General / Editor / 01 April 2007 /

Adam Scott is playing down his chances of winning the forthcoming Masters despite claiming victory at the Houston Open on Sunday.

The Australian star secured the Texas tournament by three shots from compatriot Stuart Appleby, after a bizarre final hole which could have seen him throw it all away.

He took a one-shot lead down the final hole in Humble but hooked his tee shot into the water. However Appleby could not take advantage and, after finding the sand with his drive, followed his fellow Aussie into the water with his second.

Scott finished in style, holing a 48-foot putt on the 18th to claim the title and will go into the first major of the year full of confidence, as last year's winner Phil Mickelson did, after winning the Bell South title 12 months ago before going on to claim his second Green Jacket.

Asked if he thought that winning in the run up to Augusta would give him an advantage over the field, the 26-year-old was quick to play down any comparison to Mickelson's achievements.

"You can't really assume those kind of things," he said. "I'm sure Phil felt confident going to Augusta last year. I think he romped it in Atlanta by 13 or something. I'm sure he's feeling pretty confident with himself.

"I feel great about my game, but I'm certainly not predicting a win at Augusta next week, although I'm feeling better now going into it than I did at the start of the week."

Bubba Watson tied Appleby for second while Tommy Armour III finished a shot further back on 13-under.

Having been matched to small stakes at 60, Scott is now trading at 38 to win in Georgia, with Mickelson on offer at 9.2 behind tournament favourite Tiger Woods (2.56).

Scott is the 3.5 favourite to be the top Australian on Sunday evening while the Aussie contingent trade at 5 to be the winning nationality.

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>