No major wins in more than 11 years, and just one PGA Tour victory in the past eight, Adam Scott stands a realistic chance of upsetting the game’s younger heavyweights this week at the Open Championship.
It’s a curious reality heading to Royal Troon given the lack of cold, hard victories the Australian great has produced in recent years
But that shortage has always felt misaligned with his savvy swing, and all-round virtuosity that make him feel like a factor, even when the results say otherwise.
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Fourteen PGA Tour wins — one being the 2013 Masters — and $66m (A$98m) in prize money marks a career of glittering achievement, but one that still feels well short of Scott’s capabilities.
For each triumph, golf has delivered at least one gut punch to the Australian and, often, many more.
Last weekend’s Scottish Open was the latest time Scott had his heart ripped out on live television, and he was forced to grin and bear it.
Days before his 44th birthday, Scott surged on the final day at the The Renaissance Club to turn a three-shot deficit after 54 holes into a one-shot lead after 72.
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Clutch putt sinks Scott at Scottish Open | 01:39
A drought-breaking, $1.6m (A$2.4m) win was virtually assured when nearest rival Robert MacIntyre pulled his tee shot on the 16th into the high grass.
Without any disrespect whatsoever to MacIntyre, a fine player who deserves no criticism for playing the game within the rules, the remarkable twist that followed felt like an egregious miscarriage of justice towards Scott.
MacIntyre felt a sprinkler impeding his stance at address and was afforded a free drop, from which he cashed-in, sparking a frighteningly clutch surge home.
He made eagle from his lucky reprieve on 16, and later sank a 22-foot putt on the 72nd green to win by a stroke, triggering scenes of teary elation.
The ecstasy from the home fans only served to twist the knife stuck in the side of Scott, whose stoic reaction was filmed by cameras as he watched from the clubhouse.
Scott now heads to Royal Troon with only one win outside of Australia since March 2016.
However, this brutal blow comes with a tremendous silver lining.
The jump across the Atlantic has lit the fuse within Scott, whose worst round in North Berwick was three-under par.
Sprinkler gives MacIntyre ALL-TIME break | 02:57
Scott was back to playing some of his best golf, particularly when he was firmly in contention.
The 2013 Masters champion made seven birdies in his final round, including three in a row on the front nine. After a double bogey on the eighth, Scott rebounded in style with consecutive birdies, before his final push for the clubhouse lead.
It was some of the individual plays that he made during the tournament, however, that were most remarkable.
On the final day, Scott holed out from a deep bunker that the six-foot golfer could barely see over the top of.
At the 14th, deep in contention, he fired a dagger that came to rest just one-and-a-half feet from the hole.
No shot all week, however, was better than driver he hit from the fairway in his second round.
Scott flushed a stunning high draw that split through the Scottish sky with breathtaking precision, before the ball gracefully bounced and ran up onto the green.
“Goodness gracious, this is just out of this world,” the commentator gasped.
The margin between glory and humiliation when playing such a high-risk, demanding shot is razor-thin.
Aussies to watch at the 2024 Open | 02:08
Some will be swift to note that one round, let alone one shot, does not catapult a golfer into championship contention alone.
But simply put, it’s not a stroke that anyone with lingering mental demons can perform.
Scott’s demons — and he has many — appear to be kept firmly at arm’s length.
The shot, and the deep push at the Scottish Open — which boasts one of the strongest fields of the year — bode well for the veteran, whose confidence has been boosted from the experience.
Speaking after the tournament, Scott had no interest in playing the victim. Instead, he swiftly turned his eyes towards the bigger picture, which now comes with a healthy upside after his best finish on Tour since the 2021 Wyndham Championship.
“There was a lot of good stuff for me this week,” Scott said.
“It’s hard to complain about anything … It’s the first time I’ve been in contention this year. I like where my game is headed … going into next week. Feel like I’m playing at a high level.
“I’m working at everything all the time, and trying not to get frustrated, and use that experience.
Can Scott contend at 93rd straight major | 01:25
“It feels good to play in contention and hopefully I get another crack at it at The Open now.”
Scott’s positive response to such an unfathomable, sudden turn of events shouldn’t come as a surprise.
The near miss at the Scottish would’ve hurt deeply, but he’s known greater pain — something he’s reminded of every Open Championship.
Twelve years ago at Royal Lytham and St Annes, Scott held a four-shot lead over Ernie Els with only four holes to play, before he capitulated in one of Australian golf’s darkest days.
Scott inexplicably made bogey at four-consecutive holes to have the Claret Jug slip through his fingers, and go to the South African.
Determined to not have the Greg Normanesque meltdown define him, Scott became the first Australian to win the green jacket at the Masters just nine months later.
He also spent 11 weeks as world No.1 the following year.
The blow was majorly softened by Scott’s remarkable resilience, but there’s a feeling that a full-scale redemption won’t be completed unless Scott wins golf’s grandest tournament.
Twelve years later, the wait goes on — something which former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy believes would sting for Scott.
Scott’s horror meltdown at 2012 Open | 01:30
“To not get it done it would probably still hurt a little bit,” Geoff Ogilvy told Fox Sports.
“It was brutal.
“He outplayed the field all week, he was on a mission that time, he was grinding on his golf and was playing really well … It shows you how difficult it is to win these majors.
“Maybe you have to lose one like that to go win one … but he definitely would love to win an Open because he probably feels like he’s got a bit of unfinished business.”
At 44 years old, history says that Scott’s best major-winning years are well behind him — but his golf tells a completely different story.
Scott remains one of the bigger hitters on tour, ranked 38th with an average distance of 306.2 yards.
More impressive, however, is his ball-striking that allows him to play with a variety of shapes, including towering iron shots that place him alongside younger players such as Collin Morikawa or Ludvig Aberg.
“He’s still hitting those shots that he used to,” Paul Gow noted on Fox Sports. “Those skyrocketing shots that come in soft into greens … he’s been great at flighting his golf ball over the years, so expect more.”
Gow added: “I can tell you, he’s still thinking of winning this golf tournament. There’s no doubt.
“He’s played some really good golf this year without winning. He’ll be quietly confident he’ll contend this week because he loves that environment.”
‘The hardest hole in the world’ | 01:04
Asked if Scott has one more tilt at a major within him, Gow added: “Yeah, I like to think so.”
Anyone who has closely followed the career of Scott won’t rule out the possibility that he does contend, regardless of how unlikely it might’ve seemed even just one week ago.
Close calls have taken him to another level instead of sending him spiralling.
Even just last month, Scott was on the brink of losing his streak of playing in 91-consecutive majors before he delivered at a 36-hole qualifier. Scott lost in a playoff to countryman Cameron Davis, but his performance meant he was the field’s first alternative and almost certain to be called up, which he ultimately was for his 92nd-straight appearance.
Scott would undoubtedly prefer his legacy to be defined by an avalanche of tournament wins.
But it’s in these sudden rallies, acts of defiance, and his ever-presence that Scott will be remembered.
Capping that off with a late-career, major championship win would simply be the cherry on top.