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PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

August 12, 2018

Adam Scott

St. Louis, Missouri

THE MODERATOR: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome back to the 100th PGA Championship Bellerive country club. I am thrilled to be joined by Mr. Adam Scott, who posted a final round 67 today, for a four-day total of 267. He finished alone in third place.

Adam, remarkable, remarkable effort all week. Let's go right to your back nine. You go birdie on what is 12 and 13, and you've got to be thinking right then and there that it's on, it's really going now?

ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, absolutely it was. Brooks had chances on those couple of holes and missed, and I had chances and made them and got myself right in there. I had all the momentum, I felt, at that point, and didn't make my putts on the next two holes. Not that they were gimmes, by any means, but I hit pretty good putts, especially on 15. I thought that one was going to go in. And then Brooks hit it very close on 16 after making his on 15, and I was kind of up against it from there.

THE MODERATOR: So kind of curious what you were feeling all day. The crowds were enormous. The leaderboard was chockful of stars in what really became a hell of a chase. What were your emotions as you went through the round?

ADAM SCOTT: Well, I got off to a really slow start, so I was not super comfortable early in the round. I wasn't hitting the best shots, but I was -- I scrambled where I had to and finally got a birdie to go on -- well, a good par putt on 6 and then birdied 7, 8, and then that calmed me down a lot. And made that really good run through the turn and felt like I was right in it.

But there was lots happening out there. Tiger was charging at times, and that was filtering back through the groups, certainly. Every leaderboard that changed, no matter what hole you were on, you knew what Tiger did, and it's a really fun atmosphere to be in. But I was pleased with how I played through the turn.

Yeah, just, unfortunately, just didn't have it the last couple of holes. If I was critical of myself today, I just didn't drive it up to what I would expect in this kind of situation to win. But I think overall there were lots of positives for me.

Q. Adam, you absolutely gave it your all today. The level of golf that you and Brooks played was incredible. Does it make it more frustrating or less frustrating to, not have lost it, but just be outplayed?
ADAM SCOTT: Look, at the moment, I'm pretty disappointed with myself that I couldn't play the last three holes better than I did. And if you just look at it, I mean, I hit a really great chip on 16. I had a putt to be one back on 17, and I think that really hurt that I missed that, just not to make it interesting up the last. And then, of course, I hit a poor drive, and it hit the trees and went way left, and I was on another hole.

So the putt there was my last hoorah really, and just didn't hit it hard enough.

Q. What does this do for your confidence going forward? I know it's probably hard to absorb right now, but after the last year or two, what does it do for you going forward, especially on this stage?
ADAM SCOTT: It feels good because I feel like generally I performed well in that situation, and it's not like I'd forgotten what to do, playing in a final group of a major or playing in contention late on Sunday in a major. But there's always things to work on when you're not the winner, I think. I certainly want to keep improving. I can't stop here. I'd like to play really well the next few weeks in the playoffs and try and make a run all the way through and then take some satisfaction out of this year.

Q. The putt on 17, Adam, you were talking about it, you didn't hit it hard enough, but there was some speculation on TV that it was a difficult one for you to read. Did you feel you got it right in the end, or was it hard to guess or work it out?
ADAM SCOTT: Well, it's not the ideal putt to have, like a break from six feet, breaking a cup from left to right. A right-hander is not going to love that putt probably. But, you know, it's funny -- a lot of those putts this week I've hit far outside the hole, and they've not moved and all missed on the top side, and I think I read it correctly. I just feel like it was probably six inches shy on pace. It's a tricky one.

Look, I just didn't hit it hard enough. I think I read it correctly. I just don't think I hit it hard enough, and that's a shame.

Q. Adam, maybe you are disappointed right now, but did you meet your expectation of the beginning of the week?
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I think -- I think, if you told me I would have shot these scores at the start of the week, I would have been very pleased. This was some really good golf this week. It is hard to rationalize everything after leading with four holes to play and you want to win from that position. And I feel like I've led a lot of Majors with four holes to play and not won them.

But shooting 70, 65, 65, 67 is good golf at a Major championship, and I have to -- I will be taking confidence out of that for sure.

Q. How did you feel about your putting overall during the tournament?
ADAM SCOTT: I putted quite well this week. I've been putting well the last three tournaments I've played. So no doubt that's having a positive impact on the rest of my game. I mean, everything has some kind of influence on the other things. You know, I hit the ball a bit better too, so that freed up my putting a little bit. And putting well helps your chipping and your bunker play because you hit it a bit closer.

