Adam Scott will probably go back to using a broomstick putter at this week’s Australian Open after “messing around” with a shorter club in practice, the world number seven said on Wednesday. The 32-year-old, who has used the broomstick variety for the past two seasons, practiced for this week’s tournament at The Lakes Golf Club with a specially-designed 40-inch putter and also used it for nine holes of the pro-am on Wednesday. Broomhandle or belly putters, pioneered by 2002 European Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance among others in the late 1980s, are often tucked under the chin, against the chest or stomach.
Golf’s rulemakers have proposed a ban on players anchoring long putters to their body, saying they wanted to outlaw the practice by 2016 in order to preserve the “skill and challenge” of putting.
“I ordered that putter a while back,” Scott told reporters in Sydney. “I was experimenting for my own use. “I’ll probably putt with the long putter. The other one I was messing around with was my first go and it is not quite what I want it to do. It is not quite set up right for me.
“I’ll have another go at another time if I feel I need to.” Scott, who won the Australian Masters at Kingston Heath in Melbourne last month, has been a vocal supporter of the longer putters and the Queenslander doubted he would change his club next year. “I think I putt fine with any putter. I have spent the last two years learning a skill with the broomstick putter and that is what I am going to use this week, most likely.
“Until I invent a better way to putt for myself, I’ll stick to the broomstick. I certainly like a lot of the philosophies of putting with a broomstick.” Even if the ban on anchoring came into use, Scott said he might still use a long putter. “Whatever way I putt in the future, if I just move the hand off my chest an inch or a centimetre or whatever it is, I’ll be making an honest stroke. It will look exactly the same.
“It is simple. I can move it slightly off my chest and use the same putter but I think there are better ways than that. “We are all searching for the best possible way and I think there are still better ways for me to go about it.” Scott suffered a spectacular meltdown at the British Open in July, losing a four-shot lead with four holes to play to finish second behind Ernie Els. While he said he had shaken off that disappointment, losing a major in that fashion made him more determined to win one. “Everyone’s path to winning a first tournament or a major is different. Tiger came along and won them all right out of the gate and other guys have won the first time they’ve had a chance too.
“Then a guy like Phil Mickelson knocked on the door a lot of times and finally won one. “For me, I’m just looking forward to getting back in that position as soon as I possibly can, hopefully in April, and certainly this weekend as well.
Finally free of ‘scar tissue’, Rose eyes win Down Under: Globe-trotting Briton Justin Rose will battle jetlag and local favourite Adam Scott at the Australian Open in Sydney this week as he seeks to cap his outstanding year with a win Down Under. Rose has little left to prove after finishing second on the European Tour money’s list behind Rory McIlroy but victory would help the 32-year-old forget his dreadful showing at the invitational Nedbank Golf Challenge last week. Rose finished second to Northern Irishman McIlroy at the DP World Tour Championship two weeks ago, with a course record 62 in his final round in Dubai, but promptly fell from the sublime to the ridiculous at Sun City, where he crashed out to finish second-last in the field of 12.
“I think it was just a hiccup,” the South Africa-born Rose told reporters on Wednesday. “Sometimes when you are around family, subconsciously you want to play really, really well for them. “I think there was an element of frustration. I think it was the first week when the season caught up with me. That is natural.
“I think you are allowed to play poorly once in a while and let it be water off a duck’s back.” Rose has every reason to give himself a break, having boosted his world ranking to a career-high fourth after a season boasting wins at the WGC-Cadillac Championship in March and the World Golf Final in Turkey in October.
Rose, who finished seventh on the USPGA Tour money list, returns to the Australian Open a far different player from the newly-minted professional who competed for the 1998 title.
McIlroy wins PGA Player of the Year award
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy was named as the PGA Tour Player of the Year on Tuesday, capping an outstanding season for the world number one. As expected, the 23-year-old was the popular choice for the annual Jack Nicklaus Award, decided by a vote from eligible tour players, becoming the youngest recipient since Tiger Woods in 1998. McIlroy won four PGA Tour titles this year, including the PGA Championship by a record eight strokes. Nicklaus held the previous record margin for the last major on the golfing calendar, winning the 1980 PGA Championship by seven shots. “It’s always nice to get recognition from your peers, the guys that you’re trying to beat week in, week out,” McIlroy said on a conference call. “I guess it’s just a great way to end what has been a great year and my best season so far.” McIlroy also won the Honda Classic, Deutsche Bank Championship and BMW Championship and the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average. He also won the money lists for the PGA and European Tours, making his selection a virtual formality on a final ballot that included Jason Dufner, Brandt Snedeker, Bubba Watson and Woods. “It’s no surprise that Rory McIlroy was voted by the players and his peers as the best Player of the Year,” PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem said. John Huh won the rookie of the year award after becoming the youngest player in more than a decade to qualify for the Tour Championship. Huh, 22, broke through for his first win at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in February, enduring an eight-hole playoff with Robert Allenby.