Aussie world No.1 Adam Scott has declared he is playing some of the best golf of his career ahead of the first round of the 2014 British Open at Royal Liverpool tonight.
Scott has gone close to winning the coveted major in the past, his infamous late capitulation at Royal Lytham & St Annes costing him the 2012 title. Two years on, the 34-year-old insists he isn’t carrying any mental demons from that collapse.
In fact, Scott said the near-miss had the opposite effect. “I think Lytham proved to me I’ve got what it takes to win (a British Open),” Scott said. “It was obviously not the finish there, but that gave me a lot of confidence. Not just about playing well in majors, but also that I had the game to win an Open Championship.”
Scott would love that to be this year and believes he is playing good enough golf to add a second major to his 2013 US Masters triumph. “I think I’m playing some of the best golf of my life at the moment,” Scott said. “I should really be taking advantage of it and stepping up this week and putting myself in with a good chance.”
No Australian has won the British Open since Greg Norman in 1993. Scott has fond memories of watching Norman conquer Royal St George’s 21 years ago and wants to emulate his childhood hero. “Greg winning the Open, it’s always sat very high with me,” Scott said. “It’s got a huge amount of meaning to me.”
One of the golfers standing in Scott’s way at Royal Liverpool this year is former world No.1 Tiger Woods, who is playing his first major since returning from back surgery.
