SAN DIEGO – Adam Scott is just short of clicking on all cylinders.
That’s not good news for the rest of the field.
Despite feeling he’s still got work to do to be in ideal form, Scott is on the first page of the leaderboard through two rounds of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. With a 3-under-par 69 Friday on the South Course in wicked conditions featuring spots of hail and rain, strong winds and icy temps, the Aussie and 2013 Masters champion moved to 8 under and a share of the lead before play was suspended at 3:23 p.m. local time, 6:23 p.m. ET. Both the South and North courses were playing extremely long due to overnight storms dumping 0.9 inches of rain.
“I’m probably slightly underprepared for where I want to be, but I’m working on that,” Scott said. “Hopefully I can get to spend enough time practicing and playing and seeing the coach and doing the training and stuff, but it’s a little tricky at the moment to get it all done. But I’m trying not to force it.
Farmers Insurance Open: Leaderboard | Photos
“I feel like things are in a good spot. Obviously I’m playing OK. I play fairly solid every week I play, it’s just those small margins I think that have been missing and they take some consistency to accumulate and push you up to that top level.
“I feel like getting it in the clubhouse has been the hardest thing. The swing, although there’s been lots of good ones, there’s just a couple loose ones coming in. Almost every round I’ve played this year it’s been like that. I think I’m nearly getting there. I’d like to finish it off nicely on the weekend.
“If I do that, I think I’ll be in with a shot.”
Scott, ranked No. 23 in the Official World Golf Rankings, tied for 21st in the Sentry Tournament of Champions and tied for 41st in the Sony Open in Hawaii to begin his 2021. Scott moved to 9 under with an eagle on the sixth hole – his 15th hole of the day – but bogeyed his next two holes. He finished with a seven-footer for birdie.
“The wind wasn’t violent, but the temperature going down just makes that wind so heavy and the ball goes so short,” Scott said. “It’s really hard to adjust perfectly to that on the fly. You’ve already played nine holes, then the temperature drops and to all of a sudden gauge that a 9‑iron’s only going to go 125 is a hard call to make.
“I think probably everyone out there is in that situation; you’re just doing your best and trying not to make a big error, but it’s hard to all of a sudden see that the ball’s going 30 yards shorter than normal.”
Scott made his tournament debut in 2019 and shot 19 under to finish second, two shots shy of winner Justin Rose. Scott’s year-end schedule in past years, when he plays out a string of tournaments in his homeland, has kept him from playing the Farmers Insurance Open more often.
Still, in his limited chances here, and his game just not 100 percent sharp, he’s confident heading into the weekend.
“I’d like to take advantage of the next two days given the position I’ve put myself in,” Scott said. “It’s been a little while since I’ve kind of been right up there heading into weekends, so looking forward to what’s to come the next couple days.”
from Golfweek https://ift.tt/39x5ld8