Adam Scott’s comments he made before the Presidents Cup have come back to bite him after the Australian made a disastrous start.
The biennial competition tied off for its 15th staging in Montreal on Thursday with the International Team looking to upset the odds and claim a most unlikely triumph for only the second time in the tournament’s history – winning the competition for the only time to date in 1998.
While members of the team, including Scott, entered the cup in a positive mindset, the visitors find themselves on the back foot already, staring down a 10th defeat in his Presidents Cup journey. Scott and first-timer Min Woo Lee were among the five losing teams in the four-ball matches.
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Speaking after losing 1-up to Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala, Scott said: “We’ve fought our whole careers to get into this team. We’ve faced many challenges as pro golfers. This is another one coming.
“I don’t think I have to say much, other than we just have to lift our level. “I’m disappointed. I think Min Woo and I could have won that match today. It’s disappointing that we didn’t do just a little bit better.
“I have a feeling the matches were closer than what the score indicates. Our guys are just going to have to lift a little bit. We’re going to have to find another gear to beat a tough American team. We’re going to have to come out, fight really hard, find that gear, win a session and get going in the right direction.”
Scott’s mood will be a total contrast to the confidence he entered the tournament with. Speaking ahead of the cup, the 2013 Masters champion revealed he was “comfortable” coming up against a US team without LIV players Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.
Min Woo Lee and Adam Scott lost 1-up to Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala
“Certainly, I want to improve my record in this event and I’m very determined,” Scott said. “I don’t know how many more opportunities I’ll get, if any. So this is a big week for me. But I have a lot of belief in this team. I can’t remember feeling so comfortable coming into a Presidents Cup.”
Scott added how the Internationals can take inspiration from Team Europe’s Ryder Cup success against the hosts. “You know, a few guys who may have been on our team weren’t there, and the last few years, we’ve rebuilt and we’ve put together a formidable team.
“I think playing the United States is never easy, whether you’re the Internationals or Europe, but we can take inspiration from what Europe has managed to do with general on paper being the underdogs.”
Despite the gap on the scorecard, Scott said he remains hopeful that the Internationals can close the fine margins. “Personally, I’ve got to use the couple good shots and the putt that I made on 18 as positive momentum going forward this week,” he said.
“You’ve got to use what you can out of this situation going forward. Like I said before, the scoreline looks rough, but I don’t think there was that much difference in it today. It’s obvious what we have to do.”
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