Adam Scott s winning season continued with the Australian wrapping up the Australasian Tour Number One title despite two rounds of his season still remaining. Scott headed into this week s final PGA Tour of Australasia 2013 Order of Merit counting event having earned $AUD 411,120 from his two events, and victory in both the Australian PGA Championship and Australian Masters. The current World No. 2 is $AUD 68,557 ahead of his nearest rival, Australian based Korean-born Jin Joeng. Joeng has contested eight events, including victory in the Perth International, to earn $AUD 342,663 from the eight events the Melbourne-residing golfer has played this year. However with the former British Amateur winning Jeong missing the Australian Open halfway cut with rounds of 73 and 76 for a five over par total it guaranteed Scott a second Australasian Tour No. 1 title. I won the Order of Merit in 2005 so it s nice to again finish the year as Australasian Tour No. 1 even though it has not been quite a year-long season down here in Australia for me, said Scott after his second round of 70. It’s also not the same as finishing the PGA Tour as No. 1 or winning the European Tour Order of Merit but then it still is something you have got to achieve and one day I will sit down and look back on all the achievements and accolades and feel proud of all that I have done. But then the icing on the cake this year would be to win the Triple Crown and that still remains the big goal this week. Tomorrow is going to be a great day playing alongside Rory (McIlroy) and I will have to come out and treat it the right way and try and play a great round and try and keep my nose in front. Ending the year as Australasian Tour No. 1 ensures the winner entry into the (British) Open along with the WGC Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio. However Scott is exempt in a number of categories for both events including a five-year (British) Open exemption in winning this year s Masters while he earned a 10-year WGC Bridgestone Invitational exemption in capturing the event two years ago. And Scott s father Phil, and his son s former coach, has spoken of his own delight in seeing his only son becoming the first-ever Australian to win the Masters. It was some seven or so months ago and it s still indescribable and I find myself getting a bit emotional just thinking about what he has achieved, he said. From a family point of view winning the Masters was the culmination of all the hard work he had put into his golf game but then we are a golf family and we were like every other golf follower in Australia who had been watching TV coverage of the Masters forever, he said. We thought like everyone else when is an Australian going to win the Masters and never thought it would be Adam. And to come back to Australia and produce this run he is on is fantastic, and what we need to do now is bottle it and open the bottle when we need it. And Scott s father believes his son is also in a mind place at present as he now seeks to capture a fifth tournament victory this year and if successful, become only the second player to win the Australasian Tour Triple Crown . Adam is in such a mind place at the moment and feeling so confident to just let golf happen, he said. Sometimes that is a great thing as you are not getting in your own way. And as his former coach I ve thought he is not swinging the club all that well as he could and while that is not being too critical, his mind is just letting him play well and that s the strength that confidence brings.
Author: Fatiha Betscher, AFP, Sydney.