For the first time since 2010, Adam Scott failed to get in contention in a major championship at one point or another this year.
Winning his first FedExCup would be a pretty good consolation.
Through three rounds of the playoffs opener, the 36-year-old Aussie is off to good start.
Scott made an eagle, six birdies and just two bogeys en route to a 65 this morning at Bethpage Black, where he’s near the top of the leaderboard with one round to go at the Barclays.
“It feels good,” he said. “I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve really been in the mix.”
After a runner-up at Riviera and back-to-back wins at the Honda Classic and WGC-Cadillac Championship, it looked like the former world No. 1 was poised for a monster year.
It never materialised.
In 10 starts since his two victories, Scott has just one top 10, a tie for 10th at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
“I just haven’t putted well from the Masters through to now,” he said. “I was putting better every week it felt like leading up to the Masters. It kind of plateaued there and then it’s just slowly drifted into very ordinary. That’s been disappointing and it’s been hard to put a finger on it.”
Through the first two rounds at Bethpage it was more of the same – Scott made just 30 feet, 9 inches of putts on Thursday and 58 feet on Friday.
Saturday? With a change in mindset he made 150 feet, 8 inches of putts.
“To just simply forget about everything with the putting, technical and feel and anything, and just kind of look and stroke and not care where it went to be the answer, is nice,” Scott said. “Because I don’t think there’s any major issues.
“I just thought, what difference does it make if I hit this past the hole, because I’ve left every putt short. And if it goes past, it might go in.”
Now he’ll try to do something he hasn’t been able to do since March.
“Three or four months of constant thought and working and trying, sometimes trying is not great, either; and just to let go is sometimes tough,” Scott said. “Hopefully if that’s what it is, then I can do it [Sunday]. If I could finish the year off the way I started, it would salvage some of the disappointment of not really contending in the majors this year.”
Meanwhile, Rickie Fowler remains vigilant in his fight to make the US Ryder Cup team by taking the outright lead after the third round.
Fowler, who is at 9-under par 204, shot a bogey-free 3-under 68 that included a birdie on the 18th hole, to take a one-stroke lead over Patrick Reed. Fowler has only one bogey in 54 holes on one of the most difficult courses on the PGA Tour.
Reed, meanwhile, was only able to post an even-par 71 to lose the two-shot lead he had over Fowler entering the round. Reed is one back at 8-under par 205.
A victory for either Fowler or Reed, ranked 12th and eighth in US Ryder Cup standings, respectively, would clinch a spot on the team.
Jason Day, the world No.1 and favourite to win the FedEx Cup, remains close behind following a Saturday 1-under 70. He is tied for sixth place at 5-under with Justin Thomas, Kevin Streelman and Gary Woodland.
