An “annoyed&apos&apos Adam Scott has done his best to keep his final-round meltdown at Bay Hill in perspective as he sets sail for his Masters defence in less than a fortnight. “I take a lot of positive stuff out of it,&apos&apos the Australian told media after his 76 at Bay Hill saw him plummet from a three-shot lead to third place behind Matt Every of the United States. “I didn t putt at all well today. It was just a little out of sorts for whatever reason. But I somewhat achieved what I wanted out of coming here. Playing in contention over the weekend was fun. Definitely identified a few areas that I ll be working on in the next couple of weeks. And I m looking forward to that. It was good to be back in the mix again.&apos&apos Scott, who had led by as many as eight shots late in his second round after opening with a 62, compared today&aposs fade-out with his near-miss in the Emirates Australian Open at Royal Sydney last December, when Rory McIlroy overhauled him at the final hole. The common factor, he said, was poor putting. “I really think the putting has let me down on both of those occasions,&apos&apos he said. “I actually played quite nicely in Australia when I had the lead. But today was a bit shaky. But this course was asking a lot of everyone today, I think. And my short game just wasn&apost there. So that needs to be tightened up and probably shows that I need to do a bit more work on it to hold up under the pressure.&apos&apos Scott said his poor putting — he had 32 putts today and for 63 for the weekend — had ground him down. “I m annoyed that I didn t do better today,&apos&apos he said. “Sometimes you ve got to be hard on yourself. Sometimes you don&apost. And I think I was getting into a really good spot and had an opportunity here to run away with an event and really take a lot of confidence. I&aposm taking confidence, anyway, from just some good play.&apos&apos The Australian will remain at No. 2 in the world this week and will rest ahead of the Masters at Augusta National in less than a fortnight, where he will have another shot at taking over the No. 1 spot from Tiger Woods.
Author: Martin Blake / www.golf.org.au