Adam Scott Gets Another Chance at a Major Victory originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Adam Scott stood on the 15th tee with one hand firmly placed on the Claret Jug.
Starting the final round with a four-shot lead over Graeme McDowell, he was never really pressured as he was sitting at 10-under after making a birdie at the 14th hole with a lead that seemed insurmountable.
Then the wheels came off, and Scott fell like a stone from winning his first Open Championship to finishing second to Ernie Els with four consecutive bogeys.
That was the 2012 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club.
Thirteen years later, Scott, now 44, will enter a final round of a major in the last group for only the third time in his career.
In 2012, Scott was paired with McDowell, and in the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club, the Australian was paired with eventual winner Brooks Koepka.
“Everyone out here has got their journey, you know,” Scott said after his 3-under 67. “Putting ourselves in these positions doesn’t just happen by fluke. It’s not easy to do it. I really haven’t been in this kind of position for five or six years, or feeling like I’m that player. But that’s what I’m always working towards. It’s not that easy to figure it all out.”
Scott began his attempt to win his second major title even par at the halfway point. But the day didn’t start well, as he made an early bogey on the first hole when he missed the green just right and didn’t get up and down from 67 feet.
From then on, Scott would steady the ship and make only the one bogey. He birdied the 4th, 13th, 14th and 17th holes to move up the leaderboard methodically.
“It was a good one,” Scott said of his four-birdie performance. “I played really well, although I was fairly safe, doing my best job at par golf. The softer conditions made for a couple more opportunities, and I made a few good shots that led to birdies coming in, and I put myself in a good position going into tomorrow.”
Scott’s position and subsequent contention stem from his newfound success with his driver, who has been a part of his recent repertoire.
The Aussie showed all the signs of playing a well-rounded game on Saturday.
Using Strokes-Gained as a measure, Scott in the third round was 8th in SG: Off the Tee, SG: Approach 20th, SG: Short Game 5th and 14th in SG: Putting.
“I started hitting it better off the tee in the last month, and usually over my career, I’ve seen that bleed through the rest of the game. I’ve slowly done it. I’m not exactly firing on all cylinders. But it’s a nice thing having some confidence coming into tomorrow.”
On Saturday in 2012, Scott was excited about Sunday’s final round.
“No matter what the result, it’s going to be an incredible experience for me,” Scott said. “And I truly believe I can go out and play a great round of golf, no matter what the conditions.”
Now, Scott sees Sunday slightly differently, but it still seems to be with the confidence he had at Royal Lytham.
“For sure, I’ll be nervous, but I’m in a great spot,” Scott said. “I’m happy to be one behind, not sleeping on the lead, and that kind of stuff. It’s a big day tomorrow. A bunch of guys are in the mix, and probably now that it’s softer, I’ll need to play a really good round of golf. Someone’s going to do it. It’s not going to be disastrous all day.”
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
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