Adam Scott will go head-to-head with Poland’s Adrian Meronk on the Melbourne Sandbelt as he looks to become the 20th golfer to win multiple Australian Opens.
Scott stayed patient during a five-hour round that yielded a tidy, three-under-par 67. Several groups up ahead, DP World Tour winner Meronk fired a stunning 63 to take the clubhouse lead at 10 under. But Scott blasted a massive drive down the par-5 18th at Victoria GC and had only a sandwedge in for his second shot. He converted the eagle putt to surge past Meronk and into the 54-hole lead at 11 under. Scott, Meronk and Min Woo Lee will play in Sunday’s final group in the men’s draw at the iconic Victoria GC.
Scott, the 2009 Australian Open winner at New South Wales GC, has the chance to join an illustrious group of 19 golfers who have won the Australian Open at least twice. That includes Gary Player (7), Jack Nicklaus (6), Greg Norman (5) and Peter Thomson (3).
Former world No.1 Scott said he was not getting ahead of himself, but certainly believed he could become a dual winner of the national championship.
“I believe I’m going to do it,” Scott said defiantly after his round. “Not to use cliches but there’s no point thinking about my winner’s speech right now. I’ve got a long way to navigate my round, get around the course tomorrow.
“But I absolutely believe I’m going to do it. If you don’t believe in it, then you won’t do it just so I’ve got to go out tomorrow and do much much of the same of what I did today. If I get a couple good numbers and putts drop I know when to challenge and and when to kind of hold back a little.”
Scott said legendary caddie Steve Williams being back on his bag would give him the confidence to close out the victory, which would be his first worldwide since claiming the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational at Riviera in February 2020. Williams and Scott paired up for Scott’s victory at Augusta National nine years ago, which came after Williams helped Tiger Woods to 13 of his 15 major championship wins.
“[Williams’ direct and confident approach] is an asset every day,” Scott said. “It’s an asset on Thursday when I’m playing terrible; he never lets up. He works right until the very end. And he’s very composed, and it’s why he has been incredibly successful.”
Meronk said he was feeling at home in Melbourne’s southeastern suburbs given his girlfriend’s cousins had put them up for the week and cooked Polish meals. The 29-year-old world No. 56 said he wasn’t intimidated by playing in the final group with Scott, saying he grew up idolising the the 2013 Masters winner.
“To be honest, I would love to play with him tomorrow because he’s been my role model since I was a child, so that would be also a dream come true for me to play with him,” Meronk said of 42-year-old Scott. “If I play with him, if I play with anyone, I just focus on my game and try to enjoy it as much as possible.”
DP World Tour winner Lee (65) and Hadyn Barron (68) are tied third at seven under.
In the women’s draw, two-time British Open winner Jiyai Shin is the 54-hole leader at 14 under, one ahead of current British Open winner Ashleigh Buhai of South Africa. Hannah Green, also a major winner at the 2019 Women’s PGA Championship, is the local hope at 12 under.
Buhai said she would draw inspiration from her Women’s British Open triumph.
“Yeah, obviously it boosts your confidence, when you rock up to the tournaments, you know now that you definitely can win,” she said. “Before you believed this, but until you actually prove it and do it, and pull it off, especially under pressure [there’s no way to prove it].
“I like the way this course plays, it plays firm and fast, very much like links golf and I can see the shortening. You have to be patient. It’s fast and hard. I hit to the right spaces and gave myself good looks at the putts today and then when I could attack I did.”
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