EXCLUSIVE BY ADAM SCOTT

Only three golfers in Masters history, Jack Nicklaus (1966), Nick Faldo (1990) and Tiger Woods (2002), have ever successfully defended the tournament. This April 10 to 13, I intend to make it four.

THE COUNTDOWN

I made a slight schedule change leading into this year’s Masters. Whether or not I’m eligible to play in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions on Maui dictates to an extent how my schedule in the first part of the season looks, as the past couple of times I’ve been eligible I’ve turned down the opportunity to play there. I enjoy playing in Hawaii – both events – so I wanted to go back and do that this time. The fact I played Hawaii at the start of the year interrupted a long break and I felt like I needed some kind of break so I took the whole of the West Coast Swing off and didn’t return until the Honda Classic in Florida at the end of February.

Defending Masters champion Adam Scott heads out for a practice round on Sunday at Augusta with his dad, Phil, and coach, Brad Malone. PHOTO: Getty Images

It's hard to stop when you're playing well, like I was at home in Australia and even in Hawaii. You don't really want to take time off, you want to keep it rolling. You see a guy like Jimmy Walker out there who is hot and he's taking advantage of it, and that's what you want to do. But I’m also keeping the big picture in mind and my priorities are the Masters and the other three majors later this year, and I think the break was necessary even though I was playing well. It's always a balancing act.

It is flattering to hear seasoned players like Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker say they’re thinking an Adam Scott-style schedule is the way to peak and play their best. Yet I can’t really take credit for it. If you look at Tiger Woods and the way he’s played, and if you go back before that to Greg Norman and Jack Nicklaus, it’s not really anything new.

Still, have I unlocked the ‘secret to the majors’? Maybe. I know I’m one who’s always searching for the secret, whatever that might be – any little thing to give an advantage. And if something is working for a player, you’re going to try to figure out why. Whether it’s a coach who’s got three or four guys playing really well, you want to know what he’s telling them. Or maybe it’s a psychologist or whether it’s just the way you set your schedule, you’re always looking for what works and if it’ll work for you, too. My improved performance over the past few years at the majors has definitely gained attention, and I guess there’s a correlation between that and my lighter schedule.

Towards the end of my long break, my coach Brad Malone and I started our intensive preparation with a short-game camp. That was the priority – I didn’t hit anything longer than a wedge for a week-and-a-half. So I chipped, putted, pitched and hit shots from 100 yards and in, and did that every day. It was a little frustrating at first but we’ve got a big focus on tightening in that wedge game and putting. Closer to the hole is the easiest area to save shots and we feel there’s a couple of shots a week to be saved there.

Scott signs autographs for kids before his practice round. PHOTO: Getty Images

At the moment nothing else is going to be different from last year’s Masters to this. I’m experimenting with the new Titleist Vokey SM5 wedges but whether one, two, three or none of them go into play, we’ll see. I haven’t decided at this point and it’s hard to change something when it’s not broken! I haven’t changed anything since I was in Australia for the Australian PGA, Masters, World Cup of Golf and Australian Open. Using those wedges is perhaps the one thing I might change coming into the Masters.

I’ve successfully defended titles before, but as for relying on the same game plan that worked so effectively last April, it’s hard to say with certainty because at Augusta it’s all conditions-based. I was falling into a great spot with my golf swing last year. It was very reliable and I did everything else OK. I was really feeling confident around the greens because during the break before the Masters I had a breakthrough with the short game. So my confidence was high in all areas and that’s really the key this year, to work myself into a position where I’m sharp with everything because the only way you can play these hard, demanding major courses is by having that confidence from the work being done and everything being in the right spot.

I feel like the past three or four years at the Masters, I’ve really developed a great relationship with the Augusta National course. I’ve played a lot of good golf and hit a lot of good shots, culminating in a win last year. It feels like I’m developing a real comfort and good understanding of the way to play that course and hopefully it continues to develop this year and I find myself in a position on Sunday when I’ve got a chance. Absolutely I can win it again.

For more of this story, get the April issue of Golf Australia, on sale now.