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WGC CADILLAC CHAMPIONSHIP


March 8, 2012


Adam Scott


MIAMI, FLORIDA

JOHN BUSH:  Adam Scotts joins us after 6‑under par 66.  Adam, tremendous playing out there.  Could we just get some comments on your rounds.
ADAM SCOTT:  Yeah, obviously very satisfied with the round today, and in these blustery conditions.  I took advantage of my good play the first 11 or 12 holes and then managed to kind of get it up‑and‑down here or there coming in.
So very pleased to put myself in the tournament so far.  It's a good way to start.
JOHN BUSH:  Eagle on No.1, your tenth hole, take us through that hole.
ADAM SCOTT:  It was playing straight downwind.  I think I've seen a lot of eagles close to there today, but I hit driver, 8‑iron to four feet.

Q.  What have you been doing with yourself?  (Laughter).
ADAM SCOTT:  Well, I haven't seen you, either, this year.  (Laughter).

Q.  Where you been, what have you been doing?
ADAM SCOTT:  I was practicing last week in San Diego.  I stayed in the West Coast after Match Play, which is always nice over there, I like it.  And you know, I was playing‑‑ I thought I played well in L.A. considering I've had such a long break and usual stuff in Arizona for me.  Didn't get too disheartened by that, because I wasn't playing that bad.  Just kept working away at it.  And this is the time of year when you want to start putting the numbers on the board.  I've left my run a little late but it seems to be working out.

Q.  Seems similar to last year, you came in with not much play and finished sixth last year and went on to do what you did at the Masters.  Are you trying to replicate a similar situation?  Do you feel that's what worked for you last year, so just tweak it and get it right?
ADAM SCOTT:  Yeah, I mean, I don't think I can try and replicate it exactly.  It's hard to repeat that performance I think.  But I'm just trying to get myself‑‑ keep myself fresh and have myself ready, also, at the same time for the biggest events of the year, and that certainly starts here, I believe, until the end of September.
So you know, at the moment, I'm fresh.  I think I'm getting close to being really ready.  It's important I think when you're playing a schedule like I'm planning, that you put yourself in the tournament and you get a taste of contention and you just see where your game's really at, because that's when you find out whether the practice you're doing and everything is right, when you're under pressure.

Q.  We know you work hard, but we also know you like to relax.  What balance are you finding?  You like to surf, you like to do your own thing; where is it?  Because as Steve said we don't see you out here every week, how hard are you working?
ADAM SCOTT:  When you play a slightly reduced schedule from to other people, you have to be hard enough to be disciplined when you work at home.  That's something I kind of adopted last year and I found just as much satisfaction in the process and the practice as I get out of any result.
And that's what I felt last year.  I enjoyed the practice as much as any result I had last year, so I do enjoy going home and spending hours on the range and the chipping green and the putting green.  I feel that's the balance that I need to perform the best.  So that's the way of going about it.

Q.  Can you run us through some of the stuff you've done on the break, whether it's leisure, sports, hanging out or vacations, travelling?
ADAM SCOTT:  I spent a month on the couch recovering from a tonsillectomy.  That wasn't a lot of fun.  I watched a lot of tennis in Australia for a month or so.  And I just really enjoyed being home for three months.  I think it's the first time in my whole career that I've been home that long.  And other than the month on the couch with a really sore throat, it was great to see my family and friends, and I think it was really good for me.  You know, it's been a long time since I had spent some quality time back at home.  So I very much enjoyed that.

Q.  A follow‑up question, I know you had a good range session last week, but was rust a concern coming in here, or at least in the back of your head somewhere?
ADAM SCOTT:  Less so than going to L.A.  L.A., I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to get but it wasn't bad.  It was fairly solid.  I worked hard for four days and at least posted a decent score.  It was a little bit, but last week I felt like I had really good sessions on the range and my swing really freed up.
I just had to go out there and get the same feelings, and I knew a good score was going to happen because every part of my game was feeling good.  Again, you've got to take away the expectation and just let it happen, but I wasn't too concerned.

Q.  What does freed up mean, with the swing, can you explain it?
ADAM SCOTT:  Well, for me, freed up just means that the ball gets in the way of the club.  You are just not forcing anything down at impact.  The body is releasing; the club head is releasing the way you want it and there's no real forced motion at impact and it just feels very free and natural through the ball.  And so that comes when you're swinging the ball well.  I think after a couple of weeks of play again at L.A. and the Match Play, that got the hesitation out and maybe the rust, like you say.

Q.  We talked about this before, but you've been out here since I think you were 21 maybe, and there's definitely‑‑ it happened to Sergio, and it happened to you, the idea of being out here when you're young is great and it can be a bit of a grind and there's a burnout factor.  Do you feel that you've gotten to the point where you know what is going to make you burn out and how to avoid it?
ADAM SCOTT:  I think so.  Look, there's no secret, I played a lot of tournaments all around the world for like ten years.  I mean, that takes its toll.  When you're 21 it's pretty easy to fly around the world nonstop and just go play and do everything you want to do but it's different when you're 31.  So catches up with you a little bit.  So I just do what feels best for me now.  I'm out here with the goal to be the best player I can be and get the most out of my game.  And you know, it seems to make sense to me to do what I need to do to do that.  That's this balance between playing and practice and being able to come out‑‑ if you starve a guy of playing a little bit, he'll be desperate to compete.  He'll find a way to get in the mix, you know what I mean.  And you know, I'm playing good; it's hard not to play every week I feel like.  But just starve me a little bit and I'll find my way into contention (smiling).

