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 Having won his first major title in gripping fashion at a
rain-soaked Augusta National in April, the Australian ended the year
with two wins, a runner-up spot and a third placing in the land of
his birth to cement his status as the world number two.
That astonishing run, which very nearly earned him only the second
"triple crown" of wins in Australia, helped Scott edge out world
number one Tiger Woods as Player of the Year on Thursday in voting
by the Golf Writers Association of America.
"I've had a great run and hopefully I'm going to keep it going this
year," Scott, 33, told Golf Channel while preparing for Friday's
opening round at the Kapalua Resort where he will tee off along with
defending champion Dustin Johnson.
"I feel like this is my time to achieve what I want out of the game
so I've got to keep the momentum going because it's hard to find
when you don't have it. While you've got it, you've got to take
advantage of it."
Asked to pinpoint the main reason for his stunning form during 2013,
Scott replied: "It's hard to put it done to one thing. I think it's
probably more an accumulation of a couple of years of working on the
right things in my game.
"And then it's all about executing it and just believing a little
more in everything I'm doing and letting it happen under pressure."
Nine months ago, Scott became the first Australian to win the
Masters, beating Argentina's Angel Cabrera in a playoff of high
emotion and excellent sportsmanship, then followed up by claiming a
FedExCup playoff victory at The Barclays in August.
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AUSTRALIAN SUCCESSES
He ended the season by winning the Australian PGA and the
Australian Masters, teamed up with Jason Day to land the team
event at the World Cup and was second in the Australian Open.
Asked how he managed to deal with the heightened media scrutiny,
both in United States and at home in Australia, Scott replied:
"There are some adjustments to be made but so far it's only all
been good stuff.
"It's not hard to receive these things. They are great honors
I've been given and I'm really lucky to get that. I've just
tried to enjoy it the most I can. I was so excited just to go
back to Australia.
"My friends and family were so excited to see me, and then to
see how much everyone else embraced me winning the Masters and
to share that kind of excitement and to hear the stories of how
they celebrated was great."
In pursuit of an 11th victory on the PGA Tour, Scott will have
to contend with an elite, winners-only field of 30 which
includes PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner and fellow U.S.
Ryder Cup players Matt Kuchar and Zach Johnson.
However, there are five notable absentees from those qualified
to compete this week at Kapalua — Woods, Phil Mickelson, Justin
Rose, Henrik Stenson and Graeme McDowell.
Long-hitting Dustin Johnson will defend the title he won by
three shots last year in a tournament reduced to three rounds
and forced to a rare Tuesday finish because of relentless
howling winds at the Kapalua Resort.
Long established as the opening event on the PGA Tour, this
week's edition is the seventh in the new "wraparound" season
for 2013-14.
(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles;
editing by
Greg Stutchbury)
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