At 31 years old, Adam Scott is no longer the poster boy for the “new era” of golfing elite, but as he came down the 72nd fairway on Sunday after nearly holing out a 6 iron from over 200 yards away with fans chanting for his caddie, the Aussie couldn’t care less.

“It was fun to get support,” Scott said. “Whether it’s for me or him, I don’t care – it’s the right team.”

As Scott claimed arguably his biggest win of his career (but don’t tell the PGA that), the former Players champion was playing second fiddle to the storyline that had dominated the week: Tiger was back, but without his usual bagman.

Perfectly content with playing behind the curtains of the Tiger comeback, like everyone else was forced to do, whether they liked it or not, Scott torched the Firestone CC for a first-round 62 on Thursday afternoon, one shot clear of fellow countryman Jason Day, who shot a 63 in the morning wave. The two Aussie’s would find themselves near or atop the leaderboard for the remainder of the week.

Scott and Day had done battle once earlier this year at Augusta National, only to be lapped by eventual champion Charl Schwartzel. However, their final rounds of 67 and 68 respectively put them in a tie for second and gave them a solid start to their 2011 season.

Scott, who has been using a long, broom-handle putter this year, has seen his putting woes evolve into confidence with the flatstick. This week, Scott picked up 7.352 stokes putting against the field.

“I was so inconsistent with the short putter, and that’s the hardest thing,” Scott said. “I didn’t know what was going to show up when I went out on the golf course, whether it was going to be a decent stroke or not. The long putter has certainly provided me with more consistency, and with that has come the confidence, and I think I’m really solid over any putt at the moment. I feel very good about it.”

Scott was solid all around, driving the ball just a hair under 320 on average, hitting two-thirds of his fairways and 71 percent of greens in regulation. Combine those gaudy numbers with a hot putter and benign scoring conditions and you have the perfect storm for Scott this week.

Working with Williams for the fourth time, the duo have seemed pretty comfortable together. Despite missing the cut at the US Open, their first rodeo together, the Scott-Williams tandem has finished T3 at the AT&T National and T25 at the Open Championship.

“He’s right up for it,” Scott said of Williams. “We all know his personality in those situations. It’s almost like I need to show him I’ve got it in me because a lot of people question it. I can show him on the golf course that I’m right up for it, as well.”

Scott held the lead following every round this week, but there were a handful of guys lurking just a few shots back. As is always the case at the WGCs, the names are pretty well-known. On this occassion, Scott had to look up at the leaderboard and see Day, Ryo Ishikawa, Rickie Fowler and world No. 1 Luke Donald.

Paired with the young Japanese sensation, Ishikawa, Scott had someone playing alongside him to remind him that he would have to bring his A-game to win. Little did Scott know, Williams said he knew that the tournament was over before Scott teed off in the final round.

“I had no doubt in my mind this morning on the range,” Williams said. “Adam hit it so good on the range, I knew it was our day.”

Ishikawa, in search of his first win on American soil, put the pressure on the Aussie early and often, tying Scott on several occasions on the front nine, only to drop back with some costly bogies. An up-and-down day left Ishikawa in a distant tie for fourth, still his best finish in America.

Fowler made some ripples, firing a bogey-free round of 4-under par 66. Also holding a share of the lead on the front, Fowler could only muster two birdies coming in, but he showed once again why many believe he will be a multiple tour winner, finally putting together a solid Sunday round. He would finish in a tie for second with Donald, who shot a Sunday 66, including a back nine 32.

Day put himself in contention early Sunday afternoon, birdieing the first hole, but his putter went cold, unable to make any putt of consequence. He would end with a 1-underp ar round of 69 and tie with Ishikawa for fourth.

Scott bided his time, staying patient and rolling in putts when he needed them. Going out in  1-under 34, Scott flipped the switch on the back nine, birdieing three of the first five holes.

On the par-3 12th hole, Scott put some distance in-between himself and the rest of the field. After barely missing the green to the left, Scott required a precise chip to a short-sided pin.

“It was one of those things that I just struck really sweet and felt like it’s going in right from the time it leaves the club,” Scott said. “And that was a big break to keep the momentum going because it had been very kind of slow and methodical.”

Another birdie on 14 and Scott had opened up a comfortable gap between himself and the rest of the field. With no one able to pick up any shots on him, Scott game to the 18th hole with a three-shot lead. Scott played the safe shot off the tee hitting a fairway wood right down the middle.

“I was thinking of just dumping it over to the right on the last, hitting a 7-iron over there,” Scot said. “And [Williams] said, what are you talking about, hit a 6-iron straight at the pin. And I hit a great shot.”

The 6-iron was eating fiber the whole way as Scott asked for it to “be good.” Landing a few feet from the pin, the ball burned the edge of the cup and stopped five feet from the hole. One more brush with the broom-stick putter and Scott won his eighth PGA event and 18th worldwide.

“I’m really stoked to have won a World Golf Championship and win around this course in nice fashion. The way I closed it out, I was really happy with, too, so overall extremely happy,” Scott said.

With the win, Scott secured the $1.4 million winner’s check. For those of you keeping track at home, Williams will get a 10 percent share that, worth $140,000, over 80 large more than his former employer made this week in his tie for 37th. Scott jumped to 15th place in the FedEx Cup standings and cracked the top-10 in the world golf rankings coming in at No. 9.

With this week’s PGA Championship already upon us, it seems like Scott’s game has what it takes to win his first major. Maybe a win at Atlanta Athletic Club will supplant this week’s win as the best of Williams’ career.