09 Nov 2023 | Professional golf |
Aussies on Tour: Scott's final quest before heading home
by Tony Webeck
Adam Scott has returned to Bermuda for the first time in a decade hoping to recapture form that he can pack in his carry-on for the upcoming ‘Summer of Golf’ in Australia.
Scott is the headline act at this week’s PGA TOUR Butterfield Bermuda Championship at the Port Royal Golf Course, the site of his 2013 PGA Grand Slam victory following his history-making win at The Masters.
On the American east coast for the launch of the Boston Common TGL franchise of which he is a member, Scott decided to head south to Bermuda for a number of reasons.
There is a FedEx Cup Fall Series ranking that he needs to improve to play his way into 2024’s Signature Events, he has two tournaments of which he is a former champion on home soil to prepare for but, most importantly, there is work he has put in that he believes deserves better results.
“I feel like I’ve played fairly solid all year and not got results,” said the 43-year-old.
“I’m not going to get results being on the couch at home.
“It would be nice to get a result going on the PGA TOUR before next season starts and try and improve my standings and get a position in a couple of these signature events.”
Adding to his success at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship in two weeks’ time and the ISPS HANDA Australian Open a week later is also front of mind.
Scott secured the Joe Kirkwood Cup in both 2013 and 2019 and won the Stonehaven Cup in 2009. He wants to reclaim some of that silverware before embarking on some R&R.
“After a fairly quiet period at the back end of the year, it’s a good time to get going again,” Scott said of his Bermuda appearance.
“Not only try and play well this week but get ready to be going in Australia.
“I’m playing the Australian PGA and the Australian Open in a couple weeks’ time and then I get to stay home for about five weeks after that before heading out early in the new year to play and settle back in Europe and then come out and play on the Tour.
“It’s always nice, especially after long stretches like this year to be away all year and get to go home and enjoy six or seven weeks at home.”
The venue this week is even giving Scott familiar vibes to the courses he grew up playing on the Gold Coast.
“I’ve played a lot of this resort-style golf as a kid growing up on the Gold Coast,” he added.
“The grass is similar to home in Queensland.
“It’s helpful around here if you strike the ball well because it’s hard scrambling a lot out of the rough, and with the wind blowing, I think that feels like home a bit as well.
“Certainly, enjoy playing this kind of resort-style, tropical weather that feels a bit more like home to me.”
Fellow summer headliner, Cameron Smith, is in action this week at the Hong Kong Open on the Asian Tour where two-time champion Wade Ormsby will make an emotional return just days after the funeral for his father, Peter Ormsby, in Adelaide.
Ormsby and Smith are among the 17 Aussies seeking to add their name to an impressive list of Australian champions of the Hong Kong Open that boasts Peter Thomson, Kel Nagle, Frank Phillips and Greg Norman.
Like Scott, Smith is hoping to rekindle memories of his rookie season on the Asian Tour in 2014 on his way back to Australia.
“The difference in nine years is a lot. I’ve had nine more years of professional golf which is one thing,” said Smith of his return to Hong Kong.
“I remember that week was a pressure week for me as I needed to play well to get into the CIMB Classic (co-sanctioned PGA Tour event in Kuala Lumpur).
“I managed to have an OK week, and I learned a lot about myself and my game that week.
“I had to grind, and that’s something it is good to go through as a young professional.
“It is good to be back in a place that I feel comfortable – it is a golf course I really love and we don’t get to play that style much anymore. It is a style of course I grew up with being Australian, so I can’t wait to get out there.”
There are nine Aussies in the field for the Final Stage of DP World Tour Qualifying School in Spain, there are three Australians to have qualified for the PGA TOUR Champions’ season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Arizona while Stephanie Kyriacou (71st) will seek to join Hannah Green (27th), Grace Kim (29th) and Sarah Kemp (55th) inside the top 60 in the Race to CME Globe standings at The ANNIKA in Florida.
Photo: Yoshimasa Nakano/Getty Images
Round 1 tee times AEDT
PGA TOUR Butterfield Bermuda Championship Port Royal Golf Course, Southampton, Bermuda 11:07pm* Greg Chalmers, Ben Crane, Derek Ernst 3:03am Brian Gay, Adam Scott, Ben Griffin 3:14am Nico Echavarria, Lucas Herbert, Brendon Todd 3:19am* Russell Knox, Ricky Barnes, Harrison Endycott 3:41am* DA Points, Cameron Percy, Paul Haley II
Defending champion: Seamus Power Past Aussie winners: Lucas Herbert (2021) TV times: Live 5am-8am Friday, Saturday; Live 3am-6am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo Sport.
