Adam Scott's ‘old-man par golf' keeps him in US Open contention with back-to-back 70s
OAKMONT, June 14 — Adam Scott finds himself sharing fourth at the US Open playing 'old-man-par golf,' and the 44-year-old Australian says he just might be playing well enough to capture another major title.
Scott, playing in his 96th consecutive major tournament, has fired back-to-back 70s in the first two rounds at Oakmont to stand on 140, three strokes behind leader Sam Burns and the only player at par or better with a major title.
'I feel like this is what I've been working towards,' Scott said. 'I was kind of in the mix late at the PGA, and now putting myself in this one for the weekend — it's a long way to go, but I feel like my game is in good enough shape to do this.'
World number 42 Scott became the first Aussie to win the Masters in 2013, beating Angel Cabrera in a playoff.
The most recent of his 14 career PGA Tour titles was in 2020 at Riviera, although he was runner-up last year at the Scottish Open and BMW Championship.
'Of course I'd like to win lots more tournaments, any of them, to be perfectly honest. I'd like to win something,' Scott said.
'I've put together a nice career, but I think another major more would really go a long way in fulfilling my own self, when it's all said and done.
'This is all I'm really playing for are these big events. There's probably eight of them off the top of my mind a year that I really want to win.'
Asked how he would describe his career window to win a US Open, Scott said, 'Ajar.'
Scott, whose major streak began with the 2001 British Open, has the second-longest run of major appearances after the record 146 by Jack Nicklaus 1962-1998.
Scott admitted that his consistency at playing in majors might go underappreciated.
'Maybe it does,' he said. 'But I'd be pretty proud of winning this thing on the weekend. That's really what I'm here to do.'
Scott said he has quietly been building confidence.
'There has probably not been many signs to anyone else but me the last month or six weeks that my game is looking better, but I definitely feel more confident than I have been this year,' Scott said.
'For most of the first two days, I've been in the fairway off the tee, and therefore hasn't been too much stress in the rounds.'
While handfuls of contenders have charged only to fall by the wayside, Scott's old-man golf is keeping him in the hunt.
'It's just hard out there,' Scott said. 'It's hard to keep it going when guys have got on a run. It seems like they've come back a bit.'
Heavy rain drenched the course on Friday night, likely making the firm and fast greens more receptive come the weekend.
'The rain might keep it under control, hopefully, and spare us some frustrations,' he said. — AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Nicklaus and Miller's US Open advice
OAKMONT: Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller, US golf legends who won their first major titles at Oakmont, on Saturday advised patience in the face of US Open pressure for potential contenders. Nicklaus, 85, won a record 18 major titles, the first of them at Oakmont in the 1962 US Open while Miller, 78, set a then-major record with a closing 63 to win the 1973 US Open at Oakmont. "I was talking to some of the guys in the locker room a few minutes ago," Nicklaus said. "I said, Well, putting is the key out here. I three-putted the 55th green. I had one three-putt that week and I'm still ticked off I three-putted that one. That was sort of my mindset. "Basically you had to figure these greens out and not let them get to you, and be patient. One-under par won the tournament, and one-under par doesn't win a lot of tournaments today, but it did then." It might again this year, with Sam Burns leading on three-under 137, fellow American J.J. Spaun one back and Norway's Viktor Hovland on 139 as the only under-par players for 36 holes. "Patience. Basically that's what you have to have," Nicklaus said. "I adjusted my play a lot to who was on the leaderboard. That's basically what I think guys do if they want to win. They need to know where they are, what their competition is doing and they need to be patient with themselves and play good solid golf." Miller said it was crucial to avoid Oakmont's deep rough but also to be able to cope with the tension. "You've got to be able to handle the US Open pressure," Miller said. "There's a lot of guys... that the thought of winning a US Open is a little out of their comfort zone, so there's only a certain kind of player that can win a US Open. "I thought the greatness of golf was the choke factor. I just still think the greatness of golf is to be able to handle pressure." Both men won at Oakmont after playing alongside local hero Arnold Palmer and in front devoted "Arnie's Army" legion of fans. "The key was to beat Arnold Palmer," Nicklaus said. "I didn't know anything about Oakmont. I came in 10 days before the tournament and played a couple of times. "I finished second in '60 and fourth in '61 (as best amateur each time) and I sort of felt like this was my Open. I didn't realize that, as a 22-year-old might not, that I was in Arnold Palmer's backyard." Miller recalled his own travails alongside Palmer. "I had played with Arnold Palmer the first two rounds, which back in those days, was a crazy experience," Miller said. "His gallery, they were crazy. Crazy good. To get through the gauntlet of playing with Arnold on the first two rounds was pretty good." — AFP