Q.  Just as a follow, too, when you see the conversation, you see Rory get to No. 1 and Phil obviously doing what he did, Tiger shooting 62.  When you're watching that on TV, are there pangs for you to want to get yourself into that conversation?
ADAM SCOTT:  Yeah, absolutely.  I mean, watching Rory play so nicely the last couple weeks, and just the way he plays golf is inspiring I think.  You know, absolutely; I feel like I've had a bit of a break, and I need to pick up kind of where I left off and catch back up to these guys who have played a few and playing well.  Like Rory has definitely picked up where he left off last year.
You know, I definitely feel like I can get my name in that hat.  Hence, again, you've got to be a little bit patient.  You've got to do the right things for me and not just go running off playing every week chasing World Ranking points or whatever you're playing for.

Q.  Last year you said you looked forward to the next ten years being the best ten years of your career; wondering what you learned from last year and what you took away from it to this year?
ADAM SCOTT:  I learned that I made a lot of good decisions last year I think regarding my golf game.  I finally figured out a few things that I felt comfortable with.  I was in a good head space all year with my golf.  Certainly there's always things to work on and things you don't get right, but I think it's all very manageable at the moment and just looking to improve.  You have to keep that intensity.
And little things, like seeing Rory play two great weeks and ascend to No. 1 is inspiring.  You know, I know it's more than two great weeks for me, but geez, in a few months, it's possible; Luke's shown it's possible, you get that level of consistency and you can become No. 1.

Q.  What is the biggest thing you did learn in your game?
ADAM SCOTT:  I think overall, for a lot of different reasons, I learnt to trust my own instincts again.  I was a good player when I was a junior, and I just played.  I just pulled a club and hit it.  And you've got to have that when you're out here, as well.  There's so much information and so much stuff going on, you've just got to go with your instincts, and that's on how you feel, whether it's a club or whether you think you should play that week or not.  Do you really want to play; you've got to ask yourself and you've got to find the real answer inside, and not for other people and not for other reasons other than what you really want.  I think that's how you get the best out of your game.

Q.  Circling back, did you actually have your tonsils removed?
ADAM SCOTT:  Yeah.

Q.  What was the time frame you were laid up?
ADAM SCOTT:  I played the week after The Presidents Cup and then about ten days after that, I had them removed.  It was like the 10th or something of December.  So I didn't do anything for the rest of that month.

Q.  Steve Williams has been around this course an awful lot, and he's come away with six wins here.  What did he have to do with your 66 today?
ADAM SCOTT:  He just got out of my way today.  (Laughter) I didn't ask too much of Steve out there today.  I just aimed down the middle and hit it there.
Today was a day where a good caddie is definitely helpful; when they have a good understanding of the wind and that, and obviously he does of the course.  It just complements any good play.  That's the main thing.  Obviously he's very good.  He understands this golf course well, too, so it was‑‑ although it was a tough day on the golf course, it worked quite well, so for us it was fairly easy.

Q.  You've had some sniffs here, you must have a comfort level here and feel like it sets up really well for you?
ADAM SCOTT:  The last few years I've really got my head around this golf course and how to play it.  Last year, you know, I kind of remember making a meal of the 12th hole on Sunday and that kind of put me out of the tournament.  I was close.  I was one or two back standing on the 12th tee and made double on a par 5 with no water or anything (chuckling).   Maybe a couple of years before that, I felt like I was leading after 36 holes or something like that.
I feel comfortable here.  I look forward to coming here because it feels like you want to get playing good now.  There's a lot to play for.

Q.  What's the most weeks you've ever played in a row, and how did you respond to that and what did you learn from it?
ADAM SCOTT:  I think I played 14 weeks in a row when I first turned pro, between invites in the States and invites in Europe.  I was happy, I was getting invites, and I Top‑10'ed in Europe so I got into the next week.  Like I said, when you're 19 years old, that's a piece of cake.  And you're loving it; you've just turned pro, and you just can't believe you're playing in a professional tournament, and you're going to get paid for playing well.  So I was loving it, playing every week and taking every invite.  You know, I needed to; I needed to get some status somewhere, also.

Q.  What would 14 in a row do to you now?
ADAM SCOTT:  That would be a bit of a grind.  I don't think I'd come out very good at the other end (laughing).

Q.  What about four in a row?
ADAM SCOTT:  I think I played four in a row in the last year actually.

Q.  What about between here and Augusta, what's the rough plan?
ADAM SCOTT:  I'm tossing up going next week.  Like I said, I'm playing well and I want to play.  I'm just trying to make sure it's the right thing to do or not.  But last year I didn't play between here and Augusta.  There's that Tavistock Cup which is the two‑day exhibition thing I played in, and I'll play that again.  I'm just kind of leaving it to the last minute about next week.  I feel like I'm playing well; it might be a good thing to go and play and keep building the confidence, because I like Tampa.

Q.  Is that the only one you're up in the air about?  You're not playing Bay Hill?
ADAM SCOTT:  No.
JOHN BUSH:  Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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