Matt Every collected his first win on the PGA Tour at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and was awarded the trophy by ‘The King.’
Every seized the opportunity by posting a final round two-under par 70, while the 54-hole leader, Adam Scott ballooned to a four-over par 76 and fell to third place.
Every was the only one of the top-four finishers to break par on Sunday. Keegan Bradley finished runner-up by shooting a final round 72 and Jason Kokrak finished solo fourth by posting a one-over par 73 on Sunday.
Every, from nearby Daytona Beach, attended the Arnold Palmer Invitational as a kid with his father and envisioned raising the trophy and shaking Arnold’s hand.
Collecting the first-place $1.1 million check and being given the trophy by the tournament host fulfilled those dreams.
Every has had a solid start to the 2013-14 season, this was his fifth top-10 finish in 11 starts and brings his earnings to $1.99 million for the year.
The win moves him to No. 7 in the FedEx Cup race and No. 44 in the Official World Golf Rankings. A trip down Magnolia Lane in two weeks and entry into the remaining majors are in his future.
The biggest story of the week has to be the collapse of No. 2 in the world, Adam Scott. With a win at Bay Hill, Scott would have passed Tiger Woods for the No. 1 spot in the world rankings.
He played flawlessly through the first two rounds posting scores of 62-68 good for a seven-shot lead over the rest of the field at 14-under par. He struggled slightly on Saturday, but maintained the 54-hole lead, with a third-round one-under par 71, but completely imploded on Sunday with a four-over 76 and fell to third.
The good news for Scott heading into Augusta is that he played well for two rounds. The bad news is that he was not able to sustain his good play through the weekend.
Henrik Stenson recorded his best tournament of the year with rounds of 69-73-69-68 for nine-under par and tied for fifth with Erik Compton and Francesco Molinari.
Brandt Snedeker and Ryo Ishikawa finished at eight-under par T-8.
Sean O’Hair, Graeme McDowell, J.B. Holmes and Fred Jacobson rounded out the top 10.
The PGA Tour next moves to San Antonio for the Valero Texas Open.