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Scott Cashes In At Deutsche Bank
Shark.com Staff
Sept. 2, 2003
Adam Scott knows how to pick the right role models.
He has patterned his swing after Tiger Woods -- they even share the same coach -- and his career path after Greg Norman. Now if he can only match their success.
 | | Scott finished at 20-under-par and earned $900,000 for his first PGA Tour victory. |
Scott, a 23-year-old Australian, started in the right direction Monday with an impressive 5-under 66 to win the Deutsche Bank Championship for his first PGA Tour victory. Scott shot a 20-under-par 264 at the TPC of Boston to beat Rocco Mediate by four shots.
"This is a relief," Scott said. "It's very difficult to win over here, not just because you're a foreigner, but being a young player. Sergio (Garcia) and Tiger are about the only very young guys to come over here and have success. It's very difficult to do."
But Scott made it look easy in notching his fifth win around the world, and all have come with him protecting a lead entering the final round. His lead never shrunk to less than three, and when he hit a couple of loose shots on the back nine his putter was there to bail him out. The win moves Scott to a career-best 18th in the latest world rankings.
Watching Scott win wasn't a shock to the top players. Some thought it might have come earlier.
"It was just a matter of time before he won on our tour," Woods said. "He has a tremendous amount of talent and he's won around the world."
Scott may not have gotten the same amount of publicity as his young countryman Aaron Baddeley, who won a pair of Australian Opens to get noticed. But Scott has long possessed one of the game's most athletic swings -- it's very similar to Woods, which isn't surprising considering both players rely on instructor Butch Harmon.
Scott also has borrowed a page from fellow Aussie Norman, his longtime idol, when it came to planning out his career. He sought out Norman's advice when he turned pro as to how should he map out his schedule.
"Greg was such a big influence on me, saying, 'Adam, forget about America,' when I first turned pro, 'Let's go to Europe and get some good grounding over there,'" Scott said. "I'm trying to follow a similar kind of path as Greg. He was the best in Europe. He came over to best Seve and those guys pretty good. He same over here and then became the best over here."
Scott says he's reminded of Norman's successes constantly in Europe. He doesn't look for the signs as much as they find him.
"It seems every clubhouse we go on to on the tour there, Greg's name is on the past champions List," Scott said. "You know, that's something that really inspired me when I went over there. I kept going to these courses and there's Greg's name on this one and there's Greg's name on that one. And I thought, I'd kind of like to really set that same presence over there that Greg Norman did and have a lot of wins."
 | | Scott notched his fifth worldwide victory and ascended to 18th in the latest World Rankings. |
The victory gives Scott the opportunity to play on the PGA Tour full-time, but the London resident said he has no plans to concentrate solely in America. He still has an allegiance to the European Tour, pointing out it makes you a better golfer in other ways. For instance, he believes playing in the often difficult weather conditions in Europe helped him deal with the elements during Monday's final round.
"I still have a lot to prove in Europe and I feel like I have a lot to achieve over there," he said. "I'm far from done with Europe. I think the conditions are so adverse over there. We are playing in some unbelievable conditions over there. I think that really toughens you up, and if you can handle that, you can handle anything."
Scott has not played his best golf in the U.S. this year. He pushed Woods to the 19th hole before losing in the semifinals of the World Match Play Championship, but that was Scott's only top-10 appearance in his first 11 PGA Tour starts. He was 23rd in the Masters and PGA Championship and missed the cut in the U.S. Open and British Open.
His big weakness -- putting -- surfaced at the British Open when he shot rounds of 82 and 74 to badly miss the cut. It was getting to the point where he was almost as likely to three-putt as one-putt. But following the British, he took a different course of action.
"I really hit a low point at the Open this year at Royal St. George's," Scott said. "And I took the next week off and went home and all I did was putt and chip for the week. I didn't hit any balls and I just spent hours putting and chipping, and that really turned it around."
Scott is showing he has the potential to be just as successful in this game as his idol. And he makes it clear how much Norman has helped him along the way.
"He means the world to me," Scott said. "I have modeled my game off Greg Norman ever since I was 7, 8 years old. And the support he's shown me ever since -- even when I was an amateur before I turned professional and then when I did turn professional it was amazing. And for him to offer so much of his time to me has been fantastic and I definitely benefited hugely from that. It kind of confirms in your mind that you are on the right track, anyway."
| The Par Report is posted every Monday on Shark.com. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Greg Norman. |
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