He isn’t getting enough credit for it.
Caught in a teenage love triangle straight out of Dawson’s Creek, Adam Scott blew the field away last weekend as he won the Bridgestone Invitational by 4 strokes.
Adam Scott has found himself in the middle of a messy break up. Tiger Woods thought his caddy cheated on him but Steve Williams doesn’t understand. He thought they were on a break. In a previous relationship where it is now obvious that neither partner is emotionally stable, Scott has remained even keel. It’s not often that a player, who is performing at such a high level, is overshadowed by a relationship between a caddy and his ex.
If TV dramas have taught us anything, it’s hard enough keeping your cool in the midst of a complicated love triangle. Imagine trying to professional golf on top of that.
Adam Scott, a career underachiever, has had enough trouble throughout his time on the tour dealing with the expectations placed on him. Typically, another Tiger Woods era “next one” has not lived up to the hype. You would have never guessed that from the way he has played his last 6 rounds.
Playing with the burden of a big-headed caddy, whose dreams of revenge on his ex-partner were placed squarely on his shoulders, Adam Scott has stepped up his game in a manner expected from only the greatest athletes in the world.
For a player who had only had 7 career PGA tour wins prior to last week’s victory at Bridgestone, it was unbelievable to see him come up with a win at a tournament where his caddy must have brought some lofty expectations along with him.
Scott was and is still playing for two people. That can’t be easy.
In a sport where choking is as common as the cold, Adam Scott has handled the intense pressure and media scrutiny like a young Tiger Woods.
As I sit here and write this, Adam Scott is tied for 3rd place at the 2011 PGA championship. He sits at 4 under par through 11 holes, only 2 shots behind Steve Stricker. To compete and win his caddy’s tournament of redemption is one thing but to continue to compete and stay in contention the following week at a major championship is something else.
Clearly, Adam Scott hasn’t had enough pressure placed on him during his career because as of this moment he is thriving with all the added weight on his shoulders. For most players, the benefit of the world’s most famous caddy by his side would have no doubt been outweighed by the stress brought on by all the extra pieces of luggage Steve Williams brought to the relationship.
Obviously, that has not been the case for Adam Scott.
Adam Scott’s play should have been the headline story last week but the fact that he has been able to handle the oddity of his situation throughout the week with the ease that he has is just making his play at the PGA Championship all the more impressive.
A lesser man would have collapsed.
The public should have a new found respect for Adam Scott after this whole ordeal. You may not like what his caddy has done but it is going to be hard not to cheer for him this weekend. It doesn’t matter if you think that Steve Williams doesn’t have the right to rub it into Tiger’s face because golf should never be about the caddies.
Adam Scott took the high road when he asked about his caddies comments. He might as well be on cloud nine right about now.
He may not win the PGA Championship but make no mistake, barring a meltdown of epic proportions, these last two weeks will go down as the most impressive stretch in the disappointing career of Adam Scott.
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