The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Scott in no mood to lower expectations
Former world No 1 golfer Adam Scott has revealed he still has ambitions of completing a career grand slam.
Scott won the 2013 Masters but needs victories in the Open Championship, US PGA and US Open to become only the sixth player after Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods to have won all four majors.
The 42-year-old, who squandered a four-shot lead with four holes to play in the 2012 Open, said: “I want to fulfil my dreams and goals as a player and time is less and less on my side. I have to do everything I can to make sure I’m giving myself the best chance.
“I wanted to win all the majors. That sounds like a lot, but really it’s three more events. It’s just got to be the right week.
“I have all the tools. I’m still very healthy. I’m still moving the golf ball well and I have a lot of experience. I’m just trying to put it all together. Playing consistently better is going to help that.
“I’m doing everything I can to get that consistency up, like shifting my schedule around a little bit and spending a bit more time in the States next year and doing a little less travel. All these things (are intended) to kind of chip away and get myself ready for the events I want to win the most.”
Scott has not played on home soil in three years but is seeking a third Australian PGA Championship title this week in his native Queensland.
Open champion Cameron Smith and Race to Dubai runner-up Ryan Fox are also in the field at Royal Queensland Golf Club and the star trio have been grouped together for the first two rounds. Fox, who won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews last month, will hit the opening shot from the 10th tee at 6am local time following a hectic journey from Dubai which included a six-hour stopover in Auckland to drop off his family.
“It’s definitely a blur at the moment,” Fox said. “It still feels a bit surreal.
“Obviously, it’s not on the goals list to finish in the top 10 on the order of merit, to be honest, (especially) after the last couple of years I had where I was probably more trying to keep a card than finish high up.
“I guess the big goal at the start of the year was to get another win and I got that under the belt pretty quickly and that just let everything kind of free roll the rest of the year.
“Arguably there could have been a couple more in there, but it’s pretty tough to win out on any Tour nowadays and to give myself as many chances as I did was great.”
Aside from winning the 150th Open at St Andrews with a stunning final round of 64, Smith also shot a PGA Tour record of 34 under par to win the Sentry Tournament of Champions and also claimed the Players Championship at Sawgrass.
The world No 3 also won LIV Golf ’s event in Chicago after joining the Saudifunded breakaway and was awarded the Greg Norman medal – given to Australia’s best male or female tour professional – on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence returns to the event which made his “dreams come true” this week as he bids to defend his title in the Joburg Open.
Lawrence’s victory last year may have only been achieved over 36 holes due to bad weather, but it secured a place in the 150th Open Championship at St
Andrews, where he practised on the range alongside Tiger Woods.
The 25-year-old finished 42nd on his major debut and went on to win his second DP World Tour title in Switzerland six weeks later as he climbed to a career-high 87th in the world.
“Everything I could’ve dreamed of happened this year and that motivates me to achieve even more in my career,” Lawrence said.
“To play my first major at St Andrews, the Home of Golf, was incredible. Whatever I could’ve imagined it would be, it was triple that when I experienced it.”
As with last year, three places in the 2023 Open at Royal Liverpool will be available for the top three finishers, not already exempt, on Sunday.
Only three Scots are in the field – David Drysdale, Craig Howie and Marc Warren.