Watson crowned Hero World Challenge champion, Lahiri last

Two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson carded a six-under 66 in the final round to clinch the Hero World Challenge even as India's Anirban Lahiri put on a disappointing show to finish last at tied 17th, at the Albany Golf Club here.
With his mesmerising play and cool putting, Watson finished on a total of 25-under 263 to stay well clear of last year's winner Jordan Spieth, who ended fourth behind Patrick Reed (second) and Ricky Fowler (third).
Watson -- one of the few left-handers on the PGA Tour -- registered his sixth top-five finish in last 10 worldwide starts. He had back-to-back birdies three different times yesterday, at the par-3 second and par-5 third, the par-5 sixth and par-4 seventh and on the first two holes of the back nine.

Watson, 37, who started the opening day carding a five-under was happy to maintain a consistent run in the PGA-sanctioned tournament hosted by the Tiger Woods Foundation.
"I think every year we are getting better at consistency. I believe consistency's the biggest thing about this game. We've seen Tiger, we see Phil (Mickelson), you see Jim Furyk. I can keep naming names, but guys that have been every year and that's what I am looking at," Watson said after the win.
"I want my name close to that leaderboard every tournament, every year. So people are always talking about Bubba Watson, about how consistent he is and how good he is. That's my whole focus right now is every year getting better and better," he added.

But the final round belonged to England's Justin Rose, who smashed the course record with a 10-under to end thirteenth on the leaderboard. He broke the day-old mark of nine-under 63 shared by Watson and Casey.

"It was a very disappointing week. It becomes all the
more disappointing because the course was gettable. Frankly I played a good first 27 holes at which staged I was seven-under and somewhere after that I lost focus," said Lahiri.
He added, "Its been a great year, but I seemed to have run out of gas towards the end in the last 3-4 weeks in WGC, China and here. Now I am looking forward to a four-five week break to re-charge my batteries and start the new season again in mid-January."

However, he admitted having enjoyed being in Bahamas and in a field of such elite stars.
"That's what we play golf for, to play against the best and it was a great week. It was an amazing experience. Hero put up such a great show and were world class. Its just that on the course my 'A' game wasn't there."
Lahiri begins the new year with an appearance at the EurAsia Cup in Malaysia and then will move to the US with the first event in the third week.
Chairman, Managing Director and CEO of hero MotoCorp Pawan Munjal congratulated Watson on his magnificent win,"We have just seen another great champion in full flow and he was amazing through the week. Consistent and aggressive, he is a deserving winner."

Alongwith Munjal, there was Woods, who handed over the trophy to Watson at the picturesque venue, which will continue to play host to the tournament for the next two years.