News: Valero Texas Open

Adam Scott has been enjoying a few well-deserved days off after tying for second at the Masters on Sunday.

Wednesday, though, he got back down to business on the eve of his title defense at the Valero Texas Open. So he spent some time with the local media before playing in Wednesday’s pro-am and talked out how draining the week at Augusta National was.

Scott

"It’s certainly a big let down I think mentally or emotionally after any major, whether you’re in the mix or not," said Scott, who shot a pair of 67s on the weekend to finish two strokes behind Charl Schwartzel.

"It certainly does take a lot out of you, it’s not just the tournament week but it’s the weeks before, a lot of practice and the weeks leading up to it. So … it was important for me to have a couple days where I did not much and it was nice to be at a nice resort here to do that.

"Hopefully (I can) get back in the swing of it today in the pro-am and, you know, hit a few balls and recalibrate and ready to go for tomorrow."

Scott’s victory on the AT&T Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio last year came in a 36-hole finale where he shot 11 under and made up a four-stroke deficit. The young Aussie was working on a new putting stroke with Dave Stockton that really came together that week.

Ironically, though, one of the things Scott remembers most vividly was the 9-iron he dumped into the greenside bunker on the 72nd hole. 

"I was really struggling with half shots and I think I pulled my 9-iron into the last green on Sunday here and when I got back home to the range, that’s something I started working on straight away with Brad (Malone), my coach, … because I was not happy that I pulled at that critical point, you know, potentially could have cost me the tournament,” Scott said.

"So, you know, there’s always things to work on even if you win and that’s something I’ve worked on.  And then, you know, funny I hit a really great half shot into the 16th at Augusta on Sunday."