I felt overall it was really good. I know everyone had their moments where they struggled to get the ball to the hole this week just because the greens were a bit slower than we're used to, but today I thought I did a really good job and made some really great putts around the turn to get myself in the tournament.

Q. Just on Brooks' play, obviously, you were throwing them at him, and he seemed to just be absorbing them and throwing them back at you. Can you talk to how that inner battle was between the two of you and, I guess, the frustration, if any, of him responding to your great stuff?
ADAM SCOTT: I think -- you know, like I said, I felt I had the momentum coming off 13 and around 14, and when I missed my putt on 15, and he was putting after me, because he hit it closer, it was -- you just know the huge moments in tournaments. I don't know if he looked at the board, but I had at that point, and I know Tiger was two behind us at that point. So for him to then go 15 and kind of kill my little run that I had at him was big. And then he hits it from 248 yards to about six feet on the next. You know, huge shot. And that's how you win these things. You step up and hit a great shot at the right time.

Q. Just on that, so then you basically almost chipped in. Did you feel like that was going in? And to an extent, on 17, were you surprised that he missed and then all of a sudden you had a chance to get within one?
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I did feel like -- my chip looked like it was going in, to me, on 16, and I felt like I really had to make it to think I might have a chance the last couple of holes. You never know what can happen, of course, but I expect to play, like Brooks, to play well. There was no signs of anything else happening.

Then, yeah, I was a little surprised he didn't make it on 17, but that was good for me. I mean, I -- I felt like I had a really great rhythm moving around the greens, reading the greens, and in my routine with my putting. And even though I was surprised he made that, it wasn't like I changed anything. I was quite calm at that point. But, yeah, I just didn't hit the putt hard enough.

Q. Hey, Adam, how much was Jared Lyle in your mind throughout the round today?
ADAM SCOTT: Well, a little bit. A lot of people were yelling out his name out there, so it was hard not to think of Jared, certainly, obviously all week for us all. And the people who knew him quite well that were playing this week, think -- you know, golf was a little distraction, but probably now, as we get some time off and get to go home and be with our family, that will be able to celebrate him a little bit more.

Q. Adam, would you attribute this turnaround more to a mental sort of overhaul or new approach or to technical advances or sort of a physical approach?
ADAM SCOTT: Probably -- well, they probably work together, but certainly, technically, my swing is better than it's been for a little -- for the last couple months, anyway. I guess some confidence goes with that.

But, you know, when you find that little thing in the swing, the belief can come very quickly, and it just takes a shot or two out under the pressure to really believe in it. But I think just getting the feeling mentally or psychologically like the old Adam Scott has been helpful as well, just feeling like I'm one of the better players out here.

Q. Scotty, when you sit down with your team in a couple of weeks or a couple months and you sort of reassess how you performed on the Major stage this year, what kind of pass mark do you think you might give yourself? And what kind of outlook does, especially today, give you for the Majors next year?
ADAM SCOTT: I can give myself a pass now for sure. I teed off in the last two Major championships in contention. That's better than for a couple of years, I would say. So that's a good thing. Definitely moving in the right direction. I don't think it will be rocket science for us to figure out, you know, the small little bits that may be missing, and if anything, this is motivation to kick on a little bit, make the most of the rest of this year, continue playing at this level, and go into next year's season full of confidence. You know, I didn't really start at that point this year, so that would be a good place to start.

Q. Adam, Brooks had, I think, a handful of top tens in Majors before he won at Erin Hills, and yet a lot of surprise, I guess, that he won that U.S. Open championship. Can you recall the first time you sort of began to notice him as a world class player?
ADAM SCOTT: It's hard to really pinpoint it. I definitely don't think I was surprised that he won the U.S. Open at Erin Hills because I must have identified that he was really good some time before that. That's a bit vague. But what has been interesting to watch is, since then, how much of a big time player he is. I think I've heard some frustration that he hasn't won a lot of other tournaments, but he's won three Majors now, so he's definitely winning the right ones.

I think, if I was him, I wouldn't change much at the moment. I'd just keep doing what he's doing because he's showing up at the right moments in the biggest events. I can see he's got that mindset. There's something inside his brain that makes him believe that that's what he's destined to do.

THE MODERATOR: Adam, thank you so much. Thanks for the great play this week and for spending some time with us.

ADAM SCOTT: Thank you.

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