2014 Arnold Palmer Invitational results: Matt Every upsets Adam Scott, Keegan Bradley to win at Bay Hill

Matt Every, until today largely (and unfairly) known for getting arrested for marijuana possession and sitting through an excruciating interview with Kelly Tilghman, won his first PGA Tour event on Sunday by charging from four shots back to overtake Adam Scott at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Just four hours into the tournament on Thursday morning, it looked like Adam Scott would go wire-to-wire at Bay Hill and be in position to become No. 1 in the world before the Masters. Scott matched a course record with a first round 62, and then extended his lead to seven shots by the weekend. Given the way he was playing, the only question remaining was how much he would win by not if he would get a 10th career PGA Tour win.

But Scott had his advantage reduced to three shots by Saturday night, with Keegan Bradley doing the charging in the third round. That still seemed like a comfortable margin for the Aussie, who might be the best player in the world right now. Scott, however, came undone on Sunday, making bogey on his first hole of the day and then pulling his drive into the water on the third hole. That opened the door for the chasers, and it wasn’t Bradley, but rather Every who zoomed past on the back nine.

The turning point for Every likely came at the 9th hole, when he got a bit of a fortunate bounce. At the time, he was still desperately chasing Scott and trying to get some momentum. Standing on the 9th tee, Every pulled his ball left and it looked like it was heading out of bounds for a penalty. But he caught a lucky break and the ball want bounding up along the side of the cart path some 338 yards off the tee. It also settled in a nice little opening, where he could knock it up on the green and he did just that to make a remarkable birdie 3.

The birdie on No. 9 would be the first of four in a five-hole stretch, and all of a sudden he was three shots clear of Adam Scott.

Every’s mood and nerves changed quite a bit once he was in the leading position, and he hit some loose shots over his final five holes. A bogey on the easy par-5 16th hole was a critical mistake and created an opening for Scott and Bradley, who were both in position for eagle. The Florida native, however, almost got it back on the 17th hole when the flagstick robbed him of a hole-out birdie.

He would make his par and go to the last hole, likely needing only a par to lock up his first PGA Tour win. On the 18th, however, Every again opened the door by blasting it past the hole from just outside of four feet.

They bogey left Bradley, who birdied the 17th to come to the last hole two shots down, a chance to pull even with a closing birdie. The former major winner put his approach shot in the middle of the green, giving himself a shot with the belly putter at a scene where we’ve witnessed so many putts bombed in for dramatic Sunday finishes. But Bradley left his putt just inches on the high side, wrapping up the win and a first ever Masters berth for Every.

The UF product, who spent much of his youth coming over to Bay Hill, was in tears after the round talking to Golf Channel’s Steve Sands:

It’s an awesome story for a guy who has caught a lot of crap for that arrest almost four years ago. He’s headed to Augusta in two weeks, and in one day, just earned more than he ever has in a combined season. Scott is the more high-profile guy, but this was just as good a story.

Here are the final results from the field that made the cut at Bay Hill: