Presidents Cup: Adam Scott determined to make up for years of beatings with win on home soil
The International team have been no match for the US in recent editions of the Presidents Cup. But Adam Scott sees a glimpse of hope at Royal Melbourne. With Ernie Els in charge, there is renewed confidence.
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For Adam Scott, it was the final straw.
Playing his eighth Presidents Cup at Liberty National in New York in 2017, the Australian was on the losing side for the seventh straight time.
But it wasn’t just a loss, it was a 19-11 mauling, game over well before the Sunday singles.
There were murmurings among the International team’s assistant captains, too, about some of the strategies, and some of the shot choices by players across the opening three days.
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Scott took out his frustrations on Sunday by taking down American superstar Brooks Koepka.
The Australian walked away wondering if there was a way back into the biennial event for the Internationals, who had been victors only once, way back in 1998.
Then Ernie Els, a long-time friend and Presidents Cup stalwart, moved from assistant captain to captain.
There was a stirring. Scott felt it, and in the new captain, and the next generation of team members, he saw hope.
“Maybe that defeat was the final straw for our International side, that it was time to get our act together,” Scott told News Corp Australia as he prepared to return to Australia.
“I have to give a lot of credit to Ernie, what he has done the last couple of years. He really grabbed the bull by the horns when he took this role. He got down to it with a blank sheet of paper and started building a bit of a culture and a structure, some foundations for the future.
“I already see some of the results of that in these young new faces and how much it means to them.
“Hopefully it results in a positive outcome. But if it doesn’t, I won’t be discouraged, because I can see good things happening for this team in the future.
“Hopefully I am around for a couple more, too.”
Scott is due home on Sunday to play all three big Australian events — including the Open and PGA.
But from a long way out, the Presidents Cup, and building on what he called a “great buzz” has been a driving force for him to find his best at Royal Melbourne, and get that victory he’s craving.
“It’s a big three weeks for sure. I want to be in really great form. I like playing well at home,” he said.
“The Aussie Open and the PGA I want to win.
“But there’s a big priority on the Presidents Cup for myself. I’d like to have some of my best stuff and contribute a large number of points.
“I’m looking to keep this positive vibe growing. We’ll come in positive and try to feed off each other and try to get up on Thursday and then roll with it.”
DON’T CHEER TIGER
Scott knows everyone behind the ropes at Royal Melbourne, Australian or otherwise, will be excited to see Tiger Woods and his star-studded team.
It could be the last time Woods plays in Australia, too.
But polite golf-clapping aside, Scott doesn’t want the GOAT, or anyone on the United States outfit, to get the red-carpet treatment when the teams start hitting balls in anger.
More than that, Scott wants the visitors to feel uncomfortable, to break the “air of invincibility” they have played with in most Presidents Cups.
“Last time it was too friendly,” Scott said.
“Quite bluntly, we want the home-crowd advantage, and I’ll be disappointed if they are cheering enthusiastically for Tiger or anyone on the US team.
“I’m not saying be a poor sport, but one challenge our team has always had is gaining a home-soil advantage because it’s rare that stars like Tiger and DJ (Dustin Johnson) come to Australia and Korea where we play these things and the locals are excited to see them as much as anyone on our team.
“But while we appreciate them very much, we don’t have to cheer for them.”
TURN THE SCREWS EARLY
In New York, the Presidents Cup was over after three days. Heading into the Sunday singles, the US team was up 14.5 points to just 3.5, an unassailable lead. It crystallised in Scott’s mind how important the first day would be this time around.
That’s when he wants his team to pour on the pressure.
“If we can get the upper hand through Thursday and Friday, let’s see how they go on the weekend,” Scott said.
“That air of invincibility they have comes when they are up so quickly on us. A big focus for me has been, when I have thought about the Cup, which I’ve done a lot, is how I am going to mentally approach that first match. I believe that is the most important match.
“That first day is so important for our team, it really is, and that’s what we have to prepare for.”
THE NO FEAR FACTOR
The International team boasts six new faces this time around, including two 21-year-olds.
They’ve watched the Ryder Cup with envy and hankered for their opportunity to play as a team in global environment.
It’s that aspirational element, that desire to take down team USA and to set new standards for the Internationals, which has Scott excited.
“I get a real buzz from the new guys on the team, that’s for sure. It has rubbed off on us old guys who haven’t had any success for a long time in this thing,” he said.
“These younger guys are really fired up. It’s a big deal to them. They have been watching this thing for a while and they want their chance.
“That’s exciting for a guy like me to see that enthusiasm, which has been taken away from us pretty quickly by the Yanks in the last couples of Cups.
“Sending someone out there with zero scar tissue is a real positive.”
SANDBELT SPECIALISTS
Scott thinks he’s played Royal Melbourne “40 or 50” times in his life, including eight times during the 2011 Presidents Cup.
It’s an advantage, however, which he said isn’t as great as it might have been 20 years ago when players weren’t as skilled at adapting to any layout, anywhere.
“Guys generally are so good at setting up a game plan,” he said.
“They have statisticians and mathematicians breaking it all down for them and I’m sure guys can do that for Royal Melbourne, too.”
But beyond the practice rounds available to both teams, where the International players will be heavily “schooled” on best practices, Scott said and captain Els have a little something up their sleeves which could prove crucial.
“When it comes down to certain conditions you just need to know where to go and what you can’t do,” Scott said.
“Having that level of comfort around Royal Melbourne, standing over a tough tee shot, the difference between hitting a good and bad shot at the wrong time could be two shots, or an easy win of a hole. We want to lean on that.
“For guys like Geoff (Ogilvy) and Ernie, who has played some of the most incredible golf I have ever seen in my life at Royal Melbourne, to pass that on to the guys who haven’t played there, to make people feel comfortable, at ease and not intimated by the golf course, is a real positive.”