MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) — Adam Scott was a fresh face at age 23 and getting feisty under the darkening sky in South Africa. The Presidents Cup was tied. Ernie Els and Tiger Woods were in a tense playoff when the captains agreed to a tie, meaning the Americans would keep the cup as defending champions.
“Keep playing,” Scott shouted. They ultimately agreed to share the cup.
Asked for his recollections from his 2003 debut, the 46-year-old Australian smiled and said: “I think I strongly suggested that Ernie get to the 18th tee because we're playing. I was confident they could tee off. I don't know that they could have finished the hole.”
Scott never could have imagined then that it would be the closest he ever came to playing on a winning International team in the Presidents Cup. This week at Medinah marks his 12th consecutive appearance, tying the record held by Phil Mickelson.
It's another testament to a career built around a swing so pure it has kept Scott free of injury as he became only the second player to compete in at least 100 consecutive majors, and it has kept him relevant enough to be part of yet another Presidents Cup.
It's also one more chance, and Scott doesn't take it for granted.
“I feel like it's a huge opportunity for me,” Scott said. "There was probably a period 10 years ago, in the middle of my career, where it was, ‘Oh, this (winning) is going to happen.’ But now there's not many more, that's for sure. I've been given another chance. It might be the last one.”
The Internationals gathered for the team photo Wednesday morning, and it was only fitting that Scott had a place next to the gold trophy, with lifelong friend and International captain Geoff Ogilvy on the other side.
One is the captain who has been the model of quiet confidence. The other is the inspiration for a team that wants to win as badly as Scott does.
“He's part of the International furniture now,” Christiaan Bezuidenhout said. “All of us would love to win the cup, but it would be so much more special if we can do it while Adam is still in the team.”
Scott, coming off a runner-up finish in the BMW PGA Championship last week in England, still can find plenty of happy memories from his two-plus decades being on losing teams.
He partnered with Els for a pair of foursomes victories in South Africa - "He's a bit of a god down there. That was awesome," Scott said - and he was with K.J. Choi at Royal Melbourne in 2011 when they handed Woods and Steve Stricker their worst loss (7 and 6) in team competition.
But the beer-drinking celebrations with the cup in hand? Foreign territory.
“It's a quarter of a century. It's his whole career,” Ogilvy said. “Certainly the last two or three times he's been super motivated. Like: ‘This is something I have to do before I’m done. I have to be on a winning team.”
Scott's two closest friends in golf, Ogilvy and Trevor Immelman, have been or are captains. He surely is next in line, unless there's another Presidents Cup for Scott to play. In some respects, he already is one, given his presence - his experience - in the team room and on the bus.
“He's like a playing captain,” Ogilvy said. “You can hear in his voice his desire to win this tournament. He's the leader of the players, clearly, and he's embracing that role now.”
Scott started his Presidents Cup career playing alongside Els and Retief Goosen, Nick Price and Vijay Singh, all of them in the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Now he's with Ryo Hisatsune and Tom Kim, who weren't even born when Scott turned pro.
South Africa wasn't the only close call. It went down to the final match in 2005 in Virginia and in 2015 in South Korea. The Internationals had the lead going into Sunday singles at Royal Melbourne in 2019 until the Americans rallied behind Woods, a playing captain, and finally secured victory in the 11th of 12 matches.
But it was another loss, and two more followed after that.
“It's come down to the last hole several times, and they can go any way. And it hasn't gone our way,” Scott said. “For me, of course, I want to win one desperately and I don't know how many more I can possibly play in. But it's a team effort to do it. We all have to want it so badly. I think it would be an amazing experience for us all to win this cup.”
___
