BROOMSTICK TO RESCUE FOR SCOTT’S WOES
ADAM Scott has wrestled his putter out of the doldrums to join countryman Jason Day in the mix after day one at the Players Championship.
Entering golf’s unofficial fifth major ranked a lowly 193rd on the greens on the US PGA Tour, Scott’s recent switch to a broomstick putter paid dividends during his best round in two months.
Scott, the 2004 Players winner, posted a threeunder- par 69 before Day matched the score and the big- name Australian duo sit just three shots back of a sixway tie for the lead at TPC Sawgrass.
World No. 1 Dustin Johnson fired a 66 and headlines the group topping the leaderboard with Webb Simpson, Alex Noren, Chesson Hadley, Patrick Cantlay and 2012 winner Matt Kuchar.
Defending champion Si Woo Kim ( 67) is among six players sharing seventh a shot back at five under.
With 27 putts, Scott ranked 17th for strokes gained in putting on day one on Sawgrass’ tricky greens, highlighted by a 16m par putt he drained early in the round to maintain momentum.
“I made a couple long putts that felt good and I made most of the short ones, which were huge ... because it’s so easy to drop a shot around here,” Scott, 37, said.
He mixed five birdies with two bogeys for his first round in the 60s on the US Tour since day three of the Valspar Championship in March. “Well, absolutely,” Scott said when asked if the switch to the long putter was validated.