As he does, Scott makes it interesting  PGATOUR.com Correspondent HUMBLE, Texas -- What was he thinking? Does it really matter? Not now. Not after his new Titleist -- the old one was at the bottom of the pond -- slammed dead center into the bottom of the cup. From 40 feet. For the best little save this side of THE PLAYERS in 2004 when he flipped a 6-iron into the pond in Ponte Vedra and scrambled his way to that title.  Adam Scott reacts after holing a 40-foot putt on the 72nd hole. (Kevin C. Cox/WireImage)
And, did we mention the first come-from-behind victory of his career? Adam Scott will be the first to admit he got a little lucky in winning the Shell Houston Open on this Palm Sunday. He didn't come over his driver the way he did with the 6-iron three years ago. He just pushed this one a little. Just enough that it screeched off the shaved bank at the Tournament Course at Redstone and into the water. And, yes, he got a break when playing partner Stuart Appleby's approach went to a watery grave a few minutes later, but the bottom line? He got it done. Put his approach 40 feet away, tried to lag it up there and when it crested the hill it turned slightly to the right and went straight in. For a double fist-pump of a finish. For his first win of the season -- by three shots over Appleby and Bubba Watson. For redemption from last week's closing 80. And, well, for a pretty nice springboard to Augusta. "Exciting way to finish, I guess,'' he grinned. "But I'm glad it's over.'' Scott did make this one interesting. He started the day three shots back, grabbed a share of the lead at the seventh hole and conquered the back nine that held him back the first three days. But most of all, he did what he came here to do. Chip the rest of the rust off his game from his five weeks away in Switzerland and the UK. Jump into the mix. Get those in-contention ya-yas out of the way. Find some feel with the putter. And do it before he steps to the first tee next Thursday. Scott started the year with Georgia on his mind. And now, he's on ours. Just throw him onto that short green jacket list along with Tiger, Phil, Veege and Retief. And don't blink when you hear his best finish there was a T-9 in 2002 or that he missed back-to-back cuts at the AT&T Championship and the Masters after winning THE PLAYERS in '04. Back then, he was a kid we kept comparing to Tiger. They shared a coach at the time in Butch Harmon. They had similar body types and swings. But Scott was just jumping into the short-list fray back then. Now, he's No. 5 in the world. And, well, ready to take off. No one save Phil or Tiger has the confidence to take a break like Scott did and stay focused. To know he didn't need to take the long road to Magnolia Lane, rather the one less traveled. To know that two weeks -- including this week before when only one other member of the top 10 played -- would be enough. "It was what we needed to see this week,'' said caddie Tony Navarro. "I can't see where anyone else got more out of this week. I don't care where they were practicing or what they were doing.''
Scott just smiled. He's had Augusta on his mind since the first time he played a practice round there with his mentor Greg Norman in 2002. They took a break at the 12th hole, sat down on the bank with their backs to the crowd and had a sandwich. He knew what he wanted back then and he had a plan. To take it slow. To play in Australia and Europe. To play the PGA TOUR fulltime when HE was ready. Not when everyone else said he was. Even after that T-9. And now? He turns 27 this year and is rounding into major form. He tied for third last year at the PGA Championship and was tied for eighth at the British Open. And this win? It comes in the city that gave him exemptions from 2001-03, at a tournament where he tied for sixth -- at the TPC Woodlands -- in 2002 and in the long shadow of close friend and teacher Dick Harmon, Butch's brother. "Maybe Dick was on my side coming down the 18th today,'' he said. Harmon would have been proud of Scott's game plan this week. He worked hard Monday through Wednesday then fine-tuned from there. He caught a break when Watson finished up his rain-delayed third round Sunday morning and stumbled coming in and turned what could have been a 5-shot lead into a 3-shot margin. He survived a putter that needs to settle down a bit and, well, that water at 18. And, no, he didn't once think about hitting a 3-wood. "I've been hooking that,'' he said. In the end, it came down to patience. To belief in himself. To knowing that the worst case scenario was probably a playoff. To listening to Navarro, who told him to just get it done. To draining a bomb. "It was relief along with elation, I guess,'' he said of the putt. "You know, I was just trying to lag it down there close and leave myself no work at all to do.'' Scott flew to Augusta Sunday night and planned to take it easy Monday. A little practice. No practice round. "I still think I can do some work on my putting,'' he said. "Although it was pretty good today. And obviously next week putting is a key factor to getting around the golf course.'' The last person to win the week before Augusta and win the Masters? Mickelson last year. Although he ran away from the field at the AT&T Championship. Before that? It was Sandy Lyle winning in Greensboro, then Augusta in 1988. Scott isn't one to make predictions, but he does know he feels a lot better now than he did a week ago. He also knows he got away with another shot into the water at an 18th hole. "I've gotten away with it twice now,'' he said. "Maybe the third time I won't be so lucky.'' Maybe not. But, he smiled, he's safe next week. No water left at 18 there. Just a gaping bunker. |
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