As one of the most mild-mannered men in sport, Adam Scott was never likely to become wildly animated about an enforced switch back to using a standard putter. And so it proved at the WGC Cadillac Championship, where the Australian has made a seamless transition back from employing the anchored putting stroke which will soon be banned, completing his first round in a two-under 70.
People generally forget that Scott used to play, and often extremely well, with a conventional putter. That differentiates him from others upon whom the 2016 rule change will impact; namely Keegan Bradley and Tim Clark. “Everyone has got a pretty short memory of things like that these days,” a smiling Scott said in Miami when acknowledging that very point.
“Certainly, for a couple other guys, it may be a much bigger switch. But I can think back to some really good putting memories putting with a short one and making some really important putts. It’s not a big deal, I putted this way for a long time. It isn’t completely foreign to me.
“Itnow feels a bit like when I switched to the longer putter; it was a really different fresh feel, and so is this. I’m not doing things exactly the same as I did them before but it has been feeling really good and I’m trying not to clutter my head with too much thought.”
One notable aspect of Scott’s set-up is the unorthodox, clawed grip – the same style used by Sergio García – and his stroke itself is perfectly smooth, an endorsement of his relaxed attitude to the alteration. “Much like when I switched to the broomstick, it takes maybe a day to get some level of comfort once you find out how you want to do it,” he added. “Once you get comfortable then it is just a bit of a feel thing, especially on the longer putts.
“I have some pretty firm beliefs for myself, basic fundamentals that I need to putt well. A lot of that I learned through putting with a longer putter. Whatever you want to call it, a claw or pencil grip, is exactly the same as I had my hand on the long putter. So this is all quite familiar to me.”
A hectic off-season for Scott included the birth of his first child, a daughter named Bo, on 15 February. “It’s good and it’s bad; I’m here and they are in Australia,” the 34-year-old said. “So I’m missing out but even just thinking about her makes me happy. It’s been really good.”
Scott’s bigger picture involves a return to Augusta National, where he will not have to deal with the attention and pressure of being defending champion, as was the case last year. Scott and his compatriot Jason Day should be regarded as strong contenders this time round. “The attention will be on Rory [McIlroy] and Bubba [Watson], I would think,” he said. “But Bubba has defended there before so he knows what to expect. We will see how the next few weeks go but I am happy with my overall game.”
