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ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT SCOTTISH OPEN

July 12, 2017

Adam Scott

Ayrshire, Scotland

Q. Nice to see you back in Scotland. What's your game plan playing this week? The week before The Open, you tend to practise.
ADAM SCOTT: Absolutely. I've had a bit of a schedule change this year for lots of different reasons. I guess as good as any was to try and find a little better form going into the majors. The last year and a half or so, I haven't played as well in the majors as I would have liked, and we all put so much focus on the majors now. But it was time to change it up because my plan wasn't really working.

Exciting for me to come back and play The Scottish Open. I've played so many times in the past and love playing golf up here and been successful. So far I feel like the way I've been going about getting ready for the majors has been working, so hopefully this does the trick at Dundonald this week and sets me up for a really great week next week, as well.

But it's a great field here, too. We're all going to be tested and good golf's going to be required.

Q. We've seen this field get stronger every year and most notably, a number of winners of this have gone on to win, or guys who contended this week have gone on to win at The Open. Was that kind of behind your thinking, as well?
ADAM SCOTT: Well, it certainly doesn't help the tournament attract some players to come, and no doubt, that's very appealing. We don't play golf on a links, at all, anymore, really, especially on the U.S. tour. I find, I think the adjustment is tougher than you think. You're just so used to playing a certain way that it takes some time.

So in the past, coming over ten days before and playing The Open venues worked really well for me. But with a slight schedule change and less tournament play leading up, I think I need, also, the tournament play.

So this ticks both boxes coming here to the Scottish Open, and hopefully with four days before coming here and another week coming here, that will be enough on links golf to be ready. I'll be trying to play a few shots that I don't normally play hopefully this week here at Dundonald.

Q. What did you make of your trip to Birkdale? How is it looking?
ADAM SCOTT: It's looking fantastic, as you would expect. It's always nice to play an Open Championship venue with no one on the golf course. It's a real treat. I like to take advantage of that. But now I'll shift my focus to the tournament here, and not just to hit a few shots, but I'd like to compete and win. I feel like over the years, there were a couple chances I had and never really closed it out. And to win The Scottish Open would certainly be very nice on the resumÃ©.

Q. Talking about your form, saying you've not contended in the majors, what do you think's missing at the moment?
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I just have showed up with one part of my game or another not quite firing. There's not really been -- I can't point a finger at the same thing every time. I just haven't put all the pieces of the puzzle together like I had been for awhile, and you know, I think I've got a better handle on it this year. I just now have to go and do it.

I've spent a lot of time working on the game and getting everything to where I want it. The U.S. Open was very disappointing because I felt I was in very good shape, but I putted poorly for the first week of the year. I putted really well this year, and that was a real disappointment. I'm out to change that this week because it's been hard to sit back at home for three weeks after having a disappointing result and waiting patiently for my next chance.

Q. You say you don't play links golf in the States. Is there a psychological element that you have to bring with you, then, to play links golf, because the courses are just so different from what you play week-in and week-out?
ADAM SCOTT: I think really, you have to be so open-minded and get out of your comfort zone. That's why I come early, because, you know, some people find that very easy, and may not have a care in the world, but it's obviously a very important tournament. We're so groomed as professionals to play a certain style of golf now.

I think the creativity that's needed potentially on just one important shot in these tournaments on links courses can pay off. You can't fight the elements over here. Like you can beat the ball through the wind when it's more target golf, but you can use the ground here to your advantage. But to really get a good feeling for that takes a little bit of practise, too. So that's why I like coming over early and getting comfortable using the ground to my advantage.

Q. Is that part of the attraction of coming to Scotland and to play these types of courses, and to test yourself, really, to get your mind-set ready for what's going to be another remarkable next week, I'm sure.
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, absolutely. Anyone who is into the history of the game and I certainly am, has to understand that this is where it all began. Like everything, golf's evolved, but it's fun to come back and challenge yourself in a different way. I mean, I really enjoy the challenge of playing a different style of golf. If the elements kick up and we're forced to keep the ball down and figure out different ways to get the ball close to the hole, I really embrace that challenge.

But for me, like I said, it takes a little bit of work to feel very comfortable with that, because I want to be out there under the most pressure of the year feeling as comfortable as possible.

Q. Many of the younger players, particularly on the PGA TOUR, would not have encountered anything like this here or at Birkdale next week. How big a test do you think it will be for these lads to come through this?
ADAM SCOTT: If the wind blows, yeah, it's tough, because I even feel the wind blowing off the ocean here is a very heavy wind. The way these guys hit it with so much power and fantastic aerodynamics of a golf ball, we can almost hit it through the wind when it's warm and dry.

But it's a different ballgame when you're playing over here. You know, for some, there's going to be a learning curve and they are going to get caught out, and others will adapt really quickly. I guess that's the difference between, you know, the great young players now and the ones who take a little more time. You know, for me, I'm counting on some ordinary weather to really test us from tee-to-green.

Q. You've played very well in this championship and you have five Top 10s in The Open, you grew up in Australia playing the links over there. Did you grow up love playing links golf, or when you turned professional, did you learn to love links golf? Where would you put that line?
ADAM SCOTT: I think I was used to playing in the wind from Australia. We live by the coast and generally when you're at the coast, you're playing in some wind. I played in windy conditions my entire childhood. But I was about 16 years old when I took my first trip to Scotland to play some junior tournaments, and got to do a bit of a tour around playing all the great courses.

And you know, instantly enjoyed the challenge of something like I had never really seen before. Although we had courses by the ocean, and not really true links courses like over here. I really enjoyed that right from the start and have tried to embrace it.

It took me awhile as a pro to figure out I needed to do something different in preparation for The Open. Just showing up on a Monday wasn't enough for me. Finally when I did figure that out, I started having some really good results and got close to winning. You know, again, every time I think about that, it motivates me to come back and do better this year.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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