Scott has come long way since loss at British Open

that day the next time — and he was certain there would be a next time — he would finish the job.

Scott’s story had a happy ending.

At his hideaway in the Bahamas, the Australian starts each day by slipping on the green jacket he won at Augusta National two months ago, when he made a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole and then another birdie in the rain on the second playoff hole to win the Masters.

Except that Scott doesn’t see this as the end.

He is among the favourites when the U.S. Open begins Thursday at Merion, a course Mickelson at 1 and 2, and Scott feeling very much out of place.

“I think anyone would have felt like the third wheel that week,” Scott said. “Remembering back to Torrey Pines, the hype was enormous around that pairing. There was so much talk about it being Phil’s hometown and Tiger dominating Torrey for years. It was an experience I’ll never forget. I’ve never seen that many people on a Thursday morning on the first tee. It was a great atmosphere.” And now? “I’m probably also the third wheel this week, as well,” Scott said with a laugh. Maybe not. Woods still drives the show in golf, already a four-time winner on tour this year as he tries to end his five-year drought in the majors. McIlroy, a major champion each of the last two years, is in one of his slumps and has yet to win this year.

Scott, meanwhile, is trying to join some elite company. Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Ben Hogan are the only players in the last 60 years to have won the Masters and U.S. Open in the same season.

And while every Masters champion has that opportunity, Scott is good enough to make the quest realistic.

“I can’t lie to you — I do feel a lot better coming here, even discussing that kind of thing,” Scott said. “It’s a good feeling to come here to know that I’ve achieved that. I’ve got my first major. And my sights are definitely set on trying to win more.”

The biggest star could be Merion, hosting the U.S. Open for the first time since 1981. And the course at the moment is sharing the stage with Mother Nature.

Merion received more than three inches of rain on Friday, which left it unplayable Saturday. Even as players were getting started Monday morning, more sheets of rain began to fall. Some of the bunkers were flooded, and the course was closed until 11 a.m. A little more than three hours later, the rain returned.

The only activity on the course was workers using squeegees to remove small pools of water from the greens and some fairways. The thick rough was wet, mangled and muddied. Even as players tried a third time to practice, dark clouds loomed and more rain was on the way.

Woods returned to hit pitch shots from short of the 18th green. There wasn’t much work to get in. Scott had wanted to play seven rounds at Merion leading to the U.S. Open, so he was glad he showed up a week ago.

“I’ve had three full rounds and that’s taken my time trying to figure everything out,” Scott said. “I think I’ve got a pretty good idea where I’m going to try to go. Obviously with it being a little soft, it becomes a little more simple than what it was. The ball is just going to stop where it lands. So if you’re accurate, you’ll be fine.”