaleon course. He won the Web.com Tour’s 2013 Mexico Championship.

“I’ve kept the ball in play really well,” Putnam said. “It’s a tight golf course and got to keep it between the trees. After that, I’ve hit a lot of greens and made a lot of two putts. I did make about a 10-footer for par on 16 – probably the hardest hole on the course. Other than that, it was a pretty easy bogey-free round.”

Winless in 95 career PGA Tour starts, the 31-year-old former Pepperdine player birdied the par-4 18th to close his morning round.

“It’s a hard hole today,” Putnam said. “Driver, 6-iron into the wind and an 18-foot putt.”

Shawn Stefani and Jason Bohn were a stroke back. They each shot 65.

Stefani had seven birdies and a bogey.

“I’ve been hitting the ball really well for quite some time now,” Stefani said. “The last few days really has been credit to my putter. I kind of figured something out on Wednesday and just kind of focused on that.”

Bohn had six birdies in his second straight bogey-free round.

“It’s about positioning yourself in the middle of the fairway or right side of the fairway and trying to attack some of these flags,” Bohn said. “One of my strengths is just getting the ball in play. If I can get my putter hot, we’ll see what happens.”

Ken Duke was 10 under after a 63, the best round of the day.

David Hearn, Nicholas Thompson, Will MacKenzie and Alex Cejka were 9 under. Hearn and Thompson shot 65, Cejka had a 67, and MacKenzie a 68.

Fred Funk, the oldest player in the field at 58, was 8 under after a 65. He won the 2007 event at 50 years, 8 months, 12 days to become the fifth-oldest PGA Tour winner.

Oscar Fraustro topped the seven Mexican players in the field, shooting a 67 to reach 7 under.

“I’m happy with my round today again, very good score again,” Fraustro said through a translator. “It could have been better, but I had better control of my game.”

Countryman Carlos Ortiz was another stroke back, overcoming an early double bogey for a 69. He won three times on the Web.com Tour last season.

“I’m proud of myself,” Ortiz said. “I got it back and finished under par. I’m still in the tournament.”

Defending champion Harris English was 4 under after a 71.

Canada’s Roger Sloan is tied for 46th at 4-under, while Nick Talyor is 58th.

Adam Hadwin and Mike Weir failed to advance to weekend action.

The tournament is the final regular-season event of the year.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Daniel Berger had five birdies in a seven-hole stretch Thursday for a share of the lead in the OHL Classic.

Making his sixth PGA Tour start, Berger birdied Nos. 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7 and finished with two pars to match Will MacKenzie, Robert Garrigus, Steve Wheatcroft, Hudson Swafford and Tony Finau at 6-under 65 on Mayakoba’s El Camaleon course.

“This is what we work so hard for, so it’s great to get off to a good start, but got to keep it going,” said Berger, the 21-year-old Florida State player who earned a PGA Tour card last season on the Web.com Tour.

The six-player tie is the largest after 18 holes since six players also topped the leaderboard in the 2013 St. Jude Classic.

The Greg Norman-designed course requires accuracy off the tee.

“I think I hit maybe two drivers all day,” Berger said. “It’s just kind of one of those courses where you’ve got to hit the fairway. Super tight off the tee, so just put it in play and you’ve got some birdie opportunities.”

The long-hitting Finau hit driver only once.

“I’m still able to use my length by hitting 3-woods and 2-irons and moving it up the fairway still where most guys would have to hit driver,” Finau said. “I definitely wasn’t able to use my driver length, but I still use my length off the tee.”

Fifty-year-old Davis Love III was at 66 in a group that included Aaron Baddeley, Charley Hoffman and Pat Perez.

“I made some putts when I had to,” Love said. “I had four birdies in five holes in a little spurt in the middle of the round, and put the ball in play. I think that’s what you have to do here. You have to keep it in the fairway and you have to putt well.”

Defending champion Harris English closed with a three-putt bogey for a 67.

“It hurt on the last hole, three-putting, but I’m still going to take a lot of positives out of today,” English said.

Carlos Ortiz topped the seven Mexican players in the field at 67. He won three times on the Web.com Tour last season.

“I started a little bit nervous with all the people who were watching, family, friends,” Ortiz aid. “But I had a very good beginning on the first hole with a birdie and then I birdied 3, 4, 5. It helped me a lot to get relaxed.”

