Back in best form, can Adam Scott claim the greatest birthday gift of all?
Adam Scott’s birthday falls around the time of the British Open and each year it gets just that bit more difficult for him to win — and just that bit more painful to recall the Claret Jug that so cruelly got away back in 2012.
Yet as he celebrated his 44th birthday at Royal Troon on Tuesday, two days before launching his 24th successive bid to lift the trophy he most covets, there seems a fresh spring in the step of Australiaās old Master.
Thatās because evergreen āScottyā is coming off one of his best performances for years, an agonising near-miss while finishing runner-up in the Scottish Open at North Berwick on Sunday when he may well have won if not for an outrageous stroke of luck for the eventual champ, Robert MacIntyre.
āYeah, I feel good, I really do. Itās funny, it doesnāt get any easier but Iām working at everything all the time, and trying not to get frustrated, and use that experience,ā said Scott.
āIt feels good to play in contention and, hopefully, I get another crack at it at The Open now.ā
Indeed, the veteran Queenslander is in such good form, heās arguably up there with 2022 winner Cameron Smith and last yearās runner-up Jason Day as Australiaās best hope among the six-strong contingent who tee off at the grand old Ayrshire links on Thursday.
Smith, naturally, is the man most likely to shine, as he demonstrated with his tied-sixth place finish in the Masters in April. Heās also riding in off three top-10 finishes in his last four LIV events.
Yet Scott, who spent his birthday practising with his mulleted pal Smith and Australian amateur Jasper Stubbs, has impressed with his eight top-10 finishes since November. Up to 35, heās just behind Day (30th) and Min Woo Lee (31st) among Aussies in the world rankings.
And he might even have picked up his first PGA Tour win in four years if MacIntyre hadnāt got a free drop from a terrible lie on the 16th at the Renaissance Club because of a sprinkler head affecting his stance.
Indeed, the Scot was still laughing about his fortune on Wednesday as he suggested the club should have that sprinkler gold-plated.
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āThere was a lot of good stuff for me,ā said Scott, reflecting on his near-miss.
āItās hard to complain about anything. Itās the first time Iāve been in contention this year. I like where my game is headed and feel like Iām playing at a high level.ā
Heās about as experienced as it gets in the majors these days. Remarkably, a streak that began in his second Open at Lytham in 2001 now brings him to a 93rd consecutive major championship.
Scottās enjoyed three top-five and five top-10 finishes at the British Open but never came closer than in 2012 at Lytham, when he led by four shots with four holes left to play only to lose out to Ernie Els by a single shot after a succession of bogeys. āIt hurts more today than it did at the time,ā he sighs every year.
But every year, the hope remains, and Scott is the eternal optimist. āI know if I find myself with the heat on in Troon, hopefully I can lean into this good stuff thatās been happening with my game,ā he says.
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