Adam Scott's 2016 Isn't Getting The Raves He Deserves

Adam Scott is as classy, fit and stylish as ever but he's dared to interrupt the procession to declare everyone over 25 a useless golfing soul. Maybe that's why his recent run through Riviera, PGA National and Doral has been less appreciated than had a younger player pulled off such a run?

As Golf World's Jaime Diaz notes, when you couple the downturn in his game, the anchoring ban taking effect and the youthful nature of the modern power game, Scott's turnaround is not getting the credit it deserves.

I would agree, though some of you along with my friends at Ladbrokes may remember Scott was my pick heading into the final round of The Open last summer. He and Steve Williams were working so well together and the course seemed particularly vulnerable to his tactical approach. And well into the round his prospects looked good until a shocking unraveling that ended with an OB tee shot on 18.

Anyway, Scott seems not just back, but maybe better than ever. As Diaz writes:

It goes beyond winning two straight PGA Tour events, which sets him up this week at Bay Hill to become the first player ever to win three times on a Florida swing.

In the process, Scott has done something very rare. At an advanced stage of his career, in the midst of a long period of underperformance—last year was his first since 2000 in which he went winless worldwide—he has reversed a persistent and often debilitating tendency to melt in the cauldron of a tournament’s crucial moment. The failures usually came from the putter, but in big moments, Scott was prone to big misses with any club. It all pointed to an inner fragility that, for all his physical talent, seemed to put a ceiling on Scott’s capability. Although he had won 11 PGA Tour events coming into this year, including the 2013 Masters, it was hard to project Scott winning much more.

Some of Scott’s losses, because he is such a stylish player and shotmaker, and because he is such a decent person, have been among the most painful in recent history.