Adam Scott today confirmed he will put the long putter back in play at this week’s Australian PGA Championship with a view to a permanent return in his bag, inspired by the success of Bernhard Langer and Scott McCarron on the Champions Tour.

As revealed by Australian Golf Digest with exclusive pictures on Monday, Scott has been practising with the long putter all week at the RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast. He will put it in play when he tees off at 6.10am AEDT Thursday morning in the marquee grouping alongside Sergio Garcia and Wade Ormsby.

Scott wielded the long putter to great effect over a four-year period that included his win at the 2013 Masters but made the switch back to a short putter at the 2015 Presidents Cup in preparation for the worldwide ban on anchoring that came into effect on January 1, 2016.

But as Langer and McCarron have somewhat controversially continued to rack up the wins on the seniors circuit using a long putter, Scott is prepared to give an old friend a second chance.

“Yeah I think I might give it a run this week. I haven’t done that much work with it but it feels pretty good out there. I think it might make the grade this week,” Scott said following his Wednesday pro-am.

“I’ve just noticed, like everybody else, that Bernhard Langer and Scott McCarron make everything they look at and have done since the anchoring ban and moving it away from the body. It was actually pointed out to me that this year they both recorded the best ever putting stats since stats have been kept. Both of them beat the old best. I don’t know if it’s just a coincidence or if they just had a really good year but maybe they’ve found the best way to putt.

“I definitely feel very comfortable with it.”

After a year in which family was more of a focus than the intensity of practice required to win tournaments on the US PGA Tour, Scott comes into the Australian PGA seeking to avoid just the second winless year since his first year as a professional in 2000.

Predicting that hitting greens in regulation on a Royal Pines layout expected to play long due to intermittent rain throughout the week, the 37-year-old believes the change will only enhance his chances of success.

“It just doesn’t feel much different at all whether it’s anchored to the body or not. It’s doing the same thing, or it feels like to me,” said Scott, whose world ranking has plummeted to No.31 after starting the year at No.7.

“It feels very solid, I don’t see there to be much work needed. It just feels good. It’s like when you pick up a new putter and you just hole putts. That’s what it feels like. I tried [not anchoring the long putter] a little bit a few years ago but I was just frustrated. I was looking for a change at that point and the shorter putter felt good.”