Admitting he has "run out of gas" after a lightning start to the year, Adam Scott has just two weeks to retrieve his form in time for the looming US Open in June.
Scott, who had won twice in succession earlier in the season, finished a lowly 55th in the Dean and Deluca Invitational, won by Jordan Spieth, who has indicated his best form is returning at precisely the right time.
The American former world No.1 will defend his US crown at Oakmont from June 16-19.
Anxious to scramble back into a competitive mode, Scott said he had simply played and practised too much and let his game gradually slip away.
"I think I just kind of played so much in the spring and ran out of gas at the Masters and have just been trying to rest up and get that fresh kind of feeling happening again," Scott said.
But he says he is heading back in the right direction.
"Even though I've been working at my game, of course it's been balanced with enough kind of recovery time and I kind of got that spring back in my step the last couple weeks.
"I was really close at Wells Fargo and The Players but I just didn't quite put it all together. I putted well a couple days and not the best the others."
Scott said because of his excellent form he simply forgot how much pressure he was putting on himself with his constant workload through the early part of the year.
"I think it just got away from me a little bit, and I just was playing so well, and I was feeling pretty good that I just kept playing and didn't realise how much of a toll the run through Florida and the Match Play took out of me going into the Masters, and it was a pretty big stretch to there in that week before the Masters.
"It was just tough to get through the practice sessions and stay on top of everything.
"I was just a bit flat, and that's my own fault for scheduling it that way, so I don't think it's going to be a big problem upcoming."
Scott has taken a close look at his schedule and says he has worked out how to avoid burnout with almost half a year of tournament play remaining.
"I think I've kind of taken the precautions that I've needed to and balanced my schedule out." he said.
"This summer is going to be tough for everybody, stop, start, week on, week off, and lots of golf.
"There are four of the biggest tournaments of the year in seven weeks for me. You know, you're going to have to really plan those weeks off to give yourself enough rest time but also enough time to be back in form for the next week."
While he maintains his swing is still good he plans to look a little closer at his other statistics.
"Generally this year I've swung the club really well. There were only a couple of weeks where I think it wasn't up to my usual standard. But through that Florida stretch and even the last couple weeks at TPC and Quail Hollow, I was swinging the club really well, so I think it's as good as ever," Scott said.
"I'm always trying to get better and better, and I don't study my stats, but occasionally I look, and there are a couple areas that I'd like to improve kind of in the mid-iron range where I feel there's a bit of room for improvement maybe.
"But overall it's feeling really good, and that's good for this week because if I can get it in the fairway off the tee and use my ball-striking to my advantage (I can) get a lot of looks at birdies."
Apart from the physical aspects, Scott also said he became a little flat mentally.
"It was a bit physical and a bit mental, I think. I played six weeks out of eight through the Masters, and that's probably a bit more than I normally do, and it caught up with me.
"You know, I gave myself a good break after the Masters and didn't play too much golf and tried to get back in the swing of it for Wells Fargo and The Players…and I even managed to get a surf in one day last week, and that's always a big mental recharge for me. I came away from that feeling really good.
"Like I said, I kind of have that spring back in my step again and ready to tackle this event and what's coming this summer."