Great Scott

Adam Scott is one of the best golfers on the planet. He's young, good-looking and along with Sergio Garcia is probably the best player who has yet to win a major championship.

He's long off the tee (8th in driving distance), can be a clutch putter down the stretch (see: 2008 Byron Nelson, 2006 TOUR Championship, 2004 Players Championship) and it would seem only a matter of time before he wins the big one.

He's the third ranked player in the world, and when he tees it up in the first two rounds of next week's U.S. Open at Torrey Pines he could very well be the most insignificant player in the field.

How is that possible, you ask?

Simple. His playing partners on Thursday and Friday will be none other than Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods. If you're keeping score at home that's Tiger 13, Phil 3 and Adam zero when it comes to majors won. Yikes.



You have to wonder who with the USGA did Scott piss off to find himself in what can only be regarded as the group of death? Did he play "hide the pitching wedge" with a tournament officials daughter? In a fit of rage did he bury a 9-iron in the door of someones Mercedes?

Whatever he did, it clearly wasn't good as the powers that be have decided that this year's U.S. Open sacrificial lamb will be sporting a Burberry polo.

Scott, who is known for his very attractive galleries, will have to hope that the stone-cold SoCal hotties who come out to see him strut around Torrey's fairways have their stilts handy because they'll be lucky to catch a glimpse of his Titleist hat let alone a full on view of the Australian star.

Now there are two ways to look at this if you're Scott.

The first way is to simply pack it in and try to stay out of the way as the games two biggest stars trade shots. Enjoy the gorgeous San Diego weather, focus on making the cut and cash a nice little check.

The second way however is to take the USGA's decision to insert you in this pairing as a vote of confidence in your game, then go out there and show the world that you're a force to reckoned with.

True golf fans everwhere will of course hope that Scott will choose the latter and make it a true battle of the games elite players and not just a week long two-man show which the media seems to want to make every major.



For Scott this is (pardon the pun) a major opportunity to take the next step in what has already been a very good career. This is his opportunity to make his good career great.

Armed with one of the most technically sound swings you'll ever see and all the bubbling star power we want in our big time athletes, if ever there was a time for the 27-year-old Scott to turn the corner, I think it's safe to say that the time is now.