Adam Scott, Australia’s top-ranked golfer, believes the three months he spent at his Sunshine Beach home was his highlight of 2020.
“I got to spend three months at home,” Scott said from Hawaii this week where he played in the PGA Tour’s Tournament of Champions at Maui. “That was fantastic.
“It might be until the end of this year before I do get back home, and that’s a long time away, because I enjoy my trips back home.”
During his COVID-19-enforced stay at Noosa, Scott played golf regularly with his friends, indulged in his lifelong love of surfing, and enjoyed spending time with his family.
Scott, 40, had an interrupted year in 2020 after winning early in Los Angeles, then contracting Covid-19. And, realising his time as an elite, world-class player is limited, Scott is keen to achieve his ambitions while he’s still able.
“If I’m out here playing, I want to make the most of it,” he said. “I would like to contend a little more and win a little more before my time’s up.”
Scott played the Hawaiian tournament this week with a shorter putter but said it was not necessarily a permanent change from the longer putter – more a ‘horses-for-courses’ strategy.
“I had the arm lock putter here this week, so it might have looked like a short putter, but it was an arm lock style, and I putted like that a couple years ago.
“It’s just kind of what I like on the type of green here this week and, quite grainy, quite slow, a lot of slope, and can be a lot of wind around as well and the long one, I feel like I’ve battled with a little bit out there in the past.’’
Scott said he would consider playing for Australia at the Tokyo Olympics this year, having previously been cool on the concept of Olympic golf.
“I would consider playing,” he said. “It’s still not my priority for the year. That’s for sure. But I wouldn’t rule it out because you can never really say never, but it will certainly be something I’ll look at. Who knows where we are in the summertime?”
Scott, the world No. 17, had an interrupted 2020 because of his contracting COVID-19. “I just had nothing organised coming back from COVID and that momentum was gone and I tried hard and I played okay, but okay gets average results out here.”
He said he had set himself a target of reaching 20 wins on the US Tour – six more than his current tally of 14.
Scott is eyeing off both the Players Championship and the Masters as early targets to add to a world-class resume that boasts 31 tournament wins, including the 2013 Masters, 2003 Players and two World Golf Championship titles.
He shot four sub-par rounds in Maui – 68, 71, 68 and 70 for a four round total of 15 under-par 277 – to finish in the top 25.
Giblett’s solid effort in Melbourne
George Giblett played four consistent rounds of golf in difficult conditions to finish 18th in the Australian Master of the Amateurs at Melbourne’s Victoria Golf Club last week.
Noosa’s Giblett shot scores of 75, 76, 74 and 77 for 72-hole total of 302 in weather that was often wet and windy.
Victoria’s Lukas Michel, who contested last year’s US Masters, birdied three of the last four holes to win the tournament – one of Australia’s premier events for amateurs.
Queenslander Lion Higo, who is about to leave to study and play golf at California’s Pepperdine University, birdied the final three holes to win the women’s section of the tournament.Justice Bosio, the Caboolture teenager who won the Sunshine Coast Junior Masters last year, finished third.
Sand shot signalled something special
When she holed her bunker shot for a par four on the second hole at Noosa Springs last Wednesday, Marie Osborne had an inkling that something special might be about to happen.
“Chipping in from the bunker is not something that I usually do,” confessed the 29-handicapper.
Marie kept her head still, her eye on the ball and her weight on her front foot, and went on to record 43 stableford points – good enough for an easy win in the women’s competition. Indeed, her score was better than any of the men on a hot and humid day.
“It came as a surprise to me,” she said. “It was very unexpected.”
Marie and her husband Graham Young live at Park Ridge – just a wedge shot from the golf course – and she usually plays three times a week.
“My husband is a good golfer, but I wasn’t particularly interested in the game when we lived in Brisbane,” she said.
“Then, when we moved to Peregian Springs to a house on the 18th fairway, I had some lessons and started to play.“I thought, if nothing else, it was an opportunity to spend time with Graham. Now I’m as hooked on the game as he is.”
Cooroy honours its volunteers
Rex Williams is one of a band of Cooroy golfers who faithfully help keep their much loved golf course in good shape. And last week he was recognised for his service.
Williams was named Cooroy’s Most Active Volunteer, while his mate Jim Henderson gained the Volunteer of the Year award.The awards were initiated by course superintendent Todd McNamee, who said the condition and presentation of the course was testament to the effort put in by the Cooroy volunteers.
Katelyn joins Heiniger Golf at Noosa Springs
Katelyn Must, a former champion junior and a winner on the Australian ladies professional golf tour, has become the first female to join Peter Heiniger’s team of golf coaches at Noosa Springs.
Katelyn, who grew up on the Sunshine Coast and served as a trainee pro at Horton Park, won the Yamba Ladies Pro-Am in 2016, before moving to Western Australia, where she worked as a teaching pro at Royal Fremantle.
She returned to the Sunshine Coast early last year before joining Heiniger Golf before Christmas.
Katelyn was one of the original members of the Invincibles Sunshine Coast Junior Tour, won the 2007 Invincibles Junior Masters, and is still an ambassador for that organisation.
Club competitions
NOOSA
Tuesday, 5 January
Men’s stableford: A grade – Aaron Whitford 40, Shaun Taylor 39, Trev Sumner 38c/b, Mark Tickle 38; B grade – Graham Dacombe 37c/b, Shane Taylor 37, Robert Willink 36c/b, Dean McMaster 36; C grade – Paul Thynne 41c/b, Rod McCall 41, Jim Lawrence 38, Michael Harker 36. Rundown to 34c/b.
Wednesday, 6 January
Vets stableford: A grade – Wayne Raison 37c/b, Rob Martin 37c/b, Peter Blair 37; B grade – Dieter Hoffmann 37, Geoffrey Wild 35c/b, Stephen Hull 35; C grade – Jeff Scougall 34c/b, Ron Smith 34, Roy Cornish 33c/b. Rundown to 33c/b.
Thursday, 7 January
Women’s 4-person ambrose: Jane Peterson, Margaret Schofield, Trish Eldridge & Tash Baker 63.75; Deb Watson, Heather Alsop, Fiona Watson & Ingrid Lancon 64.5; Karen Turnbull, Bronwyn Dean, Karen Haynes & Cynthia Duco 65.375.
NOOSA SPRINGS
Monday, 4 January
Men’s stableford: Robert Aitken 41, Uli Schmetzer 38c/b, Rob Ellis 38; women’s stableford: Dorothy Marlow 42c/b, Marlo Douglass 42, Christine Young 40.
Wednesday, 6 January
Men’s stableford: Bill Young 40c/b, John Reid 40, Kevin Perkins 38c/b; women’s stableford: Marie Osborne 43, Sandra Probert 38, Jill Robson 36.
Sunday, 10 January
Men’s stableford: Simon Hennessy 41, Bradley Phelps 40, Douglas Oates 37; women’s stableford: Debra Oates 30, Tracey Carter 27, Annette Philp 27.
COOROY
Wednesday, 6 January
Vets stroke: A grade – Peter Crosby 67c/b, Brian Clemow 67, Bob Noble 69; B grade – Terry Wilson 66, A. C. Dick 70c/b, John Stewart 70; C grade – Mike O’Donnell 67, Tony Kershaw 68, Andrew Carson 72c/b. Rundown to 74.
Thursday, 7 January
Women’s stableford: Eve Hunt 34, Chris Michael 33c/b. Rundown to 32.
