With a lamentable, almost incredible, none-from-11 record, Adam Scott is OK with his International team wanting to dedicate any hoodoo-busting Presidents Cup triumph to “the old guy”.
At 46, Scott will be making his 12th consecutive appearance against another formidable US outfit and it’s no surprise his teammates are using the former world No.1 and Masters champion as inspiration in Illinois.
“Certainly, you would have thought if you were going to play all 12 in a row from 2003, that he would have won one by now,” International Team captain Geoff Ogilvy said ahead of the day-one four-balls at Medinah Country Club’s course No.3 on Friday (AEST).
“So it would be fantastic for the team, and I know everybody feels that way, that he’s a big part of the inspiration they want to win for.
“It’s a cool journey he’s taken. When he first got into that room, he was playing with Ernie Els and Vijay Singh and Nick Price. He was the young one in the room, and now he’s the guy they all look at.”
Scott has played in every edition of the Presidents Cup since 2003. That’s 11 competitions, with 10 losses, one tie and zero victories.
Hideki Matsuyama is preparing for his seventh Presidents Cup in a row, but Scott still has the Japanese star’s longevity beaten by a full decade.
“He’s part of the International furniture now,” South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout said.
“He’s played in 12 of them. Yeah, he plays as good as what he played 25 years ago.
“So all of us would love to win the Cup, but it would be so much more special if we can do it while Adam is still in the team as well.”
Despite his vintage, Scott has not drifted far from the apex of the sport in his 40s.
Ranked 45th in the world, he tied for ninth at the most recent major, the Open Championship. That marked his 101st consecutive major start, the second- longest streak in the sport’s history, behind only Jack Nicklaus.
At the most recent Presidents Cup in 2024 at Royal Montreal, Scott came away with two points, tied for most of anyone on the team.
He contended at the DP World Tour’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club last week, sharing second with the likes of Rory McIlroy.
“I feel like my game has been in good shape throughout the year and I played reasonably well in the (FedEx Cup) play-offs recently,” Scott said.
“But of course coming in off a good week last week at Wentworth is nice for the confidence, that’s for sure.”
At 39, New Zealand’s newly crowned British Open champion Ryan Fox is relishing the chance to make his Presidents Cup debut.
To Fox, being on the International team means being the underdog. It comes with the territory for a historically outmatched collection of golfers with a 1-13-1 record against the mighty Americans.
“We do have a chance to do something incredible,” Fox said.
“When we’ve got a couple of guys on the team who have played a lot of these that we really want to get a win for. I think that’s our motivation. I mean, Adam especially over there.”
– with Reuters