LPGA Tour The ANNIKA Pelican Golf Club, Belleair, Florida 11:10pm Yan Liu, Lauren Coughlin, Gabriela Ruffels 11.21pm* Pavarisa Yoktuan, Stephanie Kyriacou, Muni He 12:05am* Elizabeth Szokol, Grace Kim, Chanettee Wannasaen 12:49am* Su Oh, Jennifer Song, Aline Krauter 3:57am* Bianca Pagdanganan, Albane Valenzuela, Sarah Kemp 4:08am* Celine Boutier, Lexi Thompson, Lydia Ko (NZ)
Defending champion: Nelly Korda Past Aussie winners: Nil TV times: Live 2am-5am Friday, Saturday; Live 6am-8am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo Sport.
DP World Tour Nedbank Golf Challenge Gary Player CC, Sun City, South Africa 6:42pm Pablo Larrazabal, Daniel Hillier (NZ), Yannik Paul 7:48pm* Matthew Jordan, Maximilian Kieffer, Jason Scrivener 7:59pm Victor Perez, Justin Thomas, Ryan Fox
Defending champion: Tommy Fleetwood Past Aussie winners: Marc Leishman (2016) TV times: Live 8pm-1:30am Thursday, Friday on Fox Sports 503; Live 8pm-1:30am Saturday on Fox Sports 507; Live 7pm-12:30am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo Sport.
DP World Tour Qualifying School – Final Stage Infinitum Golf, Spain Australasians in the field: Elvis Smylie, Justin Warren, Connor McKinney, James Marchesani, Matias Sanchez, Andre Lautee, Haydn Barron, Hayden Hopewell, Sam Jones (NZ), Blake Windred
Asian Tour Hong Kong Open Hong Kong Golf Club, Hong Kong 9:35am* Jazz Janewattananond, Travis Smyth, Bio Kim 9:55am Ben Campbell (NZ), Tirawat Kaewsiribandit, Ye Wocheng 10:05am Kevin Yuan, Taehee Lee, Rattanon Wannasrichan 10:15am Matt Killen, Andrew Dodt, Shen Wang Ngai (a) 10:25am* Sam Brazel, Trevor Simsby, Richard T. Lee 11:05am* Jediah Morgan, Pawin Ingkhapradit, Honey Baisoya 1:55pm Miguel Tabuena, Wade Ormsby, Sadom Kaewkanjana 2:05pm Cameron Smith, Patrick Reed, Taichi Kho 2:05pm* Brian O’Donovan, Seungtaek Lee, Jack Thompson 2.15pm* Marcus Fraser, Othman Almulla, Nicholas Fung 2:35pm Sihwan Kim, Tomoharu Otsuki, Scott Hend 2:35pm* Kosuke Hamamoto, Taylor Dickson, Zach Murray 2:55pm Nitithorn Thippong, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Harrison Crowe 3:05pm* Mardan Mamat, Todd Sinnott, Atiruj Winaicharoenchai 3:15pm Yonggu Shin, Settee Prakongvech, Tom Power Horan 3:25pm* Turk Pettit, Terry Pilkadaris, Jaewoong Eom 3:35pm Chonlatit Chuenboonngam, Douglas Klein, Jeremy Gandon 3:35pm* John Lyras, Dominic Foos, Ma Bingwen (a)
Defending champion: Wade Ormsby (2020) Past Aussie winners: Peter Thomson (1960, 1965, 1967), Kel Nagle (1961), Frank Phillips (1966, 1973), Randall Vines (1968), Walter Godfrey (1972), Greg Norman (1979, 1983), Scott Hend (2014), Sam Brazel (2016), Wade Ormsby (2017, 2020). TV times: Live 3:30pm-7:30pm Thursday, Friday on Fox Sports 503; Live 3pm-7pm Saturday, Sunday on Fox Sports 507 and Kayo Sport.
Japan Golf Tour Sumitomo Mitsui VISA Pacific Masters Pacific Club (Gotemba Cse), Shizuoka 11:45am Shintaro Kobayashi, Yasumasa Nagano, Brendan Jones 11:55am Yuta Uetake, Yang Ji-ho, Anthony Quayle 12:05pm Ohira Sato, Brad Kennedy, Akio Sadakata
Defending champion: Ryo Ishikawa Past Aussie winners: Graham Marsh (1997), Roger Mackay (1991), Greg Norman (1993), Brendan Jones (2007)
PGA TOUR Champions Charles Schwab Cup Championship Phoenix Country Club, Phoenix, Arizona Australasians in the field: Steven Alker (NZ), Richard Green, Mark Hensby, Rod Pampling
Defending champion: Padraig Harrington Past Aussie winners: Nil TV times: Live 8am-10:30am Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo Sport.
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