Scott primed for tilt at fourth Singapore title

The smooth-swinging 36-year-old possesses the accuracy off the tee and short game necessary to tame the Sentosa Golf Club’s fiendishly difficult Serapong Course

Adam Scott is the highest-ranked player at this week’s Singapore Open and the Australian world number seven will be confident of starting 2017 with a victory at a course and tournament where he has tasted success three times before.
The smooth-swinging 36-year-old possesses the accuracy off the tee and short game necessary to tame the Sentosa Golf Club’s fiendishly difficult Serapong Course with an unerring proficiency that even he finds difficult to explain.
“The course is just one of those things for me, I seem to manage to play well here. I stand on the tee and my ball ends up on the fairway more often than not,” Scott, Singapore Open champion in 2005, 2006 and 2010, told reporters yesterday.
“It’s a fairly generous course in spots but you still have to be precise. It does have big greens but if you hit it a long way from the hole then you are going to struggle.
“It fits my eye and fortunately I have been able to take advantage of that a few times over the years.”
The 2013 US Masters champion added that while returning to a happy hunting ground often provided a major psychological boost, it was best to adhere to a simple formula and let his golf do the rest.
“You arrive with a confidence in the back of your mind that you can do it, can overcome the challenges but try not to think about things too much,” he added.
“That’s a key to golf, over-thinking could ruin all the good vibes I have here so I will just try and play the same way I always have and not put extra pressure on myself to win or get into contention, just play my game and not get in my own way.
“You want to do that everywhere but sometimes it’s easier to do that on a course where you have had success and hit so many good shots. It all falls into place.”
Scott also said that starting his season in Southeast Asia was an easy decision and this week’s tournament would provide a perfect platform for the challenges that lay ahead.
“I have a strong connection to Singapore over the last 10 or 12 years, it’s a tournament I enjoy on a great course and all these things contribute to making my decision on where to play,” he said.
“It’s a nice way to start the year... it’s close to home and I get to spend a little more time in Australia before I head back to the United States in another month or so.
“Those things add up in the decision-making process and it’s important for me to play around the globe, although my focus is on the United States.”