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WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

February 20, 2007

Adam Scott

TUCSON, ARIZONA

RODDY WILLIAMS: Adam, thanks so much for coming in and joining us. First of all, I suppose if we could have your reaction to your first-round opponent for tomorrow.
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I think I'm up for a pretty tough match. You know, Shaun's record last year at Wentworth in the Match Play was pretty good. Obviously he's a good match player, but it all depends on the day and how well we play. But I'm looking forward to it and hopefully move through and get into the weekend.
RODDY WILLIAMS: Expecting a lot of birdies out there tomorrow?
ADAM SCOTT: I think so. I think if the wind stays down, the course is going to be pretty open for birdies and quite a few eagle opportunities. There are some reachable par 5s, some reachable par 4s, so I think with good conditions there's going to be some good golf being played and you're going to have to go pretty low to win your match.
RODDY WILLIAMS: And with just 18 holes you're going to have to get a fast start I presume.
ADAM SCOTT: Well, that's always important in 18-hole match play, getting off to a good start because it can get away from you quick. There's not a lot of time to make it up. So it is important to get off to a solid start anyway, find your rhythm early.

Q. Have you looked at your side of the draw and looked at who you might meet second round, third round, so on, or do you take it one player at a time?
ADAM SCOTT: I haven't seen the draw yet so I don't know. I just know I've got Shaun tomorrow. It doesn't really matter. I think every match will be a tough match. The best 64 players in the world, it doesn't really matter who you're going to play.

Q. Do you enjoy the fact that it's coming away from four days of stroke play and it's a totally different format?
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, that's kind of good for me. I mean, I didn't play very well last week. A double bogey only costs you one hole, not two shots. Hopefully I improve by tomorrow. But last week I was pretty rusty after not having played.
I enjoy the format. We don't get to do it that often. In the past at La Costa I've really enjoyed playing there and I've played well there and I've had some success in this event. It's just fun for a change, you know, just to have a change rather than the same old four rounds of golf.

Q. Speaking of the move from La Costa, what are you looking for out here? It's a desert course, obviously a little different than over there, La Jolla area, but what are you looking for in the move from Tucson?
ADAM SCOTT: Well, I think we're looking for good weather. That was the whole idea behind it, I guess. It's looking pretty good for the week. I think they just have so much golf to play this week, they need good weather to get it all in.
For an event of this stature, it should be played in a place where there is going to be good conditions and get the best tournament possible.

Q. I know some of the players had expressed a little bit of disappointment in the move from La Costa. What's your take on that?
ADAM SCOTT: Well, yeah, it's a little disappointing. I mean, it was -- it wasn't La Costa that was the problem, I think it was just the weather. We kept getting flooded out there every year. I think you get used to things, but things change. It's different this year, but I think we'll all have a good week here hopefully.
You know, I'm trying not to see any negative in it; it's just good to be in the field and hopefully get a crack at winning a few matches.

Q. Did you hit it on 7 and 12 today, and what's going to be your strategy on those two holes for the rest of the week?
ADAM SCOTT: Well, I didn't get on the green but I had a go at them. 7 is very reachable. 12 is a little longer. You can move it right up there next to the green. It all depends on the way the matches go. Probably 7 you're going to go for it for sure. It's early on in the piece, and you try and get a birdie if you get it up near the green. But 12, depends how your match is going. But I think you're going to see a lot of aggressive golf out there.

Q. There is quite a strong Australian contingent in the field. Is that an accurate reflection of the state of Australian golf at the moment, or does it maybe flatter it otherwise?
ADAM SCOTT: No, I think it's a pretty good reflection of it. I don't know how many exactly we've got this week.

Q. Six.
ADAM SCOTT: Six? I'd say a few guys probably were pretty close to getting in, too. I think we've been saying it for a couple years now, but our game is in good shape in Australia, and we have a lot of strong players. I think you're seeing there's even some behind the younger guys now, Andrew Buckle is one guy who's on the Tour this year, and Michael Sim, also. So we've got another crop coming through who are going to be really good players.
It's not a surprise. I mean, it just has kind of crept up and the numbers keep getting bigger and bigger. You know, it's good for the game back home, that's for sure. We want to -- we're seeing it develop in Australia, and that's important.

