Adam Scott has edged ever so slightly towards his goal of sneaking back inside the world’s top 60 in time for the US Open, with a solid result at the PGA Tour event at Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas.
Despite a one-over 71 to close the tournament, Scott finished a creditable tied for 12th at three-under-par, 11 shots behind winner Davis Riley. Riley held off world No.1 Scottie Scheffler in his home state and Keegan Bradley, who tied for second. Scott opened with a birdie but a sloppy back nine held the Queenslander back from a better finish. He mixed three bogeys, including one at the last hole, with a lone birdie to have a two-over back-nine score.
Scott is attempting to keep the longest majors streak among active players alive, given the US Open would be his 92nd consecutive major. He has played every major held going back to the 2001 Open Championship. The top 60 in the world as of June 10 will be eligible for the US Open at Pinehurst, although Scott is currently world No.62. His T-12 at Colonial should move him gently up the world rankings although it was not clear on Monday morning how far he would jump.
The former world No.1 still has the RBC Canadian Open and, if he gets in, the elite Memorial Tournament in Ohio to improve that ranking or enter 36-hole final qualifying.
Scott has cemented the Open Championship in July, however, via his tie for fourth at the Australian Open last year, which is part of the Open Qualifying Series that awards spots in the Open for an international selection of tournaments.
Min Woo Lee shot 74 at Colonial to drop to one-under-par and equal 24th, adding a fifth top 25 to his PGA Tour season. Kiwi Ryan Fox was even-par (74) while Cam Davis’ 76 plummeted him to a tie for 56th.
In Europe, on the DP World Tour’s Soudal Open in Belgium, Jason Scrivener tied for 48th while David Micheluzzi tied for 57th.
Meanwhile, the LPGA Tour had a week off as the world’s best players prepare for the US Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania.
Victorian Keeley Marx, an amateur college golfer at Iowa State University, qualified for the second women’s major of the year to bolster Australia’s contingent to five. Marx will join Minjee Lee, Hannah Green, Gabi Ruffels and Steph Kyriacou in the field. Three Australians won qualifying events for the richest tournament in women’s golf, including Ruffels (San Joaquin Country Club) and Kyriacou (Sugar Mill Country Club) who were also medallists at qualifiers.
