Adam Scott credits an SOS plea to master caddie Steve Williams for his leap back into major championship contention at St Andrews.
Scott revealed after charging up the leaderboard with a magnificent second-round 67 on Friday that he had to beg Williams to carry his bag at the British Open after the pair parted ways at the end of last year.
The former world No.1 slipped from second in the rankings to 11th after the split, prompting Scott’s desperate call to try lure Williams back for last month’s US Open.
Arguably the greatest caddie the game has seen, Williams needed convincing – but his return sparked an immediate revival from Scott, whose scintillating final-round 64 at Chambers Bay earned the 2013 Masters champion an equal fourth at the US Open.
“We obviously had a few long chats before he came and caddied for me at the US Open as I was begging and pleading for him to come out there. Unfortunately I have to admit that,” Scott said after his brilliant bogey-free effort at the Old Course.
“I don’t really want to have to say how great he is, but I did butter him up a little bit and our record was really good the last few years in the majors.
“It came to this time of year and I felt like I’d take a shot like I did when I first called Steve to come and fill in for me when he was still working for Tiger (Woods).
“One of the things I kind of learned from guys like Steve and others was if you don’t ask, you’ll never get.
“I thought I’d take a shot and give him a call even though he was adamant he wasn’t coming out. It was lucky that The Open was at St Andrews.
“I then had to go practise really hard so I was going to play as good as he’d expect.
“But I think we hit our stride straight away.”
Scott won eight tournaments, including Australia’s hoodoo-busting first green jacket at Augusta, recorded nine top-10 major finishes and bumped Woods from the top of the rankings during his first union with Williams that stretched almost five years.
“Obviously he lays it on the table for you and you have to like it or not,” Scott said.
“That’s worked really well and he certainly knows how to get the best out of me on the golf course, and that was our goal for these few weeks that he’s going to caddie.
“So far we’re doing a pretty good job.”
Williams also helped Woods to 13 of his 14 major triumphs after enjoying successful partnerships with Greg Norman and Raymond Floyd and Scott admitted he may not be in the hunt for the Claret Jug on Sunday if it wasn’t for the Kiwi’s influence.
“It was the right call for me to make at this point in the year to get him back out and instil a bit of confidence in my game and get back in that flow,” he said.
“He’s a huge factor in the way I’ve played the last few years. I have to absolutely give him a lot of credit for that.
“He helped take my game up to the levels it’s been, along with my coach the last few years and a lot of hard work from all of us.”
