Adam Scott has revealed he compromised his Masters title defence to develop a new green-reading technique which has his putting the best it’s been in a decade.
Scott is backing up at the Memorial tournament in Ohio this week after Sunday’s stirring victory in the Crowne Plaza Invitational in his first outing as the new world No.1 golfer.
He told reporters that teething problems with a new method for examining the break in greens – AimPoint Express Read – affected his chances at Augusta National last month, but he considered the change well worthwhile.
After Scott led the US PGA Tour in strokes gained putting in 2004, his work on the greens plummeted and over the next nine seasons he averaged a lowly 138th.
But now the 33-year-old Australian is tied 18th in that crucial statistic, bringing him a new-found confidence since adopting the new method in late February.
“The Express Read is something that was brought to my attention and I thought was worth a try.
“Obviously to make a mid-season change, it is something I feel is very valuable.
“I sacrificed some performance at Augusta by doing it because it was a change to my routine and the way I go about things on the green.
“It wasn’t settled but sometimes you have to make that sacrifice to get big gains and I felt I shouldn’t waste the whole year before I make a change.
“This can be very effective very quickly and maybe my putting wasn’t where I wanted it at Augusta but it has come along since.”
The new method is complex but essentially requires a player to establish a grading for the side slope then measure the putt break with the corresponding number of fingers held out in front of their face.
“If you are aiming in the right spot every time, you are probably going to make more putts – that’s the idea,” Scott said.
“If I give you a perfect read on every putt and you’re not second guessing, then you’re probably going to hit a better putt.
“Like anything you do, the more you do it right, the more confident you get.
“My putting’s been very good and my putting stats look good this year, maybe the best I’ve ever been. So, so far, it’s positive.”
After facing the threat of being No.1 for just a week before his victory, Scott has set his sights on staying there.
“I haven’t felt like there’s a target on my back, but I guess the guys who are close at the moment probably see one and they want to get there as well.
“So I’ll enjoy it for now but I know I’m going to have to continue to play well and I feel like a lot’s gone into getting me there and I would think just as much is going to have to go into keeping me there.”
Jason Day, Marc Leishman, Stuart Appleby, Steven Bowditch, Matt Jones, Aaron Baddeley, Greg Chalmers and Robert Allenby join Scott in the Memorial field.