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Cricket-Markram's match-winning ton earns him place in South African sporting folklore
Cricket - 2025 ICC World Test Championship Final - South Africa v Australia - Lord's Cricket Ground, London, Britain - June 14, 2025 South Africa's Aiden Markram raises his bat to acknowledge the crowd and walks back to the Lord's Pavilion after losing his wicket, caught out by Australia's Travis Head off the bowling of Josh Hazlewood Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers LONDON (Reuters) -South Africa's batting hero Aiden Markram has taken longer than expected to deliver on his promise, but a match-winning century against Australia in the World Test Championship final is being hailed as the biggest in the country's cricketing history. The 30-year-old captained South Africa to success at the U-19 World Cup a decade ago but his senior career had only seen occasional glimpses of immense potential. However, his 136 for South Africa in the second innings at Lord's took the country to their first major cricketing triumph after decades of failure and ensured Markram a place in South African sporting folklore. Markram made his test debut at age 22, heartbreakingly run out on 97, and has since scored eight centuries and 13 fifties. But his average of 36.50 has been below expectation. He came into the WTC final without a century in his last 16 test knocks and failed to get on the board in the first innings. But when Markram returned to the crease on Friday, it was with an air of authority, albeit playing with circumspection and making the use of the sudden change in conditions after two days of dominance by the bowlers. 'I haven't scored more important runs. It's weird how things worked out after a duck in the first innings. You need a bit of luck, spending time in the middle and finding runs. I'm glad things worked out,' he told reporters as South Africa celebrated on Saturday. His plan in the second innings was to absorb the pressure but maximise scoring off loose balls, he added. There was also an early crisis to navigate when captain Temba Bavuma struggled with a hamstring strain as the pair began to put together what turned out to be a match-winning partnership. But Markram insisted Bavuma stay on despite it slowing down the accumulation of runs. 'Aiden is unbelievable, people have questioned his place, but he has character. He played in true Aiden fashion,' said Bavuma, whose 66-run contribution was also a factor. Markram looked to be in tears after reaching three figures late on Friday. 'Lord's is the place every test cricketer wants to play,' he explained. 'To play a final here is incredibly special. It's one of the most special days.' (Reporting and writing by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Golf-Third round of US Open underway at soggy Oakmont
OAKMONT, Pennsylvania (Reuters) -The third round of the U.S. Open got underway at a soggy Oakmont Country Club on Saturday with the early starters trying to close in on halfway leader Sam Burns on a treacherous course that was saturated by overnight rain. Burns, a five-times winner on the PGA Tour seeking his first major title, is three under for the week and will head out in the day's final pairing at 3:35 p.m. ET (1935 GMT) with a one-shot lead over playing partner J.J. Spaun. Viktor Hovland, who is two shots off the pace and the only other player under par, will be in the penultimate pairing with Australian Adam Scott, who is a further shot adrift in a share of fourth place with Ben Griffin. Thriston Lawrence, who was looking at a three-foot par putt on his final hole Friday when lightning forced a stoppage in play with 13 players on the course, completed his second round early on Saturday and is four shots back with Victor Perez. Lurking five shots off the pace in a four-way share of eighth place is LIV Golf's Brooks Koepka, who counts two U.S. Open titles among his five majors. Koepka will head out at 2:51 p.m. ET with Kim Si-woo. All players inside the cut line, which landed at seven over on the week, entered the weekend within 10 strokes of Burns. Pre-tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler, who was visibly frustrated while working on the range after a second-round 71 that left him seven shots off the lead, will set off at 1:02 p.m. ET alongside Cameron Young. "Around this golf course I don't think by any means I'm out of the tournament," Scheffler said on Friday. Former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, who made the cut on the number, went out early and bogeyed the opening hole. (Reporting by Frank Pingue; Editing by Toby Chopra)
