EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: ADAM SCOTT

TURNING 40 & READY TO FIRE

Adam Scott is about to turn 40. And while he’s not watching the clock, the Queenslander knows the window to achieving all his career goals is slowly closing. Yet, as he reveals here, he’s buoyant about this year and what lies ahead.

This year marks Adam Scott’s 20th year as a touring professional. In July, he will turn 40 and while he’s not watching the clock, the Queenslander knows the window to achieving all his career goals is slowly closing. Yet, as he reveals here, he’s buoyant about this year and what lies ahead.

Firstly, congratulations on the win at the Australian PGA. When everything wrapped up on that Sunday night and you got home, was there a sense of relief or more a feeling of validation for the work you had been doing throughout 2019?

It was definitely satisfying … it was validation of what I’ve been doing. I started feeling and started talking about being in this position before, where it’s getting to this high level of golf where wins happen.

But at some point you have to cross that line and it was at the PGA. To win any tournament – while it is the goal any time you play – is fantastic because it’s not an easy thing to do. Even the very best players are struggling to continuously win all the time because the fields everywhere are getting deeper and deeper. I think the separation among the top players is less and less than it used to be. Do you have to be more patient these days? Maybe yes … and maybe no (smiling). Maybe you’ve got to be less patient. I think I’ve been fairly patient most of my career … and times more motivated than others. Now I’m at this point where I still think I can play to a high level but that time will be shorter, as I go into my 40s (laughs), and unless I’m the exception to everybody else out there, so I can’t be too patient out there over the next few years.

You mentioned motivation, which is something that changes through the course of a career. What motivates you now?

Really, I still haven’t achieved what I … not what I set out to do, because when I set out I thought I was going to be winning 12 majors like Tiger Woods (laughs). Then your career takes whatever path it does, but as I readjust my goals and, probably since I won a major, I haven’t achieved exactly what I want. Now … to win another major and see where that will take my golf over the next five years is the motivation for me.

I recall interviewing you 20 years ago, you had just turned professional and the goal then, and for a long time, was to become World No.1. You achieved that in 2014. I’m guessing an older Adam Scott is not driven so much by the top ranking, and it has become secondary or will simply be a by-product of

TO WIN ANOTHER MAJOR AND SEE WHERE THAT WILL TAKE MY GOLF OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS IS THE MOTIVATION FOR ME.

– ADAM SCOTT

winning majors and big events.

Yeah … it’s not my main priority at the moment to be No.1, you’re right. Now it’s about winning the events I want to win. Obviously the major championships, and there are a couple of events I really, really want to win. To win another Australian Open would be high on my list.

There are a couple of PGA Tour events that I really want to win too, like The Memorial, Arnold Palmer’s tournament … but it’s all a process to getting there.

But as I said before, I’ve seen this position in my career before like in 2012 and I went on to have some really good years. It’s important for me to keep the focus and intensity for the next couple of years and then I think I can get what I want out my career.

For the hackers like myself that stand outside the ropes looking in and marvel at what you do on the golf course, if you were to critique your own game … where do you see the area of your game that needs to improve to bag some wins in 2020?

My driving was so poor this past year. It was the worst I have ever driven it in my career. I drove it poorly but still played well, so I think every area, except the driver, is in good shape.

I’m sure I know what to do to lift my driving to where I drive it well, where it’s e„cient for me … I’m not the longest guy out there, but I can be e„cient hitting it pretty long and pretty straight, that’s good driving. That needs to happen this year for me to capitalise on where I have taken my iron game … my short game has improved out of sight

over the past two years, and my putting is very solid. If I can get the ball in the fairway more often with the driver, I think that will add up to shots saved.

How do you rate your game currently, in comparison with previous years?

I think it’s in pretty good shape. We played really late into last year, the Presidents Cup was great with intense competition that tests your game every day you go out. Unlike other tournaments, where you kind of have the Thursday, Friday and the Saturday and if you’re not in contention you’re just playing rounds of golf not under pressure.

At the Presidents Cup, every time you step up onto the 1st tee it’s like starting the final round of an event tied for the lead and it’s you verse him, one round, let’s go … it’s intense.

And you can see the e ect that competition has had on yourself and your International team mates and the good form they have shown since the Cup.

