Thursday 17 March 2016 23:49, UK
Adam Scott declared himself dissatisfied with his game despite claiming a share of the early first-round lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Scott put himself on course for three consecutive wins in Florida after opening with a five-under 67 at Bay Hill, although he felt his score could have been a lot worse had his short-game not been firing.
The in-form Australian was in great touch on and around the greens as he kept a bogey off his card while collecting three birdies and an eagle at the 16th following a sublime 195-yard approach to eight feet.
Scott, whose stunning run of results over the last month has lifted him to sixth in the world rankings, told the PGA Tour: "It's a good score today. We've got beautiful conditions out there and the course is perfect. I didn't play my best golf tee to green but I chipped and putted really well. That's a nice feeling when you shoot as low as you possibly can.
"I managed myself well, and made some good putts to keep whatever momentum I had going and it added up to a good score. I had to make some putts, they were for par most of them, but I snuck a few in there and it added up to a good score."
Scott has made a successful transition to a traditional-length putter following the ban on anchored putting which came into force at the start of the year, and he set himself the lofty ambition of becoming the best putter in the world.
"I've got to be ambitious and have high expectations," he added. "I probably won't be but I'm heading in that right direction at least. I'm going to have a lofty goal to achieve what I want in this game, and I'm going to have to be a great putter to win tournaments.
"It's always good to rely on your putter. Everyone has ups and downs, but at the moment I'm putting with confidence. I wish that would last forever but, you know, the reality is it won't. There are going to be moments where I just am out of rhythm with it or whatever and while you're hot you got to run with it. I'm trying to do that."
Scott was part of a five-way tie for the lead along with Henrik Stenson, who was two under with four to play before reeling off three consecutive birdies from the sixth in a blemish-free opener.
"I've put a lot of work in," said the Swede afterwards. "I didn't feel like at Doral and last week at Tampa that I really got it together. I hit it the best I hit it all year in the pro-am, but I couldn't quite bring that to the golf course today.
"But it was still good enough to shoot a good number and I didn't drop any shots and rolled a couple of good ones in. If it was there yesterday it's not far away. We keep on working away and feel like we're in decent shape."