Q. Do you feel that the shadow of Greg Norman is perhaps a thing of the past? Perhaps it never existed, but you're No. 4 in the world and that's pretty sensational stuff.
ADAM SCOTT: I don't think I've lived up to Greg Norman's shoes just yet or filled his shoes just yet. I've got a long way to go. I'm still early in my career.
I think with Geoff winning a major and being a Top 10 player in the world and me up there and Robert and Stuart being prominent players in world golf all the time, I think that we're in a position strong enough that we can carry the game in Australia now and it doesn't all rely on -- all rest on Greg's shoulders as it has for 25 years.
I think now the four of us or six of us -- there's a bunch of us down there who are world-class players that can take the game on from where Greg left it.

Q. Do you think this course favors any particular style of player? Seems like there's a lot of room for a big hitter. Secondly, it's a desert course, but does it remind you of any other courses?
ADAM SCOTT: I think it's a good drivers' course. If you're driving it long and straight, it's going to be -- the greens are receptive, so coming in with short clubs is going to be helpful. Yeah, and it's pretty generous, like you said. So I think the guys who are long hitters, if they're playing well, it's going to suit them for sure.
I don't know, I mean, to be honest, I haven't played that many desert courses, so it doesn't remind me of anything off the top of my head.

Q. So you can release your inner bomber this week?
ADAM SCOTT: If the wind stays down. You know, it was blowing yesterday and it was blowing hard, and once that ball gets out in the wind it was moving a lot, so you've got to be careful. But yeah, if the wind stays down, it's a good course for a bomber. It's pretty generous.

Q. You once grew your hair as a bet. Is there a tale behind the beard? Will you shave it off if you win?
ADAM SCOTT: No, I think it's going to be going pretty soon anyway. It was a poor effort (laughter), but I was kind of hoping it would go better than this.

Q. Others agree.
ADAM SCOTT: It seems like it. Yeah, they all can poke fun at me, that's all right. It was just a holiday thing, I think.

Q. There's obviously a lot of representation from around the world here at the World Golf Championships, but you've seen them all played here in America. Would you like them moved maybe to another place, say Australia?
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I would. I'd like to see them move around a little more, although we were in London just for the last one actually, which I thought went really well over there. I thought the turnout was good and they got a good event at a good course.
But I think now for the next couple years they're all scheduled to be in the States. I understand the reason why, but it would be nice, seeing they're called world events, to see them played a little more globally. I think the qualification criteria is good, though, because it gets players off every Tour into the event, and that's fair. Hopefully we can see it move around a little bit more in the future.

Q. The World Cup I think is in China this year. You've already won the Johnnie Walker in China. What's your take on what's happening over there golf-wise?
ADAM SCOTT: I'm not really too sure. It's exciting, that's for sure, with the European Tour has got a lot of events over there now, I'm going to guess four maybe, five, so that's a great start for golf in China, to get involved with the European Tour. And they're good events and just introducing the game. I don't know kind of what's happening. There's talk of restrictions on course development and stuff like that, but certainly if -- it could take off with the population obviously, and I think with the World Cup being moved there, that's another positive factor for it. It's just good to see the game growing in all parts of the world.

Q. Can you see some Chinese players developing over the course of your career and perhaps making an impact worldwide?
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I mean, that stuff is all going to happen. It's all going to take place, as long as the game becomes accessible and popular over there. You're going to see academies and institutes like in all countries develop, and no doubt that with the amount of people they have there, some talented golfers over there.

Q. When you played in China a couple years ago one of the questions was that if golf didn't work out for you do you ever fancy being an entertainer or film star. Do you think as world No. 3 you've now proved that golf is for you?
ADAM SCOTT: I think I'll stick with golf.

Q. Haven't had any dancing lessons?
ADAM SCOTT: No, no, but I'll keep it in the back of my mind in case things go pear-shaped.

End of FastScripts

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