Thursday 2 April 2015 20:46, UK
Adam Scott has really figured out how to play Augusta National in recent years - although we should've expected as much, given his qualities and the fact that he was ninth on debut way back in 2002.
His brave victory in 2013, just eight months on from a disastrous failure in the Open Championship, provided Australia with their first winner of the Masters, Greg Norman having somehow failed to do so throughout the 1990s.
It was a product of Scott's dedication to the big events - few players on tour adopt a lighter schedule - and confidence on the greens which came courtesy of the long putter which will be outlawed as of January next year.
Therein lies a problem for Scott, not just for the future but for the present. When he finished fourth in the WGC-Cadillac Championship on his first start of the season, using a shorter putter in so doing, there was great encouragement. But a missed cut in the Valspar and a very poor putting performance at Bay Hill have since negated it.
Scott knows all about this. At the time of writing he is in fact contemplating a return to the longer putter for the Masters, as he feels it gives him much greater control over long putts which is of course essential here at Augusta. To be frank, he'd have been foolish not to at least contemplate such a switch and his prospects will surely improve if he elects to take it.
Those concerns aside, Scott has a very likeable profile. His long-game remains in good shape and having been married and become a father over the last year, he's in a very good place off the course. His defence of the title last year excellent, particularly so given how hard it is to play well under such pressure in the Masters, and five top-20 finishes in succession is very impressive Augusta form.
That said, there can be no denying the fact that Steve Williams, the New Zealand caddie who was alongside Tiger Woods for many of his best years before taking Scott's bag, was a big factor in Scott's winning of this event two years ago. Indeed, Williams gave Scott the read on what proved to be the final putt of the tournament.
In his absence, Mike Kerr is now alongside Scott and while also experienced, so far their working relationship has shown signs of needing time to develop. Alongside the doubts surrounding his putting, Scott does have something to prove even in what must surely rate his favourite event.
