PGA Tour: Adam Scott revisits last week’s victory at the 2020 Genesis Invitational and gives a look ahead to this week’s WGC Mexico Championship.
PGA Tour: Adam Scott speaks with the media ahead of 2020 WGC Mexico Championship
MARK WILLIAMS: We’d like to welcome Adam Scott into the interview room here at the WGC Mexico Championship. Adam, thanks for coming in. Congratulations again on your win on Sunday at the Genesis Invitational.
If you can just talk about coming back here. You haven’t played here since 2017. And also I understand you’ve added the WGC Match Play to your schedule. If you could just talk about adding those two tournaments to your schedule and coming back here to Mexico.
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, sure. You know, I talked about it last week, I’ve had a fairly long — not that long a break, but I’m starting a lot later than most this year, and you’re never quite sure how you’re going to play the first week out, and okay, it worked out really well for me. But putting this back in this week got me out here against the best in the world, and also it’s going to get me four rounds in golf in early in the season, just in case it didn’t go well last week.
For the last couple years, I’ve put World Golf Championships in and out of the schedule a little bit, trying to find what’s working for me, but I think as I’ve started playing better and better last year, to be the best player out here, you’ve got to play against the best, and that means coming to these events. It was pretty easy to put this back in and also the Match Play back on the schedule for this year and at least give myself an idea of where my game is sitting against the best players in the world a little more often.
MARK WILLIAMS: Before last week’s victory, your previous victories on the TOUR were back-to-back efforts in 2016 kind of around this time of the year. What will we see from you to try and recreate that again this week with another victory?
ADAM SCOTT: My game is obviously in good shape. I think the challenge for everyone coming here this week is just dealing with the altitude, mostly with how far the ball is going to go and who can manage that the best. It’s very difficult even with just a couple days of practice and playing the golf course to really dial that in completely. Certainly when you’re trying to hit maybe a knock-down shot — it’s going to be a bit tricky and you’re going to have to accept a few mystery balls, I think, this week.
But overall, a bit like I felt last week, if there’s enough good stuff in there, I think my game can hold up to that.
Q. Was the decision to take the events off leading up to maybe LA and add these events, was that kind of the same choice, that you wanted some time off after the end of last season and it just made sense to add Match Play and Mexico, whatever the case may be?
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I needed to get going somewhere. The events I did play at the back end of last season, I didn’t get a lot of FedExCup points. I was going to come out chasing no matter where I came out, and it was simply — looking at the schedule, I liked the way it looked. Riviera I like, and I was hopeful to play well there, and then coming here I was going to hopefully give myself eight competitive rounds right out of the gate and give me something to go home with a week off and work on what I need to work on and come back and play Bay Hill and THE PLAYERS, which are two courses I love playing, also. Then you’re really right into Masters preparation off the back of THE PLAYERS. I thought the Match Play has never been the first one on my schedule, but it’s another opportunity for just me to see at least three competitive rounds of golf, where I’m at, what I need to work on, keep me competitively pretty fresh with a week off before the Masters. It seemed like a fairly logical schedule based off the break.
Q. When you first kind of moved into the elite, if you will, back in about ’04, ’05, whatever, you’ve had a couple times where you’ve dipped pretty far out of the World Ranking into the 75, 80 range, and both times worked your way back into the top 10. What do you think looking back caused those dips, and which one was harder or more satisfying to get back to?
ADAM SCOTT: I guess my perspective on it now is that the standards are pretty high. If you dip down to 75 or 80 in the world, it’s because of guys like Tiger, who set the top level so high and guys like Phil Mickelson, who have stayed in the top 50 in the world for 50 years or something like that (laughing) that make all of us look pretty average after that.
The game of golf is very difficult at times. I remember in ’09 struggling — I really think I played poorly in ’09. I was really just playing very poor, and I got myself into a funk, and the confidence goes, and it’s not easy to get that back. There’s a bit of a process to that.
Getting out of that one was quite good because I felt like it was the first time I’d ever really struggled, and I could almost say a bit panicky, I’m sure, of really what to do, and a few things fell into place eventually at the end of ’09, and I kind of got myself out of that.
