Adam Scott is desperate to end a one-bad-round trend and finish his US PGA Tour season with a flourish at this week’s Tour Championship.
The world No.2 has turned in one poor round out of four in each of his last six starts since the British Open, knee-capping his chances of adding to his Crowne Plaza Invitational victory in May.
Scott shot three rounds in the 60s in each of those six events but marred his week with one of par or worse.
It’s a pattern he aims to fix at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club this week.
“We are playing golf at the highest level and the bad round has shot me out of the tournaments,” Scott said.
“I have failed to keep momentum and I am off to slower starts and fighting to come back.
“While there is so much that goes into a tournament and to have it all line up is tough, it is also no excuse.
“That’s why I feel I really need to come out hard and find four rounds this week, my last four of the (US tour) season. I don’t get any more so I have to perform this week.”
That recent frustration will be quickly forgotten if Scott can find a way to win the Tour Championship and perhaps also the season-long FedEx Cup and its whopping $US10 million bonus on Sunday.
With only the best 30 golfers of the year qualifying for the big money shootout, Scott starts at 12th on the points list.
It means he must win the tournament and also have points leader Chris Kirk finish in a three-way tie for sixth or worse, No.2 Billy Horschel (T4th or worse), No.3 Bubba Watson (T3rd or worse, No.4 Rory McIlroy (T2nd or worse) and No.5 Hunter Mahan (outright 2nd or worse) for a victorious Scott to claim the enormous payout.
Scott isn’t bothering with the complex points scenarios, only what he can control – winning the tournament, something he managed to do at the 2006 Tour Championship on the same course.
“I’d just like to win another tournament this season. I have certainly played good enough but not gotten what I wanted out of my game,” he said.
“I certainly had high hopes of continuing on from a pretty big year last year and in some ways you kind of balance and manage those expectations but they are still there and I still want to be lifting trophies.
Jason Day, the highest-placed Australian at 10th on the points list, is hopeful of taking his place in the field despite the lower back problem that forced him to quit last week’s BMW Championship.
He’s been told he isn’t risking further damage by pegging it up.
“I am going to baby it through practice and hopefully be okay to play,” he said.
John Senden (17th) and Geoff Ogilvy (25th) round out the four-man Australian contingent.
