Can Adam Scott Make a Comeback In 2009?

He has one of the best swings in the game and attracts large female galleries that would have you thinking you were on an episode of America’s Next Top Model rather than at a PGA Tour event.

Adam Scott in young, wealthy, spends his downtime surfing at Australia’s many magnificent beaches, and has women throwing themselves at him everywhere he goes.

He was even linked to actress Kate Hudson for a short time earlier in the year after photos surfaced of the two looking rather cozy on the beach in Maui where Scott was attending the Mercedes Benz Championship.

Life is certainly good for this 28-year-old native of Adelaide, Australia, unless of course you take into account the fact Scott is a professional golfer who has been severely struggling on the course for quite some time now.

After his win at the Players Championship back in 2004, many believed Adam Scott was golf’s next big thing.

Talk even began to circulate as to whether Adam Scott would be that long awaited competitor to Tiger Woods.

Scott did win the Tour Championship back in 2006, but aside from that, he has not lived up to the expectations many had for him after he held off Padraig Harrington to win the 2004 Players Championship by one stroke.

Similar to the expectations that have surrounded Sergio Garcia, most would have expected Scott to have won a major by now, or at the very least been a consistent contender at majors.

But Scott has managed to finish within the top-10 at just three majors in the past six years and has never really been in a position where he had a legitimate chance to win.

Over the past year and a half, due in large part to injuries and other off-the-course matters, Scott’s struggles on the golf course have gotten worse; so much so that he has dropped from No. 3 in the World Golf Rankings all the way back to number 20.

Just days before the 2008 US Open, Scott dislocated a finger.

Prior to the British Open, Scott began struggling with a mysterious illness that was causing his throat to swell and was completely draining all of his energy. It wasn’t until after the PGA Championship that Scott was properly diagnosed and treated for a severe case of tonsillitis.

On a personal note, Scott also broke up with his longtime girlfriend just prior to the 2008 season, and as we all know, even the slightest lapse in a golfer’s mindset can be detrimental to his performance.

Then, just weeks before the start of the 2009 season, where Scott was surely looking for a brand new start after a dismal 2008, he dislocated his knee during a surfing accident in Australia. This caused him once again to have to compete while injured.

Although a slew of injuries and personal matters certainly contributed to Scott’s struggles during the 2008 season, he was already struggling prior to that.

Scott had a great year in 2006 that included a win at the Tour Championship, a third place finish at the PGA Championship and 14 top-25 finishes in 18 events, not to mention over $4.9 million in earnings.

Scott’s struggles really began in 2007 where he finished within the top-10 at just four out of 16 events and finished within the top 25 at just one of the year’s four majors.

Despite entering the 2009 season playing on a recently dislocated knee, Scott performed extremely well in Hawaii, finishing tied for 18th at the Mercedes Benz Championship before tying for second place at the Sony Open the following week.

But following his solid start to the 2009 season, Scott disappeared for five weeks and didn’t make his next appearance until the Accenture Match Play Championship where, as would be expected, a good deal of rust had accumulated on his game.

Scott’s game was nowhere near its top form out in the desert and he was eliminated by Sean O’Hair in the first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship

Following his early exit at the Accenture Match Play Championship, Scott attended the WGC-CA Championship where he finished tied for 66th and displayed a game that was far from what a formerly third ranked player in the world would consider to be “sharp.”

With the Masters looming just three weeks away, Scott will need to drastically improve his game if he wants to contend at any of the year’s majors.

Though it’s hard to believe because it seems like he has been around forever, Scott is still only 28 years old and he is certainly not lacking in the talent department.

Now, at least somewhat healthy and approaching the prime years of a golfer’s life, it will be interesting to see if he can live up to the hype he produced after his win at the Players Championship way back in 2004.