AUGUSTA, Georgia, (Reuters) – Adam Scott has to pinch himself every time he watches replays of his 2013 Masters win and the Australian says he still finds it hard to believe he fulfilled a lifelong dream by landing the coveted Green Jacket.
Twelve months ago Scott finally succeeded where the likes of Greg Norman, Peter Thomson and David Graham had failed as he became the first Australian to triumph at the first major championship of the year.
“I try to put that Green Jacket on at least once a day,” the world number two told Reuters in an interview. “But the feeling I have is that I’ve got to pinch myself to realise that was me who achieved what I did last year.
“I don’t watch it too much on TV. It’s emotional for me, it’s also hard to believe it’s actually me in that position.
“It all takes on a different level of focus in the majors, especially late in the rounds, and you just can’t believe you can execute the way you have.”
Scott gave a fascinating insight as to how his emotions sometimes get the better of him when he watches golf from the comfort of his living room.
“If I see friends and colleagues play down the stretch when I’m watching on TV at home I get so nervous,” the 33-year-old explained.
“But when it is you that is actually in that position you’re not as nervous as when you’re at home sitting on the couch watching someone else play because you are the one in control.
“You’ve been in that environment all day and it comes down to belief and the knowledge that you’ve been working up to this for your whole life.”
NEAR MISSES
Now that he has finally crossed the line to triumph in a major after a string of near misses, Scott does not want to be known as a one-hit wonder.
Only Scott, Tiger Woods and Jason Dufner have made the cut in each of the last eight majors and it is the Australian who has by far the best record.
He is a cumulative four-under-par for those eight championships while Dufner is 12-over and Woods 21-over. “I’ve performed extremely consistently in the last couple of years,” said Scott, a golf brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz who are a global sponsor of the Masters. “Realistically I’ve given myself two or three chances to win and won one of them.
“I’m happy with that because the trend is going in the right direction and I’ve just got to keep that going, strike while the iron is hot and keep creating these chances.
“Winning one major is fantastic but I feel like I’ve got a lot of good golf ahead of me. I might only have a small window of opportunity where I’m going to be doing it in the majors and I’m going to need to keep my foot on the gas,” Scott added.
“I feel like the more I play and the more I compete at this level the more I’m going to win but I’ve got to keep putting in the work. I’m not there because I just show up and get lucky, I’ve worked hard to get into this position.”
Scott’s playoff victory over Argentine Angel Cabrera at Augusta National last year was all the more laudable after he suffered the heartbreak of letting slip a four-shot lead in the last four holes to lose out to Ernie Els at the 2012 British Open.
“You’re on a knife edge the whole time in these big tournaments,” the Australian said. “There’s no lead big enough to be really safe.
“That day I fell down on one side of the knife but at Augusta I fell on the other. I made no mistakes that day and I think it came down to the fact that I wasn’t afraid to fail.
“Of course I was gutted to lose the Open but it was also a sign to me I was able to play at this high, high level and win these events. I knew I’d get another chance and as I said earlier I believe I am in my own window of opportunity at the moment.”
