Adam Scott says he is prepared for this U.S. Open at historic Oakmont Country Club. With two PGA Tour wins earlier in the season weaved in around some world wide starts the eighth ranked player in the world purposely took two weeks off to recharge his batteries in preparation for the second major of the season.
“There was a lot of golf earlier in the year, and kind of felt the effects of that, and I’ve been really careful since the Masters time to make sure that I’m fresher for this event. I’m two weeks off, and I’m pretty glad I took two weeks off because this is going to be probably as tough a test as we’ve ever faced at a U.S. Open, depending on weather, but certainly the course setup is so demanding that I feel two weeks off, fresh, ready to go, done all the practice I can.
But hopefully, if I get deep in this tournament, that’s going to hold me in good stead when I need it the most.”
He called Oakmont “as tough a test as we’ve ever faced at a U.S. Open.” A thought echoed by many a player here and he thinks playing from the short grass is the key to winning.
“…you’re just going to have to hit fairways. No matter what club and strategy you have off the tee, the guy who wins Sunday is going to have to hit some fairways. It would be surprising if he got it around here Sunday scrambling and won the tournament.
With the caliber of players here and whoever’s in form this week, I think the guy Sunday who goes out and hits the fairways is going to give himself the best chance for the most birdies. You’re going to make some errors, but you’re going to have to be in the short grass to make enough birdies.”
Scott has a mindset this week that may just serve him well. Since most holes will play over par this week and birdies will be in short supply Scott says pars are just as valuable as birds.
“I think it comes down to that mindset that you take out there. A lot of the time at a U.S. Open on a lot of the holes, walking off with a par should feel like a birdie for you. You have to almost kid yourself that par was really good. That’s a birdie. That’s gaining half a shot or a quarter of a shot on the field, and that’s a good thing.
So you really have to believe that. Even if you’ve hit two great shots into 15 feet and you missed your putt but made your par, you’ve done better than most of the field probably has.”
Scott is confident that he and his game are up to this monumental task the USGA has laid out in front of him. And if he succeeds in thinking his pars are birdies he may just do it.
Related Articles