Canada’s Nick Taylor, the Sanderson Farms Championship winner Sunday in Mississippi, had a 71.

The tournament is the final regular-season event of the year.

What does a 26-year-old pro golfer who just won his first PGA Tour event and US$720,000 do immediately following his victory?

If you’re Nick Taylor, you do your laundry.

Taylor overcame a four-shot deficit Sunday to capture his maiden PGA Tour victory in just his 13th start on golf’s top circuit. He shot 6-under-par 66 in his final round – despite a three-putt bogey on the 72nd hole –  for a two-shot victory over Americans Boo Weekley and Jason Bohn.

After the win, he and fellow Canadian and longtime roommate Adam Hadwin, along with their caddies, went for dinner to celebrate. But right after, Taylor was back cleaning and packing his clothes. He was in bed by 10 p.m.

“I was wiped out,” he said during a conference call with reporters Monday. “I was in bed reflecting and trying to respond back to as many people as possible.”

There was an outpouring of well wishes on Twitter as “Nick Taylor” was trending across Canada for nearly an hour after his win.

The native of Abbotsford, B.C., has had quite the year already, but this win was the icing on the cake.

He got married in May and he missed six straight cuts on the Web.com Tour in the summer. Then he shot the best final round of his life in September at the Web.com Tour Championship to snatch up PGA Tour status for 2014-15.

“I called my wife and she’s in tears,” Taylor said after his win on Sunday. “She doesn’t know what’s going on. I don’t really know what’s going on either.”

Aside from the big payday, Taylor earned an exemption into The Players Championship and the PGA Championship. Most importantly for Taylor, though, was earning a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour.

“Now that I can actually pick my schedule, that’s the biggest thing that will sink in,” he said. “I want to play every event because it’s my first season. You’ll have to get a leash on me so then I don’t wear myself out.”

With the win, Taylor became the first Canadian winner on the PGA Tour since Stephen Ames, a native of Trinidad and Tobago who is now a Canadian citizen living in Calgary. He captured the Children’s Miracle Network Classic November 15, 2009 – nearly five years to the day prior to Taylor’s win Sunday.

Taylor was tipped as Canada’s “next big thing” in golf after wins at the Canadian Junior and Canadian Amateur Championships. He spent 21 weeks as the world’s no.1-ranked amateur, but then toiled on the Canadian Tour – now PGA Tour Canada – and the Web.com Tour for the last five years.

“You could have picked me out of a pile of great players, and I was lucky enough to break through,” he said.

Taylor and Hadwin grew up playing junior and amateur golf together and got their starts on the Vancouver Golf Tour, the brainchild of Fraser Mulholland.

“We’re very proud they’ve come across our Tour and used it to learn how to win,” said Mulholland. “Last Spring, 1/8Taylor 3/8 played in 11 of our events prior to the PGA Tour Canada season, and he won eight of them. I was not surprised for him to get to the PGA Tour, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him win again.”

Scott Simmons, the CEO of Golf Canada, was also excited for Taylor. Taylor was a member of Golf Canada’s national team from 2008 to 2010, and Simmons said he is at the very front of the player development process it is trying to instil across the country.

“No system can make up for someone who doesn’t have the internal DNA,” said Simmons. “But if you take that kind of DNA and surround it with the support system we now have in Canada, I think it’s a recipe for success.”

A Canadian-born golfer hadn’t raised a PGA Trophy since Mike Weir in 2007.

Industry pundits thought one of the more experienced players would end Canada’s winless drought.

But it was Taylor.

He admitted it was good news for golf in Canada.

“I’m proud and lucky I was the first one to win, but I have no doubt in my mind that I won’t be the last, even this season,” Taylor said. “It’s looking bright for Canadian golf, that’s for sure.”

And maybe one day, he’ll have someone else do his laundry.

JACKSON, Miss. – Nick Taylor was down on his game over the summer, struggling with his putter as he fought to earn a PGA Tour card.

So even he was a little stunned Sunday when he was holding a big bronze rooster and celebrating a comeback victory in the Sanderson Farms Championship.

The 26-year-old Taylor overcame a four-shot deficit at the Country Club of Jackson, shooting a 6-under 66 on Sunday for a two-stroke victory over Boo Weekley and Jason Bohn. Taylor, a former member of Golf Canada’s National Amateur Team, is the first Canadian-born winner on the PGA Tour since Mike Weir in 2007.

