Adam Scott had never won two tournaments in a row on the PGA Tour until taking the Honda Classic at PGA National and the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral to open the Florida Swing.
After taking a week off, the Aussie tries to make it three straight beginning Thursday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
“I can’t believe I’ve won back-to-back weeks,” said Scott, who has 13 PGA Tour victories and 29 in his career around the world. “To win a World Golf Championship is huge. I’ve got to just keep pushing hard the next few weeks.
” … I think I’ve just used my experience to my advantage the last couple of weeks. I realize around these tough courses you’re not out of it.”
Scott will try to do it again with the conventional putter he switched to after his anchored model was banned as of Jan. 1.
The last player to win three in a row on the PGA Tour was Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, who had an impressive run in 2014 when the captured the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone and the PGA Championship at Valhalla.
Before that, it hadn’t happened on the PGA Tour since Vijay Singh accomplished the feat in 2004, while Tiger Woods pulled it off in 2000 and 2001.
Woods also won five in a row from 2007-08, six straight in 1999-2000 and seven consecutive tournaments from 2006-2007, which ranks second on the all-time list.
Byron Nelson holds the record of 11 straight in 1945.
The 35-year-old Scott, who tied for second behind Bubba Watson in the Northern Trust Open a week before winning the Honda and leads the FedEx Cup point standings, believes he has more in the tank.
“I’d love to just bottle up where my game’s been at the last couple weeks and move forward a month,” said Scott, who had not won since the 2014 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial before his two-week streak. “That’s going to be the hard thing for me to do is to manage my expectations and also manage my game to keep it right here.
“You know, I can’t just keep pushing. I have to pace myself kind of so I don’t over-work it and try and get too prepared and do all that. It’s finding that balance the next month for me that’s going to be really important, but obviously the confidence is going to be high right now. So I just want to do everything to keep that there.”
Of course, Scott is talking about April and the Masters, which he won in 2013 over Angel Cabrera in a playoff.
Despite the way he’s playing, don’t call him the favorite.
“No, I think Bubba is,” Scott said of Watson, who claimed the Green Jacket in 2012 and 2014, sandwiched around the Aussie’s victory. “Even if I won every tournament I play before the Masters, if Bubba keeps finishing second, I’d still think he’s favored. (Augusta) just sets up so good there for him. Obviously his record there is amazing the last couple of years. He’s got to be feeling great about his game.
“You know, I’m happy if my name is in the mix. I wouldn’t shy away from it. I’m not just trying to put the pressure on Bubba, but he’s obviously playing fantastic. He won L.A. and second (at Doral), and Augusta around the corner, he’s got to be thinking this is looking really good for him.”
Scott, who had slipped to No. 19 in the World Golf Rankings, was back up to No. 6 last week with his eye on No. 1.
He knows what it takes, having been on top for 11 weeks in 2014.
“I think probably a mini-goal starting the year or back end of last year was to try and get back to World No. 1,” said Scott, who has watched McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Jason Day, another Aussie, trade the top spot since. “I think it’s a fair goal, because I’ve been there before, and if you get to that point, I think I’m going to achieve what I want in the game.
“So that’s probably a bit of a long-term goal. I wasn’t thinking I should just get there by, you know, September this year or something. Over the next couple of years, give myself a chance to play consistently well and move back up there and get back to No. 1, and hopefully some wins and another major comes along in that time. But it would be amazing to get back there.”
But the next numeral on his list is the No. 3.
–Story Courtesy of The Sports Xchange, TSX Golf Editor Tom LaMarre
