Baddeley ends drought as Couples fades

Finally a winner again, Aaron Baddeley raised his arms when his last putt dropped into the cup Sunday in the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles as his wife and two young daughters came over to share the moment.

They might have been among the few cheering him on at Riviera.

Baddeley could hear chants of "Freddie!" at every turn, and it got even louder when Fred Couples birdied the opening three holes to take the lead. Unfazed, Baddeley did just enough to win for the first time in four years.

In a battle of generations, the 29-year-old Australian made his best putt after his only big mistake and closed with a 2-under 69 to hold off Vijay Singh and Couples.

Baddeley wound up with a two-shot win over Singh, who turns 48 Tuesday. The big Fijian closed with a 69 for his best finish in more than two years.

Couples, who still had hope on the 16th, bogeyed two of the last three holes and shot 73 to tie for seventh in his bid to become the PGA Tour's oldest winner in more than 35 years.

"I'm a golfer, so I'm disappointed," Couples said.

With his tender back, it took only one hole for Couples to fall apart. Tied for the lead, he pushed his tee shot into the barranca to the right of the seventh fairway in grass so thick he had trouble finding his ball. Couples gave it a ferocious whack, and the ball came out to the left and into a bunker. He wound up making double bogey, a three-shot swing when Baddeley holed a 20-footer for birdie from the fringe.

"I just didn't feel the same after that," Couples said. "I was afraid to hit the ground, hitting it that hard out of that stuff. I did get off to a good start, and that was where it ended.

The PGA Tour win was the third of Baddeley's career. His game had slipped so much that he had plunged to No. 224 in the world.

Singh, who only three weeks ago had fallen out of the top 100 in the world for the first time in more than 21 years, had his highest finish since he won the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2008 on his way to the FedEx Cup. Despite back-to-back bogeys on the back nine, he gave himself a chance to the very end.

Baddeley, who finished at 12-under 272, won for the first time since the 2007 Phoenix Open. He had been one of the early proponents of the "Stack & Tilt" swing method until deciding to go back to his old teacher, Dale Lynch, two years ago. His goal was to be able to move the ball both ways without having to think about it, and the swing held up just fine on a sunny afternoon.

"To be honest, it felt like coming home," Baddeley said of his return to Lynch, his first coach in Australia.

Equipped with the lead, Baddeley never let it go. His only mistake was hitting into the trees on consecutive shots and missing a 21/2-foot putt to take double bogey on the 12th. Baddeley responded swiftly, making a 20-foot birdie putt from the fringe with eight feet of break.

He made pars the rest of the way, and no one could catch him.

Langer eclipses ACE record

Bernhard Langer shot a 6-under-par 66 to set a tournament record with a 20-under 196 total and win the ACE Group Classic by four shots in Naples, Fla. Fred Funk also had a 66 and finished second at 16 under. Nick Price (66) and Russ Cochran (67) tied for third. - AP