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MERCEDES-BENZ CHAMPIONSHIP

January 7, 2007

Adam Scott

KAPALUA, HAWAII

TODD BUDNICK: We welcome the runner-up in the 2007 Mercedes-Benz Championship, Adam Scott. I know a disappointing finish, obviously you would like to win the first tournament of the year but a great start to the season.
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, it was a good start to the year. It was nice to see some form. I've been telling everyone I've been practising hard, anyway. Yeah, I'm happy with my result obviously. It looked like earlier on I had no chance today but kind of had a sniff standing on the 17th tee but unfortunately hit a poor second putt on 17.
But all in all, it was a good week and something to build on.
TODD BUDNICK: Talk about the poor start and what happened the first couple of holes.
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, something really out of the ordinary. I got off to a slow start every day. It seemed until I got to the 5th, nothing was really going and that was not the start I was looking for, especially with Vijay getting off to a flyer. It was really a matter of just trying to, you know, get myself back on the leaderboard.
Like I said, I was happy with how I played the rest of the day.

Q. Seven down through four holes, did you think you had a chance at that point if you made some birdies?
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I did, just because it was windy. But one poor shot, and in that long grass, you never know. You might make a big number. As quickly as it came, seven, it could go back to being two or three.
It's important to hang in there. You don't throw in the towel ever, no matter what. I got close in the end. I got it back to two, which I was playing well. I knew I was playing well. I just had to keep doing the same stuff, but it wasn't quite enough.

Q. Can you describe the 3-putt? Was that because of the approach shot that you were not close enough or because of the green or what happened on 17?
ADAM SCOTT: I hit a really good first putt. Actually I thought it might go in the left side, and it just rolled over, I guess, four feet past. I just didn't commit to the second putt.
On these greens, it was a pretty flat putt, but the grain was straight across me and the wind was straight across me. I aimed it outside the right edge of the hole for the grain to take in and just didn't trust it and hit it too soft and it broke right across the hole.

Q. When you birdied 16, was the adrenaline going then, or do you still feel that it was a lot of ground to make up with the way Vijay was playing?
ADAM SCOTT: No, I thought I was right in the hunt with two to go, two birdies might be enough. Birdieing 18 is no gimmee. I felt like I could get in a playoff, first chance of it.

Q. Is it any different playing a veteran who has won now 30 tournaments, such as heading down the stretch against a guy like Vijay than it is perhaps a younger player without that experience?
ADAM SCOTT: I guess I wouldn't expect Vijay to make any school boy errors coming down the stretch. I would expect him to just -- when you're that far out in front, you're just trying to get it in the clubhouse and hitting smart, sensible shots, and he certainly did that.
He knows what he's doing in that position, but it would be up to me to go out there and make something happen. I tried on 17. I really thought I had to give that first putt a run on 17. There was no point in me lagging it down there and tapping it in and leaving it all on 18. That didn't quite work out.

Q. Do you marvel at all that he's able to do at his age? All 30 of his wins are since he turned age 30, which is remarkable. He's won now 18 since he's turned 40. A lot of that is because he works out. What's your take on all that?
ADAM SCOTT: Well, I don't know. I think until Tiger came along, didn't everyone say you peaked between 35 and 45 in golf? So I guess, is Vijay still in that age range? (Laughter). He's sneaking up there now.
I think experience plays a big part in that. That's why you see Vijay continuing to win. Not only does he work hard, but he's in great shape. The experience he's got in the game has to help him along the way in some way.

Q. Would you describe any facet of his game as being great, or is he just good at everything?
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I think he's a great ball-striker, certainly. He hits enough balls. He ought to be, right? (Laughter). He is a great player, a great ball-striker. But he is pretty good at everything. You don't get to where he's got being average.

Q. Do you have a desire to play next week now? Even though I know you're not going to, are you thinking, maybe you should go to Sony?
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, there's always that feeling when you're playing well, like I should keep playing. You have to take a break somewhere; I know I'll feel good.

Q. When you were playing with him, was there any sense of vulnerability as far as Vijay goes?
ADAM SCOTT: Not really. I think he had his swing pretty much under control. He didn't really let any shots get away from him on the wind and that was really the only thing that could have brought him down today was if he hit a couple off in the wind early, and that played on his mind maybe for the rest of the day coming down the stretch.
He had his swing under control and did exactly what he needed to do.

Q. Everybody knows his work ethic, and he talks about it, the writers, we write about it; when did you find out, when you joined the TOUR that this guy works harder or is crazier, or did you just see him working out there on the range?
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, you find out pretty quick. Obviously I had heard about it, too, but after seeing him four or five times hitting balls until basically dark on the range, I got the picture. (Laughter).

Q. I just wonder what this does for your frame of mind setting up the year overall; I know you didn't play as particularly well as you wanted to at the Target, so to come back and have a good run.
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, as far as the PGA TOUR is concerned, I'm keeping things going from where I finished off last year, which is important. You know, I got some points up on the FedExCup, which is a good start, get me going in that.
You know, hopefully I get some wins up --

Q. Speaking of "second" Tiger says that second sucks. Are you at the stage in your career where you think that, or can you still look at it as a good week if you don't win?
ADAM SCOTT: Well, second does suck, but I try to take positive out of every week, even a week like the Target. You know, that's what you've got to do. I've got to take the positive stuff away, and I'll go back and look at a couple of things that maybe I could have improved on. Obviously the first round, I didn't play as well as I did the other few, so I need to work out why. Again, I only had three rounds up to standard.

Q. Your unofficial win from two years ago didn't allow you to play here last year. Can you just talk about getting back here and the experience of the whole week and maybe just how much you enjoy the golf course?
ADAM SCOTT: Well, I do enjoy the course. I've got a pretty good record here now. I think I've finished in the Top-10 every time. It's a nice way to start the year for me. I like surfing, I come and play golf four days, no cut, 30 guys, a lot of prize money; it's a good thing.

Q. You're taking, what, six weeks off now?
ADAM SCOTT: I come back at L.A. unless I get the itch to come back sooner.

Q. Now that you're playing so well, will you put the clubs away for a while or do you intend to keep playing through the break so that you're sharp when you come back?
ADAM SCOTT: I'll maybe put them away for a week, but I'll pick them back up so I don't lose what I've found here.

Q. Adam, this was Vijay's eighth time playing this course and your third time. Playing with him, did you get any sense that he really knows what to do out there on this course specifically?
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah. I think, to be honest, with the way the wind was, there were not that many options on what you can do. (Laughter). You just kind of ride the wind a bit; you either fight it or ride it. There were not many options out there. You just had to let it come in on the wind. It was so strong, you couldn't really fight it.
I'm sure the more you're here, the more familiar you are. It's such an interesting course with the amount of elevation change; I forgot, because it's been two years since I've been here, how many uneven lies you get. It felt like every ball I had this week was below my feet, which is not the nicest feeling in the world. It is a challenge for sure.
TODD BUDNICK: Thank you very much, Adam. Enjoy your break.

End of FastScripts

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