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Australia’s Adam Scott has continued his stunning form with a sensational first round at the BMW Championship, shooting six-under to sit one off the lead at present.
Scott entered the first week of the season-ending playoffs – the FedExCup – ranked 77th in the world, but showed remarkable consistency and led the field in strokes gained with the putter to finish T5 at 11 under par for the tournament (FedExCup St. Jude Championship).
That saw him surge up the season’s leaderboard to 45th – and earned him his first start at the penultimate tournament of the season, the BMW Championship, in two years.
Now his hot streak has continued with a sublime opener in Wilmington, shooting 65 to sit six under and one shot behind his playing partner American Keegan Bradley, though many competitors have not yet finished their round.
Should Scott finish the tournament in the lofty position of second, the points gained would be enough for him to rise up to a whopping 12th in the overall FedExCup rankings and comfortably book him a place in the season finale.
“Last week I obviously had the same situation. I wasn’t in. But I really focused more on trying to put myself into winning a golf tournament and just play as usual, and that would kind of get it done. It made me only have one focus, and that was on the tournament at hand. That’s how I started today,” Scott said. “I’ve always prided myself on trying to win tournaments and managed to do that throughout my career, and it’s been a while, and I’d love to get back there later this week, but we’ve got a bit of work to do.”
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30 golfers compete in the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, next weekend, with the winner to take home a stunning $AU25.6 million bonus.
Securing the highest possible ranking is essential because the tournament is handicapped, with the highest ranked player starting at 10-under – two shots clear of the second highest ranked player, who will start at eight-under.
Scott started his day in hot form, with birdies on the first and third holes, then two more on the sixth – a 24-foot putt struck to perfection – and ninth holes despite handing one back a bogey on the eighth. An up-and-down out of the rough gave him a shot at birdie on the 14th and he duly converted, and he closed strongly with two more superb birdies on the 16th and then the final hole.
“One of the beauties of the Playoffs is that there is enough volatility that you can have a couple good weeks and get yourself right in the mix,” Scott said. “No matter where, if I was at East Lake starting 10 back or five back or six back, I’d be there thinking I’ve got a chance to win the whole lot. That’s a fun thing to think about.”
His compatriot Cam Smith is absent from the second playoff event with a supposed injury, but will qualify for the finale based on points already accrued this season.
MORE TO COME
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