Adam Scott returns to action for first time in nearly five months

SAN FRANCISCO – Adam Scott is human.

Often when this phrasing is used it refers to imperfection. It intimates a flaw in someone’s character. This is not one of those cases.

In a sporting context when an athlete is described that way it most often refers to a mistake being made. They’ve shown such precision to their craft that one can mistake them for robotic or automatic and then a moment comes that proves otherwise.

This is not one of those cases.

Sure, Scott has one of the most rhythmic swings in the world of golf. One of the prettiest ever seen on the PGA TOUR to be fair. But this isn’t about Scott’s swing. Or any mistake, frailty or concern.

This is about Adam Scott the father and Adam Scott the golf ambassador. This is about Adam Scott who, during a dire time in world history, has chosen to do what he can to help. To reach out and change the lives of others in small and big ways.

Yes Adam Scott is human … in the best possible way.

Scott returns to the PGA TOUR this week at the PGA Championship, the last of the top 30 players in the world to get back to competitive golf after the COVID-19 shutdown. He could have easily spent the nearly five months skiing the alps near his home in Switzerland. Or perhaps just eating up the sunshine in his flash residence in the Bahamas.

Instead Scott sensed an opportunity amidst the uncertainty. The 14-time PGA TOUR winner gathered his wife and two young kids and headed to his native Australia. If it was to be an extended break Scott would do so reconnecting to his roots, hopefully passing on some of his culture to 5-year-old daughter Bo Vera and 2-year-old son Byron in the process.

They weren’t the only kids to benefit from the move. Juniors at Caloundra Golf Club couldn’t believe it at first. A clinic with a Masters champion. Scott gave a lengthy presentation at the club on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast where an old friend, and junior adversary, Tom Arnott is the head pro. Every kid who had a question got to ask it, not that they needed to such was the depth of Scott’s demonstration. Anyone who wanted a photo also got one. One talented junior couldn’t make it. So Scott saw him later on and give him special attention.

So what you might say. That’s the least he could do.

Yep, but that was barely scratching the surface. Scott has become a mentor to those juniors. They began flocking to the course knowing Scott would likely be there at some stage. One of those is Tom’s son Bailey who was a freshman at Iowa State University last season. Scott, who first offered to fly Bailey home if he was stuck in the U.S., has now taken him under his wing.

Bailey was the competitor for one of Scott’s “Nine Holes with a Mate” during the break. This was another touch Scott used to bring attention to his sport. Scott went live on Instagram to play these contests and answered questions to fans from all over the world.

Still not that impressed?

Well Scott used the platform to announce he would kick start a $5 junior program in the area and urged golf clubs around Australia to latch on. Scott offered cash from his own pocket to any club on the Sunshine Coast who created specific tee time blocks for juniors at just $5 a head. He challenged the rest of the country to do the same. It’s gathering steam.

He also took on duties of an apprentice at the club, showing kids that even the first Australian to win the Masters is not too big to wash golf carts, work the pro shop and shag balls.

Not convinced? Well let’s add these acts of kindness to the mix.

Scott partnered with his sponsor Uniqlo to have 150,000 medical masks donated to the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Australia, a non-profit organization that provides emergency and primary health care services over an area just short of three million square miles. They also donated jackets for the health care workers.

In April, Scott heard about 76-year-old Ross Campbell who was suffering from severe brain and lung tumors. The illness and treatment had sadly affected Campbell’s brain, and the once avid golfer was now convinced he and Scott were best mates who often played together.

Campbell would sit out in his wheelchair near an old shed on his property convinced it was the local clubhouse and Scott would be along any moment for their regular game. Now being in another state and being that there was a pandemic, Scott couldn’t attend for the game, not to mention Campbell’s condition. But he did make the call that Campbell waited for each day.

They chatted like old mates with Scott playing the role to perfection and afterwards he sent a video message, including a putting lesson, that could be played for Campbell on any occasion.

Back at Caloundra, Scott went to visit Craig Grant, a stroke victim not that much older than Scott himself, who had long sponsored the Caloundra junior programs. Grant is unable to speak but by all reports was clearly chuffed by the visit. Turns out Scott not only had a few beers and a long chat to boost Grant’s spirits, he even broke out his guitar and played some tunes. Who knew!

Scott doesn’t want credit for any of this. That’s not his go. And no doubt there are countless other examples that have thus far gone unreported. The fact is that deep down he knows pitching in to help and reconnecting to the roots of the sport and his country could actually be the springboard for a renewed push towards golf immortality.

“It took a while to get used to being a full-time dad, but it was great,” the now 40-year-old said of the extended time off. “It had been probably 20 years since I'd been home in Australia at that time of year and for that length of time, and I certainly enjoyed that very much. It was nice to be there with the family, and I think the break in some ways is going to prolong my career. You don't get that break; the seasons kind of bleed into each other now.

“Some of those things are things that I don't get to experience that much (anymore). Although the bar and other things were closed at the club, it was still fun to be in a golf club environment and out the back of the pro shop with Tom catching up. I took advantage of a couple of those opportunities with my mates and played some of the local courses, which was fun. Hopefully it stimulated some interest in golf at that time when there were no other sports and golf was the only thing going.”

During the last few weeks, Scott has honed his game in South Carolina at Congaree Golf Club. It comes as no surprise that this property is renowned for its support of junior golfers from around the globe. Scott was able to prepare like he often has for major championships, in relative obscurity.

Opened in 2017 by billionaire founders Dan Friedkin and the late Robert McNair, Congaree doesn’t have members but rather ambassadors. Those individuals are titans in their fields who bring mentorship to the Global Golf Initiative that brings high schoolers who have the talent to make it into college golf but perhaps not the means into an intense program that helps set them on the path to higher education.

While it is not clear if Scott is one of these ambassadors, it wouldn’t be a surprise to learn he is, or now will be in the future.

“The club there was very generous and let us use the facility even though they're closed at this time of year. It also served a great purpose for isolating because we didn't see anybody for a couple of weeks and did our isolation like we were meant to,” Scott said.

While Scott has never had a break like this one, he has been decent off a spell in the past. He won The Genesis Invitational in February, just two months after his last start at the Presidents Cup and three months after his previous TOUR stroke-play event. This has him confident he can hit this packed stretch of championship golf without needing to adjust.

His average efforts at TPC Harding Park in the past also don’t bother him. Scott is one of just three players in the field to have played the course in the 2005 World Golf Championships event (T29), the 2009 Presidents Cup (1-4 on losing team) and the 2015 World Golf Championshipa-Dell Technologies Match Play (0-3).

“It’s exciting for me to think about seven majors in the next 11 months, especially at this point in my career,” he said. “I'd love to win a second major championship. It's all I focus on, really. This is a big opportunity for me, and so are the next 11 months.

“I haven't played particularly well here in any of these occasions. However, the setup is a lot different this time around. They've managed to keep a lot of poa out of these greens, and that was very pleasing for me and probably everyone coming here this week. They're pure.

“And they've toughened the course up. Hopefully with a bit better focus and execution this week, I can perform a little better than I have here in the past. It's a golf course that I feel very comfortable that I should be able to play well if I get my head down and perform.”

If he could pull it off, it would be a popular victory to those Scott has spent time with during the last few months. Perhaps the final word should go to Arnott who told The Australian newspaper, “2020 has been a tough year but to get to spend time with a human of Adam Scotty’s quality … he’s touched a lot of people, believe me.”