ADAM SCOTT WILL PROBABLY GO BACK TO LONG PUTTER IN AUSSIE OPEN

SYDNEY | Wednesday, December 5

(Reuters) - Adam Scott will probably go back to using a broomstick putter at this week's Australian Open after "messing around" with a shorter club in practice, the world number seven said today.
The 32-year-old, pictured above after his Australian Masters victory last month, who has used the broomstick variety for the past two seasons, practised for this week's tournament at The Lakes Golf Club with a specially-designed 40-inch putter and also used it for nine holes of today's pro-am
Broomhandle or belly putters, pioneered by such men as 2002 European Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance among others in the late 1980s, are often tucked under the chin, against the chest or stomach.
Golf's rulemakers have proposed a ban on players anchoring long putters to their body, saying they wanted to outlaw the practice by 2016 in order to preserve the "skill and challenge" of putting.
"I ordered that putter a while back," Scott told reporters in Sydney. "I was experimenting for my own use.
"I'll probably putt with the long putter. The other one I was messing around with was my first go and it is not quite what I want it to do. It is not quite set up right for me.
"I'll have another go at another time if I feel I need to."
Scott, who won the Australian Masters at Kingston Heath in Melbourne last month, has been a vocal supporter of the longer putters and the Queenslander doubted he would change his club next year.
"I think I putt fine with any putter. I have spent the last two years learning a skill with the broomstick putter and that is what I am going to use this week, most likely.
"Until I invent a better way to putt for myself, I'll stick to the broomstick. I certainly like a lot of the philosophies of putting with a broomstick."
Even if the ban on anchoring came into use, Scott said he might still use a long putter.
"Whatever way I putt in the future, if I just move the hand off my chest an inch or a centimetre or whatever it is, I'll be making an honest stroke. It will look exactly the same.
"It is simple. I can move it slightly off my chest and use the same putter but I think there are better ways than that.
"We are all searching for the best possible way and I think there are still better ways for me to go about it."
Scott suffered a spectacular meltdown at the British Open in July, losing a four-shot lead with four holes to play to finish second behind Ernie Els.
While he said he had shaken off that disappointment, losing a major in that fashion made him more determined to win one.
"Everyone's path to winning a first tournament or a major is different. Tiger came along and won them all right out of the gate and other guys have won the first time they've had a chance too.
"Then a guy like Phil Mickelson knocked on the door a lot of times and finally won one.
"For me, I'm just looking forward to getting back in that position as soon as I possibly can, hopefully in April, and certainly this weekend as well.
"For me at the (Australian) Masters, it was great to close that tournament out when I was in a similar position."
Despite the Royal Lytham collapse, Scott was pleased with his form in 2012. He finished in the top-15 in all four majors and had five top-10 finishes in 16 events on the PGA Tour.
Scott's four-stroke win over England's Ian Poulter at Kingston Heath last month was his first since the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational tournament in 2011.
"I played a lot of good golf this year, which I am very happy about," Scott said.
"A lot of stuff I have worked on has fallen into place on the course, maybe not quite as I had planned over four days consistently but there was so much good stuff there.
"I know I am on the right track. I just have to persevere with that. I think the results, much like the Masters a couple of weeks ago, will follow."
(Reporting by Greg Stutchbury in Wellington; Editing by Peter Rutherford)