You can tell how much the US Open is hanging in the balance by Adam Scott’s reactions to his final two holes.
The Queenslander shook his head in disgust walking off the 17th with a bogey, then fist pumped after a crucial 3m par-saving putt on the last just 10 minutes later.
It was the difference between a 71 and a 72 – and it meant the world.
“It feels better to be a bit closer to even par,” was Scott’s succinct assessment of his closing-hole delight.
“It’s hard to find two shots out there, so I start tomorrow optimistic that if I find a birdie early, I’m back to level par and right on my mark again.”
The 2013 Masters champ has maintained his desire to shoot even par this week – a score he thinks more than capable of contending.
And now the field has been whittled to 75 after a five-over cut, he thinks that’s truer than ever with a bold prediction of even tougher conditions at Chambers Bay.
“Now they’ve got 156 guys through, they can toughen this course up and I suspect we’ll see firmer greens tomorrow,” he said.
“It’s gonna be tough.”
Scott has fallen from No.1 to No.12 in the world rankings in less than a year, but is just showing signs of a reversal in that form wobble.
“I played well today, but it’s so hard keep it under control out there and keep the ball under the hole, even with short chips and putts.
“I had a couple of downhill five-footers today and you can’t leave yourself with any of them around here.
“I missed three of them and in any normal set of greens you’d expect to make and you’d be looking at a pretty good US Open round.”
So at one over par and just six shots out of the lead, Scott remains hopeful he can ram home the advantage of his major winning experience.
Only co-leader Jordan Spieth (-5) and Jason Dufner (E) are in the top 20 above Scott with majors under their belt.
So if he can position himself to pounce, Scott is hopeful that could be a factor.
“Generally I think that you know you can do it is a very good thing,” he said of having won a major.
“Tomorrow is a great day for me to just do my stuff again and then I’ll have the first nine on Sunday to hopefully put myself in a position where you can really lean on it and know you can get it done.
“But I’ve got 27 holes to keep it together to be able to use it to my advantage — hopefully.”