Tuesday at The Open: Scott shapes up

BY STEVE KEIPERT AT ROYAL LIVERPOOL

One of the "perks of the job" could help World No.1 Adam Scott raise the Claret Jug on Sunday night, eclipsing his second and third-place Open finishes of the past two years.

A devout preparer ahead of majors, Scott arrived at Hoylake last Thursday and immediately set to work by playing Royal Liverpool every day, including 30 holes on Saturday. He could have tested his championship mettle on the links of Royal Aberdeen at last week's Scottish Open but as he said, "Why play that links when you can play this one?"

Adam Scott looks over a green during his practice round. PHOTO: Getty Images

It's a recipe that has worked wonders since 2011 for the Queenslander, who turns 34 tomorrow. A limited playing schedule and a meticulous approach to preparing for majors yielded a Green Jacket 15 months ago and a sustained level of high performance at majors in general. Why change that?

"It's one of the weeks of the year I look forward to most out of the whole year," Scott said. "I got to come and play the Open Championship course when it's closed, the week before. It's a real perk of the job."

Top recent results at The Open, most notably his infamous runner-up finish to Ernie Els at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2012, have Scott gradually acquiring the requisite skill set to win golf's oldest major.

"I think I've got it," he told Golf Australia. "Lytham was the proving to me that I've got what it takes to win. It was obviously not the [best] finish there, but that gave me a lot of confidence not just about playing well in majors but also to have the game to win an Open Championship, which is big for the confidence. And I think I'm playing some of the best golf of my life at the moment, so I should really be taking advantage of it and stepping up this week and putting myself in with a good chance."

Scott draws comparisons between Royal Liverpool and Lytham, where he spilled the Open two years ago. John Senden is another who sees the same link between links layouts.

"It's playing a little bit like the way Lytham did. It's just a little bit soft in areas and then bouncy in other areas," said Senden, who aced the 13th hole at Hoylake eight years ago in the third round of The Open. "The golf course is in fabulous shape. I like it this way [compared to the firm, fast conditions of 2006]. I think it's a fairer test."

At the other end of the experience spectrum is Rhein Gibson. He earned his place in the field through the new qualification path via the Australian Open, so has had seven months to think about his first major.

"It's an awesome experience," he said. "I got here last Wednesday, I played here Thursday when there was no one on the course – I had it to myself, which is really cool. And then obviously come Sunday I showed up and there were tons of people here."

Scott works with coach Brad Malone on some putting drills. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Gibson played alone today as one of the last to go out in practice, trying to replicate the late tee-time he'll have on Friday as he attempts to make the cut. That, says the 28-year-old from Lismore, is a legitimate goal at his first Open given the light playing schedule he's had in recent months.

"I started the year pretty well, I finished second in Indonesia, which was a good way to start the year. I went back to OneAsia and played a few more events but my game struggled a little bit and I haven't really played much. I played a few small, mini-tour events in the US just for competitive rounds before I came over here.

"This came pretty quickly. At the start of the year you know you're in a major but it's already July and it feels like the year's already flown by."

REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK

– WELCOMED in quick succession in the Open media centre today were Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Justin Rose, Adam Scott and Martin Kaymer. The presence of Rory and Tiger had the spacious interview room overflowing yet the three most recent major champions from the quintet attracted barely half as many of the strong media contingent.

– MARTIN Kaymer has won two of the three biggest tournaments in the world so far in 2014, yet it took ten questions in his media conference before golf entered the conversation. Why? Germany's World Cup soccer victory was still foremost in the US Open champion's mind. Kaymer is friends with several players in the German squad and drew some interesting parallels between the two sports.

"They played very patiently. They were waiting ... It was a patient success," he said, translating this formula for golf. "Just play your game, use the opportunities that you get. Don't make any silly mistakes and wait. That's all you can do.

“Every team had a bad day here and there. Germany, they didn't play great against I think it was America. They didn't play great but they still got away with it. And that's the same at a golf tournament. You have a day when you don't play that super good, but you hang in there and you play something around par that doesn't get you out of the tournament. Then you wait for that amazing day, that they had against Brazil, and that you need during the golf tournament to win it.

“So at the US Open I had two of those, the first two days. It was fairly lucky. At the Players I had the first day when I shot nine-under. That was that special day that they had against Brazil."

– SPEND enough time at a golf tournament and you'll see players doing everyday things that television is unlikely to ever pick up.

In the course of walking Royal Liverpool today one could have seen, for instance, Webb Simpson catching his caddie Paul Tesori off guard by sneaking up and jumping on his back, or Brendon de Jonge struggling to navigate a path either around or under some bright yellow gallery ropes.

Most unexpected, however, was your correspondent being shoulder charged by current FedEx Cup points leader Jimmy Walker. As we walked behind the 2nd green, I sidestepped to avoid an oncoming spectator, something Walker failed to notice as he strolled half a pace behind me. His left shoulder collected my right one, taking us both by surprise. To his credit the amiable Texan swiftly apologised and went on his way.

Tiger Woods has shown no signs of discomfort during his practice rounds the past two days. PHOTO: Getty Images

– JACKET or Jug? Jug or Jacket? Which of golf's two most cherished prizes attracts greater fan attention. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were both asked whether their Green Jackets from winning the Masters or Claret Jugs as Open champions moved the needle more when they displayed either in public. Consensus suggests the jug trumps the jacket, largely because of what can be done with it. "People wanted to take pictures [of the Green Jacket], but everyone wanted to slam back a couple out of the jug," Woods said.

THE OPEN TV COVERAGE

Fox Sports again has the exclusive live broadcast rights to the Open Championship.

Times (on FoxSports 3HD and FoxSports 3):

Thursday July 17    Round 1, 6pm (EST)

  Friday July 18    Round 2, 6pm (EST)

  Saturday July 19    Round 3, 7pm (EST)

  Sunday July 20    Final round, 8pm (EST)