Birthday boy Adam Scott still dreaming at 97 not out
Yet while celebrating the day he turned 45, on the eve of his 25th consecutive British Open appearance and his amazing 97th straight major championship outing, Australia's most evergreen sportsman promised there was only one figure he was still bothered about.
"Yeah, the numbers are getting big," mused 'Scotty' after enjoying a practice round on championship eve on Wednesday.
"But what's not big is my number of major wins -- so I'd like to change that, double it this week."
And the 2013 Masters champion isn't ruling out the best belated birthday gift of all as he feels confident of another good run at winning major number two, just as he did at the US Open before the storm-hit finale at Oakmont derailed him, taking him from a share of the lead on the 12th hole to an eventual tie for 12th.
It was only the latest in a list of cruel finales for Scott at majors, none, of course, more soul-crushing than the meltdown at Royal Lytham in 2012, when he blew a four-shot lead with four holes to play to gift Ernie Els the Claret Jug.
At 45, it gets no easier but he keeps giving himself a chance. Asked if the fire was still burning, Scott said on Wednesday: "Yeah, I've worked hard to keep myself in this spot and I really don't have any results to show for how good I feel like I've played this year, which is part of golf and frustrating.
"I hope I can do this for another 10 years, but it only gets harder and harder. So this week's my best opportunity to win a major. That's every major I play probably from now on.
"That's how I'm going to feel and I still feel like I sacrifice a lot to keep myself in this position, so I want to make the most of it."
His record in a quarter-of-a-century of British Opens demands respect, of course. Twice he's finished in the top-three, three times in the top-five and half-a-dozen times in the top-10. He's also had 11 finishes in the top-25.
His run of consecutive majors, which should see him get to a century at the US Open next year, is only topped by Jack Nicklaus's 146 between 1962 and 1998.
That means Scott would have to play every major between now and the 2038 Masters if he wants to break the Golden Bear's record, by which time he'd be 58!
Yet while of course he's not thinking that far ahead, he still allows himself the odd idle reflection about the Claret Jugs that got away. "I've put myself in a good spot, which I'm really pleased, optimistic and hopeful about," he said. "And I still think the dream can come true."
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Courier-Mail
10 hours ago
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7NEWS
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