Has Adam Scott Rediscovered His Game?

In the past, Adam Scott was known for his good looks, silky smooth swing, and being one of the most talented young players on the PGA Tour.  

Over the past year and a half, however, Scott has been known almost solely for his good looks.

Of course, Scott still processes the same silky smooth golf swing he always has; but, a swing never looks quite as smooth when the ball is coming off the club face and slicing to the right or duck-hooking to the left.

The young female contingent at any golf tournament may still check their program guide to see what time Adam Scott is teeing off.  But for the most part, golf fans have virtually forgotten about Adam Scott in recent months.

In the past year and a half, Scott has dropped from No. 3 in the World Golf Rankings all the back to No. 42.

Contrary to what seems like popular belief, a world class golfer doesn’t simply wake up one morning and forget how to play the game.

There is typically a wide variety of contributing factors that come together to create a snowball affect, resulting in a player slowly but surely loosing his confidence which in turn depletes his ability to compete.

David Duval, for example, didn’t wake up one day and go from British Open champion to the 882nd ranked player in the world.

Duval struggled with a series of injuries, a number of off-the-course issues, and he even had a bout with vertigo, which made just standing on two feet difficult enough for Duval, let alone keeping his balance while swinging a golf club.

All of these issues slowly but surely affected Duval’s ability to perform the way he used to.  For a player like Duval, who is a major champion and used to be the No. 1 ranked player in the world, being unable to compete at the same high level is something that can destroy a player’s confidence—which is exactly what happened to Duval.

Adam Scott’s fall from grace has been nowhere near as extreme as Duval’s.

After all, Scott did win a PGA Tour event just last season—Duval hasn’t won in eight years.

But Scott’s free fall over the past year has been widely publicized.

What has not been widely publicized, however, are the injuries, illness and off-the-course issues that have contributed to Scott’s free fall over the past 12 months.

Scott’s struggles really began around the 2008 US Open.

Just days prior to the 2008 US Open, where Scott was paired with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in the ‘dream pairing’ of the top-three players in the world, Scott slammed his hand in a car door which resulted in a fractured bone in his pinkie finger.

Playing with a broken finger, Scott still managed to tie for 26th at the U.S. Open, and then went on to tie for 16th at his next event, which was the British Open at Royal Birkdale

But following the British Open, Scott began to experience a terrible soreness in his throat, which was accompanied by lesions and, at times, a swelling of the throat that made it difficult from him to simply breathe.

During the period that Scott was plagued by this mysterious illness, he missed two-of-five cuts and didn’t finish within the top-50 at any event.

As you could imagine, Scott was gravely concerned about this mysterious illness that was making it difficult for him to breathe and draining all of his energy.

Scott went back to Australia and underwent a series of tests which ultimately uncovered that he was battling a severe, recurring case of tonsillitis.

With his tonsillitis now under control and his other injuries heeled, Scott was looking forward to a strong start to the 2009 season.

But, just a couple of weeks prior to the start of the 2009 season, Scott dislocated his kneecap while surfing in Australia.

This was the sixth time Scott had dislocated his knee in his lifetime.

With the season just weeks away and having overcome this injury many times in the past, Scott opted not to undergo surgery.

Scott still managed to get off to the quick start to the 2009 season.  He tied for 18th at the Mercedes-Benz Championship in January, and then tied for second the following week at the Sony Open.

But then, it was as if Scott made the trip to mainland America while his golf game decided to stay on the beach in Hawaii and relax for the rest of the year.

Following his second place finish at the Sony Open, Scott tied for 66th at the WGC-CA Championship and then proceeded to miss six straight cuts.

Scott managed to make the cut at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at the end of May but finished tied for 64th.  He then missed the cut the following week at the Memorial Tournament after carding an 81 in the second round; a number not normally seen on a touring pro’s scorecard.

Unfortunately for Adam Scott, it’s not just one aspect of his game that has been giving him trouble. 

Scott does not rank within the top-125 on tour in driving accuracy, greens in regulation, putts per round, or scrambling.

If it were one aspect of his game that was giving him trouble, he and his world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, could have easily patched it up by now.  But, unfortunately for Scott, his entire game has experienced a collapse in the past 12 months.

In recent weeks, however, Scott seems to be showing signs that he is in the brink of re-finding the game that made him the third best player on the planet just 12 months ago.

Scott began the US Open with rounds of 69 and 71 and was in contention heading into the weekend.  Although he followed with rounds of 73 and 75, Scott still managed to finish tied for 32nd at the Open, which was his best finish in more than three months.

This week, Scott is over in Scotland participating in the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomand Golf Club as a tune up for next week’s British Open which will take place at Turnberry.

Scott has opened with rounds of 66 and 67 at Loch Lomand and currently sits in second place just two strokes behind Retief Goosen.

At this point, Scott is probably just taking it one shot at a time.  Thoughts of winning the Scottish Open this weekend or contending at next week's British Open would be secondary to simply making a decent swing on each shot he takes.

But, Scott’s opening two rounds are his best consecutive rounds of golf since the Sony Open back in January.

“Yeah, I'm pleased, two rounds in the 60s in a row, it's good for me. (Chuckling.)” Scott said after his second round at the Scottish Open.

“No, it feels really good the way my game is at the moment. My ball-striking is there again, and just enjoying being out there and being able to do some shots and hit some shots.”

Scott has not experienced much success at the British Open, or any of the major championships for that matter.

“I spent a lot of years trying to pinpoint why I don't play my best golf in the majors, so no, I haven't exactly figured that out. But working on it.” Scott said. 

“I love The Open. I love that style of golf. Turnberry, I played on Tuesday, and it's fantastic. I put it right up there with Muirfield as my favorite venues for The Open. It's in perfect condition. It's going to be tough. But you know, I like my chances. I feel good about going in there, especially after playing a couple of good days here and hopefully a good weekend.”

Scott still has a long way to go in the Scottish Open and contending at the British Open may be a bit much to ask of a player who has not cracked the top-30 at any event since January.

But, considering his struggles over the past year, Scott has to be more concerned with simply regaining his game right now, rather than his results in the major championships.

Perhaps Scott is finally beginning to reel in that game that’s eluded him for the past 12 months.