ADAM Scott was gearing up for the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs in August last year. After a missed cut in Northern Ireland at the Open Championship – an event he’d usually contended in – the week prior, he needed a little pick-me-up.

So, the Australian former world No.1 brought up YouTube on his computer in his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee, during the World Golf Championships event there. The Adelaide-born Queenslander searched for the Masters Tournament’s official YouTube channel and started scrolling through highlights of previous editions at Augusta National.

That was when he came across the 2013 Masters. Naturally, he started watching.

“I don’t mind a bit of YouTube on the road; I’m prone to going down a bit of a rabbit hole every now and then,” Scott said through laughter when Australian Golf Digest caught up with him at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.

Scott takes a break from hitting crisp, 30-metre pitch shots on the practice chipping green at Riviera and cocks his head in nostalgia. Just the mention of his becoming the first Australian to win at Augusta forces a smile.

‘I feel the next five years of my career could be the best. There is every chance that the next five years could be better than the past 10’ – Adam Scott

“The Masters have their own channel and 2013 came up,” he continues. “So, of course, I started watching and fast-forwarded to the playoff,” which Scott won against Argentina’s Angel Cabrera on the second extra hole.

“I relived it a little bit, I’ll be honest. I learned a little bit, too. It was a good feeling to watch it again. I actually played quite good in the weeks after watching it, too. So, I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”

In his next start, Scott finished tied for fifth at the Northern Trust event in New Jersey. He would go on to finish in the top-10 in each of the next two playoff events, including the Tour Championship finale.

DOWN MEMORY LANE

If you’re reading this, you are a golf fan. You’ve watched Scott’s win against Cabrera on the 10th hole at Augusta, and probably more than once. But Scott’s memories of walking down that downhill, dogleg-left par 4 are always worth sharing.

“My memory is just the atmosphere of walking down 10 was unlike any atmosphere I’ve experienced,” Scott recalls. “It was cold, wet and dark with a noisy crowd; even for Augusta’s standards. Even as we were walking between the tee shot and the fairway, there were constant cheers. And not just a couple of shout-outs; proper cheers. They were loving being out there with two guys going at it.

“Cabrera is that kind of guy you want to be in a playoff against. He’s like a bull; he goes at it. I was obviously very determined as well. I’d recently lost the [2012] Open [Championship at Royal Lytham] and people were feeling that for me, too. It was a fun environment to play golf in.”

Scott also never tires of hearing recollections of his win from the outside world. He revels in the fact he owns an iconic Australian sporting moment – an achievement in the same league as Australia’s 1983 America’s Cup victory or Cathy Freeman’s 400 metres win at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

“It’s one of those moments that a lot of people tell me where they were when it happened, and I appreciate them,” Scott says. “Some people didn’t go to work or university that Monday in Australia. It’s amazing hearing those stories.”

Scott received written letters from Roger Federer to the (now) late Arnold Palmer, as well as Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus, all congratulating him on his green jacket victory.

Social media went into meltdown with golfers, superstar athletes, politicians and actors all tweeting well wishes to Scott. The pick of the bunch was 2010 US Open winner Graeme McDowell, who wrote on Twitter, “945am Monday morning east coast of Australia now… I fear for productivity right this second!!”

“Any Australian sports fan can get behind a moment when we break a hoodoo,” Scott says. “No Australian had won at Augusta, but we had come so close. It was a big moment in Australian sport and it was one that other countries wanted for us. Greg Norman holds a lot of that sentiment because he was so popular around the world. It’s always nice to know the rest of the world was cheering us on.”

RETURN TO THE WINNER’S CIRCLE

Days after speaking with Australian Golf Digest at Riviera, Scott would break a winless drought of almost four years on the PGA Tour by claiming the Genesis Invitational. It was Scott’s second career victory at the famed Los Angeles course after his rain-shortened win there in 2005. It was also Scott’s second victory in consecutive starts worldwide, having won the Australian PGA Championship on the Gold Coast in December. Scott’s first PGA Tour win in 1,442 days launched the Australian to world No.7 – his first time back in the top 10 since mid-2017.

Scott has had truly brilliant stretches in his career, interrupted briefly by a slump in 2009 – the worst year of his career. The period from early 2017 to mid-2018 was not great either, but not terrible.

