Scott finally reaches the summit
Oz star hopes to follow in ‘Great White’s’ footsteps
ADAM Scott’s ascension to golf’s world number one spot yesterday is in sync with his goals to emulate the feats of his boyhood idol Greg Norman.
Scott, 33, has overtaken Tiger Woods in the latest rankings to become golf’s world number one for the first time.
He is the first Aussie to claim the top spot in the rankings since ‘the Great White Shark’ Norman reigned for 331 weeks in the 1980s and 1990s.
Scott has often spoken about the inspirational effect Norman had on his formative golfing years and paid tribute to the two-time major winner after capturing the Masters at Augusta last year.
“Part of this is for him [Norman] because he’s given me so much time and inspiration and belief,” said Scott. “I drew on that a lot. I somehow managed to stay in each shot when I needed to.
“He has devoted so much time to myself and other young Australian players who came after him. Incredibly generous.”
Norman had predicted Scott would topple Woods from the world number one spot and has been vindicated by his protégé reaching the pinnacle ranking after spurning four chances to overtake Woods in recent months.
Scott has often spoken about his ambition to follow in the trail-blazing path of Norman, who once dominated golf with his charisma and derring-do.
“I honestly feel I can follow Greg’s footsteps as far as his achievements,” Scott once said.
“I feel that’s kind of a goal of mine. Greg has a charisma about him and an aura that he carries and I don’t know if that comes with success or if you’ve just got it, and I don’t know if I’ve got that.
“But my goal is to achieve Greg’s feats so I’m on my way.”
Now Scott, who enraptured his homeland with his sudden-death playoff win to become the first Australian to capture the Masters, will become only the 17th player to hold the number one ranking.
“I think it’s a nice feather in the cap,” he said.
“I mean, if I was never world number one when I’m this close, I’d be disappointed.
“But I’d also much rather win the US Open and not be number one at all this year. That’s what it comes down to.”
Scott provided one of Australia’s cherished sporting moments with his euphoric victory at last year’s Masters at Augusta, uniting Australians behind his historic achievement.
That green jacket had proved particularly elusive with eight Australians finishing as runners-up at the Masters, including two-time British Open champion Norman, who endured Georgia heartbreak with three runner-up finishes in the 1980-90s.
Yet nine months after making bogeys on the last four holes to squander a British Open lead at Royal Lytham and two years after sharing second at the Masters, Scott nervelessly captured his first major title with victory at the Masters.
World golf rankings issued yesterday:
1 Adam Scott (Aus) 7.9936pts; 2 Tiger Woods (US) 7.8495; 3 Henrik Stenson (Swed) 7.7203; 4 Matt Kuchar (US) 7.1229; 5 Bubba Watson (US) 7.0429; 6 Jason Day (Aus) 6.6067; 7 Sergio Garcia (Sp) 6.2649; 8 Justin Rose (Eng) 6.1097; 9 Jordan Spieth (US) 6.0949; 10 Rory McIlroy (NIr) 5.7644;
11 Phil Mickelson (US) 5.7570; 12 Jim Furyk (US) 5.4783; 13 Zach Johnson (US) 5.3312; 14 Dustin Johnson (US) 4.9370; 15 Graeme McDowell (NIr) 4.2574; 16 Steve Stricker (US) 4.2573; 17 Jimmy Walker (US) 4.2071; 18 Charl Schwartzel (SA) 4.1899; 19 Luke Donald (Eng) 4.0114; 20 Ian Poulter (Eng) 3.9586. — AFP