Then the last couple years I think — you know, again, it’s a few things that catch up with you. A lot changed in my life from when I was winning the Masters until the middle of 2018 where I’m qualifying for the U.S. Open and trying to balance how to be a high-level golfer with a lot of other responsibilities I found challenging. I think it was more with the second kid coming along that really got my head spinning a bit. There was no way to get — well, there’s another one. But I have incredible support from my wife and my family, but we also must remember that you’re trying to play the sport at the highest level, and there’s no excuses, and there’s a lot of sacrifices to make. It just took me a little while to find the right balance between the way I used to do it and the way I needed to do it now so that there was like some kind of peace in my whole world.
I don’t think that’s anything amazing. I think everyone deals with it in some way or another.
Q. How is it mentally-wise and confidence-wise putting up this win and reassuring the good game you have been playing throughout 2019?
ADAM SCOTT: It’s very satisfying. I think any time you win it’s incredibly good for your confidence. I felt that at the end of last year. I won the Australian PGA in December, and even in a funny way today, just hitting a few balls on the range, I felt more confident today than I did even hitting balls on the range Sunday in Riviera.
It just gives you that little bit more self-belief in all the things that you need to do, and even the way I struck the ball today I think showed that there was a lot of confidence and self-belief standing over the ball to swing the club.
It’s funny, it’s kind of immeasurable, and it’s hard to fake what that win can give to you. Sometimes you can, but it does mean a lot. Certainly for me, I’ve always kind of based my success of my career on winning tournaments.
Q. It’s hard to believe that in 2019 not one Aussie won on the PGA TOUR and now three in seven events so far. Talking to Leish and Cam, they said that a lot of that was — well, some of that at least is motivation from what happened at Royal Melbourne. How big of an inspiration was that to this whole formula of the Aussies winning again?
ADAM SCOTT: I think that event really meant something to the Aussies at Royal Melbourne. I think it meant a lot to the other players on the international team, too. Guys, if it was their first taste of a Presidents Cup, it was a pretty good one. It was a tough defeat to take.
But they got a really nice introduction to what that competition can be.
And as far as the Aussies, it was a special week for us down there. We certainly felt like we were playing at home, and I felt that straightaway, and I was very keen to play well the week after at the PGA in Australia, and then really last week I had a lot of motivation going in. I had watched Cam win in Hawai’i while I was sitting on the couch and Leish winning in Torrey, and that was about the time when I was feeling like, okay, I need to get back out there and try and put my name on a trophy.
Those things happen. You know, the Aussies are all pretty close, and a little success from one can push us all a long way.
Q. Was there a conversation amongst you and the Aussies to maybe help motivate each other heading into the rest of the year?
ADAM SCOTT: At the Presidents Cup you mean?
Q. Yes, sorry.
ADAM SCOTT: I think there was some great conversations amongst our team. I don’t know why just the Aussies might have won. Maybe the others are all going to now. But I think everyone was very motivated to continue playing at a high level to make the next team. That was really more what I got out of it, and I say that, which might sound surprising, but I don’t always get that feeling out of the back of Presidents Cups. We’ve had some pretty rough beatings, not really leaving with our heads held high sometimes, and this time we did, and I think everyone who was on that team would like to have another go next time, and they’re pretty determined to play well to get on that next team.
Q. The issue in Mexico, it’s always the altitude. It’s what all you guys talk about. What about the air pressure? They also said that the backspin in Mexico is really hard because of the thinness of the air pressure. How do you handle and deal with these things?
ADAM SCOTT: I think you’re definitely better off asking Bryson DeChambeau about the air pressure. I really do not know how to answer that question. (Laughter.) I’m really sorry I can’t help.
I think you can spin the ball a lot on this type of green. We’re used to that. But as far as air pressure, I really don’t know anything about air pressure here in Mexico, I’m sorry.
Q. But it’s harder to give the backspin to follow it?
ADAM SCOTT: Maybe it is because that’s why the ball is going more. Maybe that makes sense. There’s less resistance on the ball. That’s why it’s flying further. Maybe it spins less. You should ask Bryson, though. (Laughter.) I’m sorry.
Q. I’m sorry if you were asked this last week, but what was your reaction when you heard the news that Ernie wasn’t going to captain again, and is there any part of you after what he did that he would reconsider and maybe consider doing it one more time?