“It’s difficult to imagine things will get better when you’re in a rut, but you just remember it’s going to end at some point,” Scott says. “Golf is so up and down. I played so poorly for most of 2009 and managed to turn it around by 2014 (when Scott ascended to world No.1 for 11 total weeks). And then 2017 and 2018, those 18 months, I just played really average. Not poor, but just average. But that doesn’t get you very far on the PGA Tour and in the Majors.

“Frustration levels are huge when you know you can be better. From this point on, it’s truly about managing myself well. There should be no reason to have another poor stretch. Hopefully, they were the last two down periods in my career. So, let’s try to finish on a high note.”

Approaching the age of 40 – which he’ll reach in July during the Open Championship at Royal St George’s – Scott feels he has entered another chapter in his career. Although he doesn’t know which number chapter this will be.

“Second, third, fourth? I’m not sure,” Scott says. “I really believe this could be a great one. I feel the next five years of my career could be the best. There is every chance that the next five years could be better than the past 10.”

Earning the 14th official PGA Tour win of his career has given Scott added confidence as he heads to Augusta in search of a second green jacket.

“I was liking the way everything was going in 2019. Sometimes you can believe that in your mind, but ideally you need reassurance with a result. I took some confidence from some close calls last year. But now, after the win at Riviera, of course I’m excited about Augusta.”

PAVING THE WAY

At the time of writing, five Australians were eligible for the 2020 Masters: Scott, obviously for life, as well as Jason Day, Marc Leishman, Cameron Smith and amateur Lukas Michel. Michel secured his invitation last year by becoming the first Australian to win the US Mid-Amateur Championship.

Scott’s 2013 Masters win ended a 77-year hoodoo for Australians at Augusta. Close calls came mainly from Norman, although myriad Australians had their chances, too. Eight Australians, including Scott (in 2011), had finished in at least a share of second before 2013.

‘Not having to deal with [the hoodoo] the past six years, it definitely takes a bit of pressure off a tournament where there is probably more pressure than any other’
– Marc Leishman

The question, “When is an Australian finally going to win the Masters?” had begun to weigh on the Australians at each Masters. It added an extra layer of pressure to the tournament the pros want to win the most.

But Day and Leishman agreed Scott’s win smashed the ceiling; that winning their own green jacket would be somewhat easier thanks to Scott.

“I’d only played 2010 and 2013, so I only saw it for two years and I was already sick of it,” Leishman says of the questions from media about Australia’s Augusta hoodoo pre-2013. Leishman played in the same group as Scott on Sunday in 2013. “Not having to deal with that the past six years, it definitely takes a bit of pressure off a tournament where there is probably more pressure than any other.”

Former world No.1 Day held the lead with three holes to go on Sunday in 2013, but bogeyed the 16th and 17th holes to finish in third place behind Scott.

“I think Scotty has definitely made it a bit easier because no longer do you walk around thinking that no Australian has won before,” Day says. “There is still significant pressure with regards to the Masters because of how much we all want to win there, but that is one less thing to think about.

“Greg Norman and a couple of other Aussies had a chance before Scotty. To be the first Australian to win at Augusta was always on my radar and Scotty beat me to it. But it’s OK because I’d like to be the second player to win from Australia. You’d take any win at Augusta regardless of the stage of your career.”

‘There is still significant pressure with regards to the Masters because of how much we all want to win there, but that is one less thing to think about’ – Jason Day

Scott, however, isn’t sure if his win has taken the pressure off his countrymen. He does admit “it has probably opened the door a little bit”. But since Scott’s 2013 triumph, the best finish by any Australian is a share of fifth (Day last year and Smith in 2018). Scott has just one top-10 since 2013.

“To be honest I haven’t given myself the best look at winning a second one yet,” says Scott, who did share the 36-hole lead last year only to fade away in round three. “I haven’t really been in the mix on a Sunday.

“I think the big thing for me, when I’m in that position, will be to see if the pressure is off a little bit because I have a jacket already? Can that help me pull off something special to win another one? We’ll see. That’s my goal at least this year; to get in that position and see what happens.”

Scott famously brought the green jacket Down Under for a tour while he played the Australia summer events in 2013. Scott’s homeland relished the chance to see a ‘trophy’ that had eluded the nation for so long. The Queenslander admits several fans bought him a beer to honour his accomplishment.

“Yeah, I think more than one,” Scott laughs. “That’s the perk of winning the Masters, isn’t it? I was very grateful to the fans back home for making me appreciate what my Masters win meant to our country. I’d love to repay them with a second jacket.”