Adam Scott is already at Pinehurst preparing for this week’s US Open with his incredible steak of major appearances to hit 92 and put the former world No.1 within reach of joining a club that only has a single member, golfing icon Jack Nicklaus.
The Australian veteran’s 23-year-run, which began at the 2001 US Open, had been in jeopardy after he slipped to 60 in the world rankings and lost a three-hole playoff with countryman Cam Davis in qualifying in golf’s “longest day” last week.
Having been given the first alternate spot, Scott, who didn’t play in the Memorial Tournament won by Scottie Scheffler and therefore had no chance to further his ranking, was relying on cards falling his way to become the sixth Australian in the field.
Officials had left open four spots for late qualifiers and with one set to go to Robert McIntyre, who won the Canadian Open last week, Scott will also get one after no rankings moves tipped him out of the top 60.
With his position locked in, Scott now has a new milestone in sight.
There have been 18 players in golf history who have played in 100 major championships or more but only Nicklaus has played in more than 100 consecutively, taking his place in a staggering 146 straight majors.
Scott, who is locked in for this year’s British Open at Royal Troon and has a guaranteed spot in the Masters as the 2013 winner, will take his streak to 94, pending any injury issues, by April next year.
He would need to then meet qualification criteria for the 2025 PGA Championship and US Open to keep the 100-major challenge alive.
The next longest major streak among active players in 44 by American Jordan Spieth, evidence of Scott’s long-standing competitiveness.
But while the US Open news was positive for Scott, it was less so for countryman Cam Smith, who heads to Pinehurst on the back of one of his worst rounds as a professional and a near unbelievable late collapse at the LIV event in Houston.
Smith, who would need to win the US Open to be any chance of qualifying for the Australian Olympic team for Paris, showed some sublime skills early in his round but then completely fell apart at the end dropping a staggering 11-shots in his closing six holes in an unrivalled collapse falling out of the top 10 and finishing in a tie for 48th.
The Queenslander carded three consecutive double-bogeys and then a triple-bogey in his last four holes, with four double-bogeys overall in an eight-over par 80, which left him 19 shots behind the winner, Carlos Ortiz.
Smith, who qualifies for the US Open on the back of his 2022 British Open triumph, will join fellow Australians Scott, Jason Day, Min Woo Lee, Davis and world No. 362 Jason Scrivener at Pinehurst this week.