Adam Scott says frustrating Covid restrictions mean a return for Australian events unlikely

Thousands of Australians are stranded overseas unable to get home, and the mental toll has been hard even on the best athletes.

Adam Scott says Australia is going backwards in its handling of Covid-19. Picture: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images/AFP

Australia is “going backwards ” in dealing with Covid-19 according to former world number one Adam Scott, who has declared a return home for this year’s national championship is unlikely.

Scott, who tested positive to coronavirus last year, has bounced around Europe and the US in 2021 trying to play, spending multiple weeks away from his family and enduring different quarantine restrictions, including those in Australia that he called “very frustrating”.

A perennial supporter of the Australian tour, Scott said it was unlikely he would be coming home “anytime soon”, which could mean missing the Australian Open, which is scheduled for the last weekend of November in Sydney.

The Open and Australian PGA had to be abandoned last year because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the start list for this year’s versions could be significantly impacted by ongoing border restrictions and continued coronavirus outbreaks.

“Australia’s having a lot of issues at the moment because of their kind of policies toward the virus and that’s very frustrating,” Scott said ahead of return to play at the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina.

“It’s very frustrating when you live in one place with a policy and you’re operating also in another place with a different policy.

Adam Scott and wife Marie Kojzar. Scott is unlikely to return to play in Australia this year. Picture: AAP Image/David Crosling

“That made it very difficult this year, and I think the US and the UK is seemingly really learning how to live with the virus now and it seems like making some progress.

“Now I find it frustrating that Australia is maybe lagging behind at the moment and have very strict measures over the virus.

“Now, at this point, Australia’s kind of going backwards a little bit. It’s not looking promising for later this year at the moment.”

Scott, who splits his living time between Switzerland and the Gold Coast, said he underestimated the emotional toll of not being able to see his parents, or his children their grandparents, had taken.

Fellow Australian Marc Leishman had an emotional reunion with his parents after the Tokyo Olympics, but Scott hasn’t been able to.

“I’m not going home anytime soon and I’m more concerned now about getting to see my parents and them getting to see grandkids that they haven’t seen for a long time and some they’ve never met,” he said.

“We’ll have to deal with that, but certainly I can imagine how many, many people have really suffered without that kind of support or connection of being able to see your family certainly in some difficult times.

Reunited after 18 months. 💕🥲 @MarcLeish’s parents were able to leave Australia and visit their son and grandchildren this week in Memphis. pic.twitter.com/uYVtOb0G1k

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 5, 2021

“We had another child this year, lots of stuff happening, I was away from the family a lot and news was going crazy obviously with so many different things happening all around the world.

“Trying to find that balance is something that’s always evolving, and I think that quiet head space is a good head space for me just to be calm and ready to play golf because we’re trying to play at the highest level.

“I neglected that kind of, that mental side just for a little bit, and the last few months I certainly feel like I’ve had a better head on my shoulders for it.”

Scott said he even stopped watching the news because of the growing frustrations, and could only hope he would be able to get back to Australia sooner rather than later.

“There‘s just so much going on every week. The rules of how I could get home or not or whatever was changing and there was just so much happening, it was very difficult to plan anything,” he said.

“I just decided that I just need to focus on playing golf and quiet everything down and get my head on straight. I think it’s been much better since I did that.”

Originally published as Adam Scott says frustrating Covid restrictions mean a return for Australian events unlikely