Yeah, it’s not surprising. Ernie (Els) talked about it that week and I’ve seen it in the past in my own game, where you get a lot of confidence out of a win in a match, or a match comes down to the last and you hit a great shot into the green. That gives you so much confidence and belief and that carries over for a little while.

Looking ahead to the majors this year. Augusta aside, given you have won there, the venues this year. How do they suit your eye, your game … you’ve played all of them over the journey.

I think Harding Park (venue for the US PGA Championship) and Winged Foot (US Open Championship) are right up my alley. Again, if I can get the driver performing how I like it I think that’s a big help for me around those courses. I think my game has rounded itself out at this point of my career where I believe I can compete anywhere then, of course, you have your favourite spots.

Harding Park, definitely, is an advantage if you’re driving it well and so is Winged Foot. It depends on the rough, obviously. But there is a little more strategy around Winged Foot because there are some doglegs and, if the rough is long, you’re going to have to play to the right areas. Harding Park will certainly allow for a bit of driving and if you drive it well there you will

have a good chance.

I look forward to those courses very much and Royal St George’s is the most fi ddly Open venue I guess ( laughs). There’s not a lot of flat ground out there, the fairways have a lot of humps and bumps and slopes and doglegs and blind shots. It’s flat to walk but there is so much movement in the ground. You can hit a drive down the right side of the fairway and end in the left side of the fairway. There is a bit of luck required to play well there and that’s good … that’s what it’s about but it’s very hard to know exactly how things pan out. You need a few of the right bounces here and there and generally if you’re playing well enough it will all even out … your good shots will get bad bounces but if you hit plenty of good shots you’ll get some good bounces too.

Looking to the Masters specifically. How far out from the first week in April do you start getting excited about the prospect of heading back to Augusta and does that time frame coincide with your preparations for the event?

It actually changed again in the last year or so with the Tour moving The Players Championship (TPC) back to March. For me, that’s another favourite event of mine and I’d probably put it on that win list … I’d like to win again. That’s about seven tournaments now, I’d better get cracking on these (laughs).

So, with that move the focus isn’t the Masters coming into March, all that is to come, which is great. But there is some work to do to get myself ready and getting myself ready for the TPC, if I’m in good shape there I feel I’ll be in really good shape for the Masters. So I put the focus at the moment on TPC and I’ve got to get through that and then there’s three weeks until the Masters, which is nice because there’s not much anticipation and pressure build up just thinking about the Masters. I quite like the TPC move back to March for that very reason.

In regard to Masters preparation, is there anything you can do specifically to hone your game away from actually just playing the course?

Yeah, I think the putting practice is far, far more intense. I mean it depends. If I’m not hitting it any good, I’m going to work hard on my ball-striking. But all things being equal and your game being in good shape, the putting practice just becomes more intense.

... PUTTING PRACTICE WILL CERTAINLY BE THE FOCUS IN THE LEAD UP TO THE MASTERS.

It’s just helpful if you can avoid three putting around Augusta, which isn’t easy to do. I think the year I won I three-putted the first green but then didn’t have a three-putt for the rest of the tournament. So that obviously worked. Even though I didn’t make every putt, I didn’t throw any shots away on the greens, which is helpful because there are lots of other challenges where you can throw shots away around Augusta. So putting practice will certainly be the focus in the lead up to the Masters.

Will that be trying di erent putters to see what feels good at the time?

No, it’s more about the time on the green and the intensity of the sessions. A couple of hours of intense putting practice, not breaking focus, not standing around having chats and that kind of stu … just really locking in for a bit.

I remember when I started some of this intense practice, in 2011 at Augusta I had a putt for par on the 15th hole on Sunday. I might have been one behind or tied for the lead at the time, I stood over this 10-footer and as I was looking down I saw the grass on the practice putting green, I was just hitting another 10-footer. I’d hit so many, I was not at Augusta, I was on the practice green and I rolled the putt in. That’s the kind of stu you need to do to take yourself out of the situation so you can perform at your best.

Taking yourself out of the situation I would imagine becomes a treasured skill in the amphitheatre of Augusta National where you can hear roars across the course and easily get swept up in the cheers and what’s going on elsewhere?

