Aaron Baddeley holds aloft the trophy after winning the Northern Trust Open in California.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Aaron Baddeley wins first PGA Tour title in four years at Northern Trust Open
- Australian finishes with 12-under-par total of 272 at Riviera Country Club in California
- Baddeley leaps from 224th to 73rd in the world rankings and takes home $1.17 million
- Vijay Singh is second, with veteran Fred Couples fading to seventh after an early birdie blitz
(CNN) -- A relieved Aaron Baddeley emerged from two years battling his golfing demons and grappling with a new swing with victory at the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles on Sunday.
The 29-year-old Australian held off the challenge of Vijay Singh to make a huge leap from 224th to 73rd in the world rankings -- and collect $1.17 million in prize money.
It was Baddeley's first PGA Tour win since the FBR Open in February 2007, and continued a resurgence that has left International team captain Greg Norman contemplating picking him for this year's President's Cup clash with the United States .
"As tough as the last two years were, I knew what I was working towards," Baddeley told the PGA Tour website after clinching his third win on the tour and seventh overall.
As tough as the last two years were, I knew what I was working towards. I was able to be patient. That was the key
--Aaron Baddeley
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"Even though I got frustrated at times and discouraged at times, I knew my end goal, so I was able to be patient. That was the key. I had to be patient because I knew my game has been there for a while, I just haven't got the scores on the board.
"I really feel like there was a lot of character that was being built over the last couple of years."
Following his triumph, Baddeley's fellow professionals were quick to send their congratulations on social networking website Twitter.
"Great Playing Badds," tweeted Rickie Fowler. "Congrats @AaronBadds !!!! Awesome to watch," offered Bubba Watson. "Congrats mate, great to see you back to winning ways," said Rory McIlroy.
Norman reacted by suggesting Baddeley was now very much in the running for a place at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia this November.
"Aaron has been very successful on tough, demanding and difficult tracks with his previous victories and this victory is no different, and one that is long overdue," he wrote in an email to the PGA Tour.
"He now catapults himself into a strong position to secure a spot on this year's International President's Cup Team. I know he would be a very valuable asset to the team."
Baddeley had a wobble in his final round when he double-bogeyed the 12th, but he bounced back by holing a chip for birdie at the 13th and played out the final five holes in par to seal the win.
Fijian veteran Singh continued a rich vein of form to finish second, as the 47-year-old followed up his third placing at the Phoenix Open, while U.S. player Kevin Na was next on the leaderboard.
For a while it looked as though veteran Fred Couples might roll back the years and make a run at victory, 19 years after he won the tournament for a second time in 1992.
The 51-year-old fan favorite started his final round with three straight birdies, but a bogey at the sixth was followed by a double at the seventh and his challenge faded away.
"I did get off to a good start, and that was where it ended," said Couples, who had to make do with a tie for seventh place.
This week, attentions on the PGA Tour will be split between the WGC Match Play in Arizona and the Mayakoba Classic in Mexico.
The match play event will see the world's top-50 ranked players compete in a head-to-head knockout format. The opening ties include world number one Lee Westwood against Henrik Stenson, and No. 3 Tiger Woods versus Thomas Bjorn.
