THE 150TH OPEN

July 16, 2022

Adam Scott

Mixed Zone

Q. You're too old, but I'll wish you a happy birthday today.

ADAM SCOTT: I am. It's true.

Q. Adam, were the conditions frustrating out there today? Was it hard to get momentum going?

ADAM SCOTT: No. I just didn't hit good enough shots early on. Just a hair off. Drove it in a bunker early on 4 and do well to make bogey. Then, yeah, a poor shot off 7 and not a good recovery shot and an even worse putt and another bogey. Did well to make another bogey.

It just didn't go the way I needed it to go the first seven holes today. That has to change tomorrow if I want to dream of playing with anything on the line on the back nine.

Q. What does 3-under on the back give you going into tonight and tomorrow?

ADAM SCOTT: I mean, there's a lot of good golf in there. I just made the errors early today, and I guess some experience tells me that, when you're playing good, you keep a calm head and work all the way in and you can post a respectable score, which I did.

But I need to get out of my own way as much as possible tomorrow heading out. If it's possible to attack a couple of pins, maybe attack a couple pins and have a bit of fun and try and shoot 6- or 7-under somehow on the front nine and put myself in the mix with nine to go.

Q. Does it feel similar to (indiscernible) that you've got a little momentum to carry into your next round?

ADAM SCOTT: Yeah. I mean, I feel a lot better than Thursday. It was far from as ugly as Thursday out there today. I just -- you know, when I needed to start well, I didn't.

Yeah, I'm playing plenty of good golf out there. There was lots of good stuff. I putt well again today, and unfortunately a couple of my good putts lipped out instead of going in. It just wasn't all going my way, but tomorrow will.

Q. Do you dream of shooting 62? And if so, how realistic is it?

ADAM SCOTT: Sounds good.

Q. Is that a chance?

ADAM SCOTT: It is. I mean, I know it's not been done in The Open here, but it's possible. Guys early today were really shooting some numbers. It's not easy getting it in the clubhouse. I mean, the pins are probably harder -- there are more hard pins on the way round kind of preventing you from getting it really low, but you never know. You can make long putts around here.

Q. Along those lines, given the conditions this morning, maybe not this afternoon, if it doesn't blow here, can it stand up to the modern game?

ADAM SCOTT: I think it has. This is just a wee breeze. It's not wind. (Laughter). I think it has. They've firmed it out, and they've gone about as extreme as they can without being silly with the pins.

I think they've done a good job setting it up, and I think it's holding up well. And if 20-under wins The Open tomorrow -- could, I don't know where they're at right now -- I think that's not an embarrassment at all. That's what wins most golf tournaments we play these days.

Q. Out of all the rota courses, do you think this is the one that, if you're behind, you have the best chance of making it up?

ADAM SCOTT: Probably. Yeah, probably, because it gives you so many opportunities, like eagle opportunities. It's possible that you have four or five eagle opportunities if things go your way.

I don't know if it's been done, but if you happen to make three eagles out there, you're look like having a pretty good score, I reckon.

Q. Shane Lowry made an eagle at 9 and 10 today.

ADAM SCOTT: Perfect. There you go.

Q. Then he blew it coming back.

ADAM SCOTT: It happens, you know. What a game golf is. Don't you love it? (Laughter).

Q. Adam, how did you turn things around after a rough start on Thursday?

ADAM SCOTT: Maybe just some experience. I've had good starts. I've had bad starts. I know I'm playing better than how I started, and I still have a strong desire to contend in these tournaments. I'm a better player than the way I started, and I wasn't going to let it go and shoot 77 or something and pack my bags and go home. I wanted to be in it.

Fortunately, it was early. I had a lot of holes I could make it up, and I did. I played really solid for a lot of holes after that. I don't always win that challenge, but it's good to know you're able to turn it around like that. I've learned something over these years.

Q. Sleeping on the lead, I guess, is difficult, but is sleeping just in touch of getting there difficult as well?

ADAM SCOTT: A little less difficult, but yeah. I think when you're at these big events and you're in contention, whatever you might call that, one shot behind or two shots behind is really nothing. You have to manage your thoughts and not let it get away from you. You have to calm down.

It's interesting here, on Thursday it took me so long to just wind down. We finished late, and I wanted to go to bed because we had an early tee time Friday, but I lay there for an hour in bed just fresh off the golf course. It's an interesting thing and, similar, finishing late tonight for these guys and the Claret Jug on the line.

I think, as experienced as Rory and everyone is, it's very hard not to let your mind go in front of the 1st tee tomorrow and not dream about holding the Claret Jug, for sure.

Q. When you came out Monday to watch the champions come through, I think I saw you watching Trevino. Was Trevino the draw for you? Was there any particular draw for you there?

ADAM SCOTT: Pretty much all of them were pretty good to watch, I must say. Trevino is about the only legend of golf that I've been around that I haven't managed to play with. Over the past couple years, we've been in communication to try and play. And it was going to happen, and then it didn't happen.

I saw him hit some balls earlier this week, which was great. Hopefully we'll get a round of golf in at some point. But, yes, wanted to watch him strike it. It was fantastic. So I look forward to a round one day.

Q. Looked like you were just having a nice time sitting there watching it.

ADAM SCOTT: It was amazing. I think, if there's any place you can -- it was sunny too on Monday -- sit out on a nice day at St Andrews on the Road Hole and watch all the past champions come by, I don't know if there's a greater way of appreciating the golf, or the championship history, than that. It was a fun afternoon.

Q. Just wanted to say happy birthday. Love what you're doing. I brought you some Vegemite.

ADAM SCOTT: I'll take that. That's great.

Q. Scotty, I talked to my cousin Lorena Ochoa this morning, and when she won the 2007 Women's British Open, she had a moment of meditation on the 1st tee after her (indiscernible). She was visualising herself teeing off and then carrying the women's trophy. Do you practise any sort of meditation like that?

ADAM SCOTT: Not specifically, but I've done lots of different things over the years. You have to find a way to control your thoughts and your mind, and what I think is good about that is you can't be afraid to think of winning, but you just have to know how to control the thoughts so you don't leave what you need to do to win, whatever that is. Some of that is visualisation.

You have to know yourself. I think you shouldn't be afraid to visualise that point. Obviously it worked for her, yeah.