“It’s kind of hard to believe that I’m in that category now,” Taylor said.

Taylor, who said he grew up admiring Weir, won the tournament with nearly flawless work on the greens. He played the front nine in 4 under to pull even with the leaders and took control with birdies on Nos. 13, 14 and 15. He made four birdies from 15 feet or more, charging up the leaderboard and then staying at the top.

Even though it was just his 13th PGA Tour start – and seventh as a professional – he handled the final holes with little drama. He calmly made a 9-foot putt to save par on No. 16 and his tap-in for bogey on 18 was easily good enough for the win.

“Going into today, I was feeling good about my game,” Taylor said. “But until it really happens, you never really expect it. It’s very surreal. I putted unbelievable today.”

A former University of Washington player from Abbotsford, B.C, Taylor three-putted for bogey on No. 18 after taking a three-shot lead into the final hole. He finished at 16-under 272 and earned $720,000. He is now exempt through the end of the 2016-17 season and will play next year in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, the Players Championship and PGA Championship.

Weekley had a bogey-free 66, and Bohn shot 69.

“I didn’t drive the ball as well as I wanted the first three days and kind of worked on some things yesterday and it came together today,” Weekley said.

But nobody was catching Taylor.

John Rollins had a two-shot lead coming into Sunday, but faded with a 73 to tie for fourth at 13 under with Peter Uihlein (65) and Justin Thomas (67).

Taylor started the day among a clump of contenders, but quickly moved to the forefront with three birdies on the first five holes. And it was his recently-found touch on the greens that helped him rally.

“I just wanted to hit as many greens as possible because I knew I was rolling it really well,” Taylor said.

Taylor earned his PGA Tour card in dramatic fashion less than two months ago by shooting a 63 in the final round of the Web.com Tour Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

The course gave up some low scores on Sunday thanks to ideal cool and windless conditions. Taylor was among the lowest and by the end of the day, he was holding the Sanderson Farms trophy, which is a bronze rooster. Sanderson Farms, the tournament sponsor, produces chicken products.

“I like roosters now,” Taylor said, grinning. “It’s my favorite animal.”

Stephen Ames, a naturalized Canadian citizen from Trinidad and Tobago, won a PGA Tour event in 2009.

In other Canadian results Sunday, David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., shot a final round of 67 to finish tied for 14th at 9 under. Adam Hadwin, also of Abbotsford, shot 74 to finish tied for 73rd at 3 over.

SHANGHAI — Even in the midst of a meltdown, Bubba Watson never lost hope Sunday in the HSBC Champions.

He stood on the 16th tee with a two-shot lead. He trudged off the 17th green facing a one-shot deficit behind five players suddenly tied for the lead. And right when it looked as though Watson had blown it, he delivered a finish that not even the creator of “Bubba golf” could have imagined.

From some 60 yards away in a bunker left of the green on the par-5 18th hole, Watson blasted out of the sand and watched his ball roll 25 feet before it dropped for eagle. Watson was so stunned that his eyes widened and he screamed. He didn’t know what else to do.

Moments later, he rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th in a playoff to beat Tim Clark and capture his first World Golf Championship.

“You never know what he’s going to do,” said Rickie Fowler, who watched it all unfold at Sheshan International.

Watson closed with a 2-under 70, a score that doesn’t even begin to describe his wild ride – an eagle, birdie, par, bogey and double bogey filled his scorecard over the last five holes.

The two-time Masters champion looked like a lost cause when he stood in the bunker on the 18th in regulation, waiting his turn to play. That’s when he turned to his caddie and told him, “It’s been a miserable couple holes here, but this will change everything if it goes in.”

Talk about a Shanghai surprise.

“You always joke about holing it,” Watson said. “And then it actually went in. I didn’t know how to react and so I just kind of screamed, and I lost my voice a little bit. It was one of those shots, a one-in-a-lifetime kind of shot. And so it was pretty neat.”

The 10th edition of the HSBC Champions was the most memorable one yet.

Clark made a 5-foot birdie on the final hole for a 69 to join Watson at 11-under 277. Fowler’s hopes of joining them ended when he tried to hit a 5-wood from 228 yards over the water to a back pin position. The ball didn’t make it over the front bank and rolled back into the water. He scrambled for a par and a 70.

