[PHOTO: Getty Images]
Just twice in 23 years has former Masters champion Adam Scott had to scramble for an 11th-hour start in a major championship. The two occasions could not be more contrasting, despite both coming at US Open final qualifying.
“I’m grateful I haven’t been in this position too much,” Scott told the AP Monday at Pinehurst.
In 2018, the Queenslander had fallen outside the top 60 on the Official World Golf Ranking and was forced to tee up in 36-hole qualifying at the Columbus, Ohio, sectional qualifier the day after that year’s Memorial Tournament. On the Monday after Memorial, dozens of fans walked in the fairway alongside the former world No.1 Scott, at the Brookside and Lakes courses, as the 2013 Masters champion successfully secured a spot in the 2018 US Open at Shinnecock Hills. That was his 68th straight start in a major.
Six years later, Scott was left in limbo when he was beaten in a sudden-death playoff at US Open qualifying last week by fellow Australian, Cam Davis. After three extra holes, Davis bagged the last of four spots given to the site in Springfield, Ohio. That meant Scott, who was not in this week’s signature event at the Memorial Tournament and couldn’t improve his world ranking, had to wait to see if his number projected high enough to scrape through on the OWGR deadline of June 10 – or rely on the USGA to select him as first alternate from the Springfield site.
“Leaving from Springfield, there was a lot of uncertainty, I would say,” Scott said. “By Friday, and fully understanding how this field works, I was feeling a lot better about myself. It’s funny, not having been in that position there is a lot to finding out how a field gets filled. And it’s complicated.”
At world No.61, Scott narrowly secured his Pinehurst start when the USGA said it was prepared to remove Grayson Murray, who passed away last month, from their ranking criteria if it were to affect any player who might have qualified via the top-60 category.
That means 43-year-old Scott, who will tee up in his 92nd consecutive major, will keep alive golf’s longest active streak in the majors, having played every championship since the 2001 Open at Royal Lytham. After travelling to New York last week for a meeting between representatives of the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Scott flew to North Carolina to begin preparations for the 124th US Open. He has already played two practice rounds at Pinehurst No.2.
Per golf writer Bob Harig, only 18 players in golf history have played in 100 or more (total) major championships. Jack Nicklaus teed up in 146 straight, while no other player has played 100 consecutive majors.
Scott is also guaranteed his 93rd consecutive major start at the Open Championship next month at Royal Troon (he qualified via the Open Qualifying Series at the 2023 Australian Open) and his 94th via the 2025 Masters, given he is a past champion at Augusta National.
As for the 95th major? Well, Scott will worry about that when it comes to the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.
AUSSIES AROUND THE WORLD
Meanwhile, Scott’s fellow Sunshine Coaster, Cassie Porter, secured the second victory of her professional career on the Epson Tour in the US. Having won the 2023 WPGA Melbourne International, Porter, 21, took out the 2024 FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship on Sunday (US time). Porter finished at six-under-par at Battle Creek in Michigan, defeating a four-way tie for second that included New Zealand’s Amelia Garvey.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m feeling amazing. It was really cool to do it here this week with Steph, my caddie,” Porter said. “I leaned on Steph so much today. I said to her probably on the 11th hole after I made a good par, ‘Hey Steph, like I’m really nervous,’ and she was like, ‘Why?’ So yeah, Steph was amazing. She’s like my sister. Honestly, I’ve done a lot of work on my mental game recently, and you know, this week, the wind was really, really testing. So, it was nice to be able to put that to the test and get a good result out of it.”
On the LPGA Tour, Sydney’s Steph Kyriacou tied for 12th at the ShopRite Classic in New Jersey, finishing at eight-under-par and six shots behind the winner, Linnea Strom. On the PGA Tour, Jason Day and Cam Davis were the only two Australians in the field at the Memorial Tournament won by Scottie Scheffler. Day finished tied for 33rd, while Davis shared 50th place.
