What a difference a fortnight makes.
Without a top-ten anywhere in the world since February, Adam Scott was in danger of missing out on Presidents Cup selection – or automatic qualification, at least.
But a renaissance of form during the two-week ‘Links Swing’ on British soil has fired the Australian back into contention – he’s surely on course now to become the highest points scorer in International team history.
Great Scott
Mike Weir could certainly use the experience of Scott in his squad.
The International side hasn’t won the Presidents Cup since 1998, and those betting on sports are once again making the United States a warm favourite at odds of 2/5 – despite the fact that they will be the away team at the Royal Montreal Golf Club at the end of September.
Sites like Paddy Power News will reveal the final team selections at the end of the PGA TOUR’s BMW Championship, at which point the automatic qualifiers will be confirmed – Weir and his American counterpart, Jim Furyk, will then make their captains’ picks.
There’s a decent chance that Weir would have selected Scott as one of his picks anyway, but the Australian’s excellent form in the Scottish Open and Open Championship double-header has propelled him inside the top six of the International Team standings – securing him automatic status.
The Scottish Open was played at the fittingly-named Renaissance Club, with Scott enjoying a morale-boosting return to form in his run to a solo second finish – he might have won, too, but for some late-round heroics from the local favourite, Robert MacIntyre.
A short hop and a skip to the west coast of Scotland saw the 44-year-old maintain his momentum at Royal Troon. In heinous conditions befitting the Links major – howling winds, sheeting rain and cool temperatures (bobble hats in July!?), Scott racked up a second consecutive top-ten finish; aided by a remarkable round of 66 in the worst of the weather on the Saturday.
The Aussie has admitted that tweaks to his equipment, which he has labelled the rather apocalyptic ‘adapt or die’, caused his poor form in the first half of 2024.
But he’s adapted now, alright, and just in time…
Points Make Prizes
Scott requires just half-a-point to surpass Ernie Els as the highest-scoring International team player in history.
Even that might be a challenge based upon the strength in depth of the American squad. Players from the United States have won all four majors in 2024, while eleven of the top-20 in the world, as per the Official World Golf Rankings, could all feature in Furyk’s final squad.
But the rarefied air of team golf seems to act as something of a leveller – see Europe’s comfortable Ryder Cup victory over America in 2023 for evidence of that, with Scott in particular seeming to thrive in this environment.
Solo third and T4 heading into Sunday 👀
— Presidents Cup International Team (@IntlTeam) July 13, 2024
Adam Scott and Sungjae Im are in the hunt @ScottishOpen. #IntlTeam pic.twitter.com/VPcSziH1pw
He won two points in the Presidents Cup of 2022 and 2.5 in the 2019 edition, which has helped his all-time tally up to 21 – the same amount as the legendary Ernie Els.
Scott would only need to tie one of his matches at the 2024 Presidents Cup to become the record point scorer for the International team. That would be a fitting tribute to his excellent career, but you suspect that the 44-year-old himself thinks there’s plenty more to come yet.
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