All three players in the final group had a chance at birdie to join the playoff.

Graeme McDowell, who led after each of the three rounds, missed a 12-foot putt and shot 73. Hiroshi Iwata of Japan, the mystery guest on a world-class leaderboard, narrowly missed from 8 feet. U.S. Open champion Martin Kaymer hit a wedge that bounded off the green and into the water, leading to double bogey and a 73.

In the playoff, Clark had a 25-foot birdie putt that stopped a few inches short.

“I knew I needed to birdie that playoff, especially with him being able to reach,” Clark said. “I’m pleased overall. Obviously, disappointed to be that close.”

Watson wound up in the same bunker in the playoff, and while he blasted out 20 feet short, the birdie putt was on the same line as the bunker shot he holed in regulation. He knew the speed and the break. The only difference was when he holed the winning putt, he didn’t have a voice to scream. He bent his knees and repeatedly pumped both arms.

Watson became the 14th player to win a major and a World Golf Championship. Watson moved to No. 3 in the world, making him the highest-ranked American, and it was his sixth career win. Sweeter yet, he picked up a trophy far away from home.

“Being able to win outside the U.S., I just want to be able to travel and get through the jet lag, get through all the things and still perform at a high level,” Watson said. “So for me to win out here, this is very big. This is very special for me.”

That the other five players even had a chance was a bonus.

Watson was 89 yards away from the 16th green when he hit a lob wedge heavy and missed the green, such a bad spot that he did well to keep his chip on the green about 20 feet away. He two-putted for bogey. Then, he found a bunker left of the green on the par-3 17th and couldn’t negotiate the soft sand. Using a 56-degree wedge, he left the first shot in the sand. His next one went off the green and onto the fringe, and he two-putted for double bogey.

When the final group behind him walked onto the 16th green, they were so stunned to see a five-way tie for the lead, they asked to make sure it was accurate.

“That’s why I went for the green on 16,” Kaymer said. “I thought if I can make 3 there, I can square with Bubba. And I saw that he made double bogey on 17, so all of a sudden, there were five guys in the lead.”

Watson at that moment appeared to be the least likely of the bunch to hold the trophy. It only made sense later when he was asked why fans find him so intriguing.

“They never know what they’re going to get,” he said.

JACKSON, Miss. – John Rollins took a two-stroke lead Saturday in the Sanderson Farms Championship, birdieing two of the final five holes for a 4-under 68.

Tied with David Toms for the second-round lead, Rollins had a three-round total of 14-under 202. He won the last of his three PGA Tour titles in 2009.

“Today was a little bit more of a grind than the last couple of days,” Rollins said. “I didn’t drive it quite as well today, so I was playing out of the rough, which on this golf course is not fun. But I made some key putts to keep the round going and just grinded out a 4-under par to keep myself in position.”

William McGirt was second after a 66, matching the best round of the day in sunny, calm conditions.

Jason Bohn and Lucas Glover were third at 11 under. Bohn also shot 66, and Glover had a 67.

“If we have weather similar to what we had today, there’s definitely a 6-, 7-, 8-under par out there, maybe even lower than that,” Bohn said. “Anybody that’s within six shots of the lead has a chance to win.

Toms and Canada’s Nick Taylor were 10 under. Toms had a 72, and Taylor shot 70. After two bogey-free rounds, Toms bogeyed Nos. 4-6. He birdied Nos. 7, 10 and 18, holing a 31-footer on the final hole.

“At least I didn’t shoot myself out of the tournament,” said Toms, a 13-time PGA Tour winner.

The 39-year-old Rollins has limited tour status as a past champion after losing his card last season and failing to regain it in the four-event Web.com Tour Finals.

He said a driving-range tip from his caddie Wednesday helped him dial it back on the tee box, and the result was much more consistent play with his driver.

“A lot can change in one week,” Rollins said. “But the big thing is I can’t get ahead of myself. I can’t start thinking about where I am and what’s going on, and status and all this sort of stuff. I’ve just got to play golf, and that’s what we’re going to try to do and try to enjoy it.”

Rollins has at least a share of the 54-hole lead for the sixth time in his career. After failing to win the first four times, he held on in the last in the 2009 Barracuda Championship in Reno, Nevada.