ADAM SCOTT: I think when I first heard, he told me straightaway after the Cup. I was a little bit surprised but only because captains have captained a few times in the past.
But I think he put so much into it, and I really respect the fact that he said I gave it everything I had and he came up short and he shouldn’t get a second chance, he should pass it on and let someone else do it, and I really like that attitude, actually. I think that’s a nice attitude for me to take playing to the course; I get one shot at this tournament this week, and I don’t get another go and I should make it count. That’s kind of what he was saying, and that was one of many really important messages he left with our team that week for the future.
Q. Did you have a chance to speak with Abraham Ancer about Mexico in general and maybe about this tournament?
ADAM SCOTT: Not particularly. We spent most of the time talking about his tequila actually. I’m sure he’ll be happy to tell you all about it. I look forward — I’m still waiting for a bottle. That’s the only thing. I keep bringing it up every time, but no tequila bottle.
But I’ve enjoyed talking with Abe anyway over the last 18 months. He’s been fantastic. He was fantastic in Melbourne on the Presidents Cup. He’s fantastic for golf in Mexico, and very enjoyable guy to be around. He’s a really nice guy.
Q. I wonder if you could paint a picture for us. First you admitted last week that you watch golf on television, which was mildly shocking. When you’re watching Leish and when you’re watching Cameron, where are you, at home on the couch? Where are the kids? Are they watching with you? Do you need to have quiet time for this?
ADAM SCOTT: No, that’s when they’re having a nap. I was in Australia, so somehow — we were in Hawai’i when Cam was winning. My boy was still having his nap in the middle of the day, so that worked. I got an hour’s golf in that day.
I mean, I don’t watch every minute of every telecast, but certainly if Cam is winning or Leish or one of my close mates out here, I’m going to tune in and see what’s happening.
Q. The Masters, unless I’ve done my math incorrectly, to play your 75th consecutive major, does that mean anything to you?
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, it does. That’s why I tried so hard to qualify for the U.S. Open. I mean, I don’t know why. You don’t get anything for how many consecutive majors you play in. But I know Sergio has got a few more than me, and I think he’s currently holding the most consecutive, taking Jack Nicklaus out of the equation and some others. But yeah, active players.
Q. Talking about the Presidents Cup and Abraham Ancer, what do you see in his game and maybe his opportunity to win on the PGA TOUR? What can you say about Ancer’s game?
ADAM SCOTT: He’s a competitor. He reminds me a little bit of Tim Clark, who I’m quite close friends with. He’s a really gritty, gritty player. He’s not afraid to get in the middle of a dogfight on the golf course, and I think you can see that he kind of was our guy to play Tiger, which is not an easy task to do at a Presidents Cup, but especially if it’s your first time. But everyone believed that if we put him out first and he got Tiger that that was a good thing. I know he didn’t win the match, but he’s not afraid, that’s for sure, and I think that’s going to take him a long, long way.
Of course he has many wonderful attributes of his golf game, too, but I think probably one of his biggest strengths will be that he’s pretty fearless as a competitor.
Q. I’m pretty sure you were the one who said on probably Wednesday of the Presidents Cup that I’d be surprised if Abe is not our leading points getter. I don’t know how much time you spent with him playing at all in a tournament, but what would you have seen in a couple days that would have led you to say that?
ADAM SCOTT: It wasn’t really the couple of days, it was more about what I just said there. I just think he likes competing. And the thing I’ve learned from Presidents Cups is you’re thrown into competition immediately. Maybe people see it differently, but sometimes Thursday and Friday you’re just wandering around playing golf out here, and you’re kind of finding your rhythm and you’re moving up the leaderboard, or if you don’t go out and shoot 7-under the first round, you’re not right in it.
At Presidents Cups you’re right in it every time you tee off. You’ve got an 18-hole match and all eyeballs are on you, and I think that’s a good thing to kind of test where you are, but also I see a guy like Abe thrive off something like that.
I think when he gets in the mix out here, he doesn’t back down from it, and he’s going to win tournaments because of it.
MARK WILLIAMS: Adam, we appreciate you coming in, and hopefully you have a successful week this week.
Mexico City, Mexico
February 19, 2020
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports