[PHOTO: Getty Images]
A guaranteed return to the Open Championship via a top-10 result was the silver lining for Adam Scott after cooling from an early charge at a second career major championship.
Scott shot 71 at Royal Troon and at even-par (284) his T10 result secured a 25th consecutive Open next year. It’s a run at the links major he started upon debut at St Andrews in 2000.
Scott finished nine shots behind Xander Schauffele, whose gutsy 65 earned him a two-shot win at nine-under (275) from Justin Rose (67) and Billy Horschel (68). Schauffele won his second major for the year and overall having triumphed at the PGA Championship at Valhalla.
There was a stroke of good fortune for world No.35 Scott, when Englishman Dan Brown, who was one-under-par going into the last, bogeyed the 18th to push T10 out to even-par. Scott hopped a spot from T11 to T10. The top 10 and ties at the Open are exempt into the following edition.
The final day at Troon was bittersweet for the 2013 Masters champion, Scott, who turned 44 on Tuesday. He teed off in the fifth-to-last group, just four shots off the lead. Scott jumped out of the gates with two birdies in the first three holes.
“Yeah, it was good [fun],” Scott said after his 71. “I was on last week [runner up at the Scottish Open] and I was on again this week, early [in the final round at Troon]. “Yesterday [a 66 in round three] gave me a glimmer of hope, but I would have had to be a super hot front nine.”
Needing flawless golf, Scott’s chances took a hit when he made a bogey at the par-3 fifth. He pulled his tee shot, but hit a gorgeous pitch shot up the bank only to miss a short par putt. Still, he went out in one-under 35.
That’s where it all came undone. At the par-4 10th, Scott blocked his tee shot to the native area en route to a tournament-ending double-bogey 6. Although Scott birdied the par-4 12th, Schauffele was already charging too far ahead. “By the 10th it was kind of over. In the end I [started Sunday] too far back,” Scott said. “No one really had ‘it’ [today] except maybe Xander. I played good, solid golf. I made a bad swing on 10 [tee] and paid the price, made a mess of that hole.”
The T10 was Scott’s first top-10 at a major in five years, since a pair of them at the US Open (T7) at Pebble beach and PGA Championship (T8) at Bethpage.
Scott was unsure whether his Open result gave him belief of winning a second career major in 2025. But he said there were at least reasons to be optimistic about his game.
“We’ll say yes to that today, but in nine months [before the Masters] we can check in and see where Adam is at in his head,” he said. “I’m just pleased. I’ve been moving a lot of stuff around this year behind the scenes, in my head, in my golf bag, and I feel like I’ve seven months in, settled — finally feel like I can settle a little bit and work a plan, even though there’s a month left of the season.”
The PGA Tour season is only five more events and Scott was undecided how many he would play, although at 41st on the FedEx Cup he was guaranteed to be among the top 70 who make the three-tournament playoffs starting in mid-August. He has until the BMW Championship, the second playoffs event, to move from his current standing of No.7 into the top-six golfers who automatically make the International team for September’s Presidents Cup.
“I’ll try and make the most of that [form] at least now, and then there’s still the Presidents Cup to look forward to, and hopefully I think I’m in a good spot to play my way on to that team now,” he said. “That’s kind of the goal through the FedEx Cup.”
Scott’s fellow Australian Jason Day (68) finished at one-over (285).
FINAL AUSTRALIAN/NEW ZEALAND SCORES
T10 Adam Scott E
T13 Jason Day +1
T15 Daniel Hillier (NZ) +3
T25 Ryan Fox (NZ) +5
MC Kazuma Kobori (NZ) +7
MC Min Woo Lee +9
MC Elvis Smylie +9
MC Michael Hendry +10
MC Jasper Stubbs (a) +10
MC Cameron Smith +12
