The Open: Adam Scott hoping to adapt to Royal Troon
By Camilla Tait
Last Updated: 09/07/16 2:53pm
Ahead of The 145th Open, Adam Scott is hopeful that arriving early and adapting his game will help him down the final stretch at Royal Troon
The World No 8 is still reeling from several near misses at The Open in the past few years, but has been spending a few extra days in Ayrshire to give himself a better chance on the challenging links course this year.
Scott, who blew a four-shot lead with four holes to play in 2012 at Royal Lytham & St Annes, has been in contention in each of the last four years, but is still to win his first Claret Jug.
The 35-year-old Australian was at the course on Saturday morning and told Sky Sports News HQ that he hopes this year he can close it out.
He said: "The last three years since Lytham I've been in contention on the back nine and not been able to close it out and that's very frustrating so I'll have another crack this year at Troon and hopefully I can do a little better job coming down the stretch"
The former world No 1 plays most of his golf in the United States on the PGA Tour and, despite opting out of playing in the Scottish Open, insists that a few extra days of practice on the Scottish links is important in order to adapt to the conditions.
"You've got to adapt a lot," he said. "That's why we're here early. We don't get to play this kind of golf too much, there's so much variety and so many options you have here.
"I think it takes that extra few days to really adapt and feel comfortable hitting a few shots along the ground or hitting a two-iron from 170 yards."
The penultimate hole on the front-nine of the course is the most prolific, and the 'Postage Stamp' is well known for its ability to deceive. Despite its short length, Scott is well aware of the danger the eighth hole presents to the scorecard.
Scott said: "It's going to be a great hole for everyone to watch - a lot of fun for us to play. When it gets windy that 100 yards is very treacherous and lots of trouble."
