Adam Scott admits winning the Crown Australian Open would mean that little bit more this week as his national open returns to one of golf’s most storied venues for the first time in 34 years.
The former World Number One is no stranger to winning the event or triumphing at Royal Melbourne, having lifted the trophy in 2009 at New South Wales Golf Club and won the World Cup of Golf over this week’s composite layout alongside Jason Day in 2013.
And he is excited about having the opportunity to combine the two this week and become the first home winner since 2019.
"I think winning the Aussie Open at Royal Melbourne has one of those asterisks next to it where it's just that little bit more meaningful,” he said.
“And it's nothing against anywhere else but just the fact we haven't played a national open here since 1991 is going to make this a really special one and for every Aussie golfer, but I think also for anyone who's here, if they were to win, it's kind of a feather in the cap. It's something to be incredibly proud of.
“It's kind of one of those things that I grew up dreaming about really and it just for whatever reason hasn't happened in my career yet but we have been lucky enough to play quite a few tournaments here at Royal Melbourne and I think having the national championship here is extra special this week with a great field.
“So I'm very excited about the opportunity of being out there and trying to win another Aussie Open."
Scott’s connection to Royal Melbourne goes deeper than just his appearances, which include that World Cup win along with two Presidents Cups and three Heineken Classics.
He is also an honorary life member after his Masters victory in 2013 and his clubs from that week take pride of place on display in the clubhouse.
But perhaps the greatest connection he has is from when he was a child, watching the likes of Greg Norman and Wayne ‘Radar’ Riley hoist the Stonehaven Cup.
“When you're growing up watching great events, obviously the Majors come to mind but as a young Aussie kid watching the Aussie Open here, I remember Radar holing the putt,” he said.
“Watching an Aussie Open down the road at Kingston Heath, these really special venues with great champions, obviously Greg winning all of them, was something that you dreamt of doing.
“We have had other events here in my career but we haven't had the Aussie Open here so this is a chance for me to step back and remember how it felt as that little kid watching these great players play the national championship on one of the greatest courses in the world.”
Scott arrives off the back of a top ten at the BMW PGA Australian Championship but that was his first of the calendar year.
He went into the final event of his 2025 DP World Tour season in a battle to keep his card but is confident that not just his ability but his experience can see him continue his good start to the 2026 Race to Dubai.
“It feels pretty good,” he said of his game. “There was lots of good stuff. A couple of mistakes early in the week probably cost me up there, but all good things.
“I think hopefully some of my experience of playing around here in championship conditions helps me out and a couple of less mistakes and I might be able to hang in there and have a crack at this thing.
“I think the sandbelt, the design style and the challenges have elements of lots of different kinds of golf, certainly some lengthy elements.
“Strategy is much more a part of sandbelt golf and most weeks of the year strategy is very simple these days. There are a lot more options here and that makes it difficult for pros because we have to choose one and the guy who can commit the best this week is probably going to do well.
“I think it's probably a week where you just need to limit the mistakes, but given the level of play these days, you're still going to have to make a lot of birdies, so you're just going to have to play some good golf and limit the mistakes.
“I think the easiest thing to do is shoot yourself out of tournaments at golf courses like this and hopefully that's where my experience can kind of kick in and keep me in it.
"And then when you're coming down the stretch, you have to take your chances when you can get them, and for me at this point, if I can get myself to that position coming down the stretch, I have nothing to lose.”
As a Masters Champion, former World Number One and veteran of 593 ranking worldwide starts with 29 wins, Scott certainly does not need to polish up his CV any further in his 46th year.
But he revealed he has not got close to all the ambitions he set himself as a child and that, along with a Presidents Cup in 2026, is what keeps his fire burning.
“I set pretty high goals when I was a kid I think and I'm far from living up to many of them, but I'd like to notch off a few more of them,” he said.
“If I can tick off a few more of them before I'm not playing on Tour anymore, I don't know when that is, but I still feel like the game is good enough to do it.
“The stats and all the things we kind of measure by, it's there. I spoke about it a little bit last week: if I can just narrow my focus a little bit and sharpen it up to winning events and get back to winning some events, I think there are some big ones in me still.
"So really, it's probably I set unrealistic goals maybe when I was a kid and still chasing them.”
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
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