Adam Scott’s final stroke of the putter on Saturday put a smile on the Australian’s face and gave him hope that he’s not out of the Australian Open mix just yet.
Scott sank a 12-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th hole at The Australian Golf Club to finish at 3-under 68 for the day and 1 under for the tournament after 54 holes.
“A lot better today than yesterday coming off the course,” said Scott, who had opened with rounds of 71 and 73. “It was a hard grind out there today. Windy all day, pins were tucked. I was scrambling, I was hitting some good shots, making some putts. It was a bit of everything out there that added up. Good in the end.”
Through 14 holes on Saturday, Scott was 3 under for the day, having birdied Nos. 3, 5 and 14. He dropped his first shot with a bogey at the par-3 15th, and dropped another at the par-4 17th, but got both strokes back with his eagle at the last.
With leader Matt Jones still having nine holes to play, Scott trailed him by six shots. But he took hope from Jordan Spieth’s final-round 63 that was good for the win last year.
“With this kind of course and the pressure and everything, it’s going to be tough out there,” Scott said. “With a special round like Jordan had last year, anything can still happen.”
Asked if he really felt such a low round could be accomplished, he was firm in his answer. “Absolutely it can be done,” he said. “It just needs everything to go right. I feel like it’s possible out there. There are all these bits of my game - I just need to put them together for 18 final holes.”
Scott’s chances were dealt a major blow at the end of the day when Jones finished birdie-birdie to get to 10 under, leaving Scott nine shots back.
