Editor's note: This story originally ran in the March 7 issue of Golfweek.
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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — At the end of 72 holes of The Honda Classic, just one stroke separated them. Yet, even closer was the warm embrace that Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia shared on the 72nd green Feb. 28.
Theirs is a friendship born from youthful hopes, and this head-to-head battle over the Champion Course at PGA National — Scott at 70-271 edging Garcia’s 71-272 — had come nearly 16 years after their first encounter.
At the Australian Masters, Garcia, a professional and a precocious Spaniard, and Scott, an amateur and an unflappable Aussie, were joined by the belief that they were young, talented and ready to take on the world.