Getty Image / Jim Rogash
Adam Scott is teeing it up this week at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and during his media session on Wednesday he blessed us with an all-time Tiger Woods story.
The story dates back to 2000 just after Scott decided to turn pro while both him and Woods were doing work with the same swing coach, Butch Harmon. Scott played for UNLV in college and returned to Las Vegas for a session with Harmon and Woods was also in town to see Harmon ahead of that year’s U.S. Open.
Well, it turns out Harmon kept pushing them to go out and play a match and it turned out to be a horrible decision for Scott. Tiger ended up beating him so bad he reconsidered his decision to turn professional.
Just to get you prepared for this story, Scott said Woods double-bogeyed the ninth hole and still carded a 63, that’s the kind of day it was.
“I was nervous of course. We went out and played and we had a match, and I think I was maybe one down through the turn at Rio Secco [Golf Club],” Scott said, “and then Tiger stepped it up and birdie, birdie, birdie and eagles and stuff.
“Actually double bogeyed the 9th hole. He closed me out on the 14th, but he double bogeyed the ninth for 63, and I was a bit blown away by what I saw. It was quite windy and I thought I played quite well. Probably shot about even par and I was nine off the pace.”
Scott closed the story by telling the media he turned to Harmon and said “maybe I should reconsider turning pro.”
To say Scott caught Woods at a bad time would be a disgusting understatement. The very next week Woods showed up to Pebble Beach and won the U.S. Open by 15 shots which is arguably the best four-day stretch of golf a human has ever put together.
Woods went on to win both the PGA Championship and The Open that year as well.
Scott may have taken an ass-beating that day in Vegas, but turning professional was probably the right decision. Scott earned his first European Tour win the following January and has since racked up a total of 29 professional wins around the world including the 2004 Players and 2013 Masters.