ADAM SCOTT SAYS LONG-HANDLED PUTTERS ARE NOT GOLF'S BIGGEST PROBLEM
FROM THE AGE.COM.AU WEBSITE
The glass half-empty view of Adam Scott's year is he's winless, blew a great major victory chance and will be hurt by a likely rule change to outlaw the long putter.
That's not how the Australian world No.5 sees it.
Scott is intent on breaking his 2012 winning duck at the Australian Masters, which starts on Thursday at Melbourne's Kingston Heath, the subsequent Australian Open at the Lakes in Sydney, or perhaps claiming both.
He regards July's British Open - where he faltered over the final four holes to relinquish a four-stroke lead, letting South Africa's Ernie Els pounce - as a significant step forward.
And if the long putter that has aided him for two years gets banned, he has no qualms about reverting to the shorter stick.
Not that he thinks he should have to.
While fellow Australian Stuart Appleby added his voice this week to calls for a ban, Scott said golf's ruling bodies should be more worried about the technology-aided rise in hitting length.
"I don't think putting is the biggest problem in the game of golf at the moment," Scott told reporters at Kingston Heath.
"The holes haven't been made smaller or greens changed because of people putting with longer putters.
"Yet tees are moved a long way back and courses made obsolete."
He also noted that unlike long putter-wielding recent major winners Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson, he has previously succeeded with a conventional putter and can again, if needed, although he did not expect any ban to take effect until 2016.
A more immediate focus is Scott's desperation for a year-ending win.
"I've always kind of prided myself on the fact that I've won a couple of tournaments every year and I'm a consistent winner," he said.
"It's a habit. You've got to get in it, and this is why I'm working hard still late in the year on my game, to get a win or hopefully two."
He came desperately close at the British Open, but Scott said leading into the home stretch was an important achievement in itself.
"I just take so many positives from what I did right that week," he said.
"Obviously, the result was not what I was expecting with an hour or so to play.
"But there's always going to be a lesson to be learned from that.
"I look forward to getting back in that position again next year and hopefully the result goes my way."
Scott will partner fellow Masters drawcard Irishman Graeme McDowell in Thursday's opening round, starting at 7.40am local time
English defending champion Ian Poulter has a 12.10pm start, grouped with Australians Appleby and Richard Green.
The glass half-empty view of Adam Scott's year is he's winless, blew a great major victory chance and will be hurt by a likely rule change to outlaw the long putter.
That's not how the Australian world No.5 sees it.
Scott is intent on breaking his 2012 winning duck at the Australian Masters, which starts on Thursday at Melbourne's Kingston Heath, the subsequent Australian Open at the Lakes in Sydney, or perhaps claiming both.
He regards July's British Open - where he faltered over the final four holes to relinquish a four-stroke lead, letting South Africa's Ernie Els pounce - as a significant step forward.
And if the long putter that has aided him for two years gets banned, he has no qualms about reverting to the shorter stick.
Not that he thinks he should have to.
While fellow Australian Stuart Appleby added his voice this week to calls for a ban, Scott said golf's ruling bodies should be more worried about the technology-aided rise in hitting length.
"I don't think putting is the biggest problem in the game of golf at the moment," Scott told reporters at Kingston Heath.
"The holes haven't been made smaller or greens changed because of people putting with longer putters.
"Yet tees are moved a long way back and courses made obsolete."
He also noted that unlike long putter-wielding recent major winners Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson, he has previously succeeded with a conventional putter and can again, if needed, although he did not expect any ban to take effect until 2016.
A more immediate focus is Scott's desperation for a year-ending win.
"I've always kind of prided myself on the fact that I've won a couple of tournaments every year and I'm a consistent winner," he said.
"It's a habit. You've got to get in it, and this is why I'm working hard still late in the year on my game, to get a win or hopefully two."
He came desperately close at the British Open, but Scott said leading into the home stretch was an important achievement in itself.
"I just take so many positives from what I did right that week," he said.
"Obviously, the result was not what I was expecting with an hour or so to play.
"But there's always going to be a lesson to be learned from that.
"I look forward to getting back in that position again next year and hopefully the result goes my way."
Scott will partner fellow Masters drawcard Irishman Graeme McDowell in Thursday's opening round, starting at 7.40am local time
English defending champion Ian Poulter has a 12.10pm start, grouped with Australians Appleby and Richard Green.
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