That is intimidating when you got there, maybe when you are first in contention because you can see quite a lot there at the end of the round. On 15, you can see 16 and 17, you can see 14 and 13. It’s very easy to know what’s going on and be distracted. Obviously having won there and going there for a long time now, you get more comfortable with the surrounds and what can happen. At some point, I mean I didn’t make a conscious decision to embrace it, but this all becomes fun because this is what you want to be in … you want to be in contention at Augusta … it can almost help you focus even more.

By embracing the intimidating factors of Augusta, do you see that as a big advantage you have over most of the guys in the field? I’d like to think so. I was in good shape after two rounds last year but then I wasn’t really in

contention on Sunday unfortunately. To get back in contention on Sunday it would be interesting to stand there, like on 15 fairway, and see if that’s a helpful thing. I’d have to think so, if I was playing against someone that hadn’t won or been in contention before. But, in saying that, they’re also very driven to win one (laughs). You know, if it’s Rory (McIlroy) he’s going to be really wanting it and it just depends on how he manages himself too.

What’s your favourite thing about getting back to Augusta National?

Wearing the jacket (laughs), getting to wear the green jacket for sure. It sits there all year so I try and make a point of putting it on once every day while I’m there. I’m not embarrassed to sit in the Champion’s Room and wear the jacket to have a drink.

Do you ever find yourself in a quiet moment having your thoughts drift back to that wet April afternoon in 2013 when you won the Masters?

Aaah….occasionally (smiles). I saw some highlights on TV late last year … the playo…, the putt on 18 in regulation … and that certainly made me think about things a bit.

Did it make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up?

Yeah! Absolutely. It’s incredible to watch. It was probably good for me to watch, it’s a bit of motivation for me to get back to that position.

This is your 20th year on Tour. What do you do dierently now – whether it is preparation, how you warm-up before a round etc. – to when you first started life as a touring professional? There are so many changes, I mean it is 20 years. The biggest thing now, 20 years in, I know myself and I know how to get an honest answer out of myself on what I need to do to be ready for a tournament. I try and do that as much as I can so I’m not kidding myself out there. Sometimes I have to hit a lot of balls, other times I manage it so I don’t hit too many balls. I’m trying to work as smart as I can to keep myself out there as long as I can.

Let’s flip the coin. What hasn’t changed in two decades? What do you still do exactly the same as when you started out?

Good question … I don’t know. Most things have changed … at least evolved (laughs). I used to have some superstitions, and they have kind of gone. I used to only carry two tees in my pocket and now I don’t care I carry whatever is in my pocket. Stu… like that just went because it just gets a bit controlling.

I don’t sweat those small things like I once did. Everything has pretty much evolved, although I still play the same brand clubs, Titleist, which is pretty unlikely for anyone else 20 years into their career.

I’M TRYING TO WORK AS SMART AS I CAN TO KEEP MYSELF OUT THERE AS LONG AS I CAN.

Scott gazes at the Joe Kirkwood Cup after his recent Australian PGA Championship win.

The 2013 Masters winner has identified his driving as needing improvement in 2020.

ADDRESS Good posture is very important for a quality golf swing and Adam Scott’s posture is straight out of any golf instruction text book. His spine is angled away slightly from the target (right shoulder is lower than his left) and his back is straight without being rigid. TAKEAWAY Scott is tilted forward from his hips, which lets his arms hanging free and relaxed. This encourages a passive arms movement when he starts his backswing. His flat back posture makes it easier for Adam’s upper body to turn around his spine, which is the key to any good golf swing. AT THE TOP A clear indicator that Adam’s posture has not changed is that his right knee has remained flexed throughout the backswing and downswing. As he turns into the backswing, the flex in his right knee offers resistance to the upper body and, in turn, helps create the power.

DOWNSWING Scott unleashes his power with the uncoiling of his body in the downswing. As Adam swings down into impact it is important to note again that his body angles are still exactly as they were at address. This gives his arms plenty of room to swing down into the ball. IMPACT All the good positions and moves in Adam’s swing now bear fruit at impact with a powerful copybook blow. A common factor throughout the swing to this point has been the efficient movement Adam makes. He rotated his torso back and forward into impact without any compensations for flawed movements. FOLLOW-THROUGH How a golfer finishes their swing is a fantastic indicator of the moves and faults that have occurred in the swing prior to reaching this position. As you can see with Adam, he swings hard into his left side and the rest of his body clears through so he can finish beautifully balanced over his left leg.

Wearing his Green Jacket is Scott’s favourite part of returning to Augusta each year.