Scottish Open: Adam Scott remains positive, despite tough finish

Adam Scott held a two-shot lead with four holes to play but did not come out on top, despite not making any glaring mistakes down the stretch.

Instead, he saw Robert MacIntyre race him by as the Scotsman scuttled past the Aussie with an eagle-par-birdie finish to take home the Genesis Scottish Open title by one.

“A shame to come up short, but Bob did what he had to do to win. Eagle, par, birdie, that’s great stuff,” Scott said.

“I really felt good coming in here, and I was playing better than I have all year and really for quite a while. Good to be in the mix… But pleased for Bob. This is a big win. I played with him [Saturday], and you can hear them singing over there. I think that’s awesome for him, and hopefully, I can take some good form into next week.”

Scott had an excellent round aside from a couple of mistakes that ultimately cost him. After making three birdies on the front nine to jump up to 16-under, Scott made a double bogey on the par-4 8th. He misjudged his third shot, which relegated him back down to 14-under, where he began his day. But Scott rallied on the very next hole, holing out from the sand for an improbable two on the par-3 9th.

Another birdie followed at the par-5 10th, and then Scott stuck his approach to 17 inches on the par-3 14th, which led to another birdie. But a bogey at 15 followed after a poor approach shot.

“I knew I was in front after 14. And then bogeyed 15,” Scott added.

“I knew I had to at least birdie 16, and then I was trying to find one there at the last.”

He managed to make a four on the par-5 16th—the same hole MacIntyre eagled—but unlike the Scotsman, the Aussie could not get his birdie attempt to drop on the 18th hole, which proved to be the difference.

“I had quite a tricky putt to read. It was kind of down the spine, and I read it to go straight. It was straight down the spine, but it went right a little bit,” Scott said of his 14-foot birdie attempt at the last.

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

“You know, it was fun to have one that mattered, actually. So, I’m excited to take some comfort in this and head into a major next week on form. Because it’s been a while since I can say I’ve done that.”

Scott’s last runner-up finish came at the 2021 Wyndham Championship, when Kevin Kisner defeated Scott and four others in a 6-man playoff. Scott’s last win came at the 2020 Genesis Invitational in Riviera, as this week extended his winless drought to nearly four-and-a-half years.

But now he will make his 93rd consecutive start in a major at Royal Troon, the site of next week’s Open Championship.

“I think I need to keep doing the same things I’ve been doing,” Scott said.

“It was great to test a couple of the changes I’ve made in the last couple weeks out there [on Sunday]. It wasn’t all perfect. But it was nice to see that some of it was working nicely. I know if I find myself in the heat next week, hopefully, I can lean into this good stuff happening.”

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.