HAMILTON, Ontario — Adam Scott possesses one of, if not the most, beautiful swings in golf. But even a Maserati needs a tune-up every once in a while.
On Saturday afternoon, having posted a third-round even-par 70 at Hamilton Golf & Country Club that left him T-49, Scott headed to the range to work on his driver after hitting just 3 of 14 fairways.
“I drove it a step into the first cut on nearly every hole. It was quite remarkable,” said the 43-year-old past Masters champion, pursing his lips in dissatisfaction.
Scott had a second set of eyes checking his every move – CBS’s lead golf analyst, Trevor Immelman, who didn’t have to go on air until 5 p.m. The two longtime friends had dinner Friday night and made an appointment to meet on the range after Scott’s round. Scott currently is without a coach, having parted with his brother-in-law, Brad Malone, around October. Lee Trevino always said he wouldn’t take a lesson from someone who couldn’t beat him. Immelman, the 2008 Masters champion, qualifies.
“I’ve enjoyed talking golf with Trevor and it’s just good to have someone that kind of knows me and my game so well so he can go, ‘You’re getting off base, what are you doing?’ ” Scott said. “He’s got a good eye and knowledge.”
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Scott said that Immelman has encouraged him to shorten his swing for months but it has been easier said than done.
“It’s good to have a purpose and work on stuff instead of aimlessly fiddling around to find something,” Scott said.
From the sound of things, Immelman was pleased with the length of Scott’s swing as he kept saying, “Yes,” as Scott took turns driving straight as a needle, with a slight fade and a draw on command.
“Adam is one of my best friends and we’ve known each other since we were teenagers,” Immelman wrote in a text. “He’s an amazing human being, all class. I fully believe that he still has what it takes to win at the highest level, and I really hope he does.”
Hitting balls next to Scott with a head cover placed under his right arm pit was veteran pro Nate Lashley, who stopped to ask Immelman, “Are you trying to give the most perfect swing a lesson?”
Immelman smiled and replied, “I generally tell him to get his head out of his ass.”
Scott tabbed the session with Immelman “very productive,” and it could come in handy for the final round. He could use a low round on Sunday to move up the standings at the Canadian Open. He entered the week at No. 58 in the Official World Golf Ranking. A missed cut at the PGA Championship last month knocked him out of the top 60 in the world for the first time in nearly six years and cost him a berth in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst in less than two months. A T-12 at the Colonial last week bumped him back inside the top 60, where he will need to remain following the conclusion of next week’s tournaments to gain a spot in the U.S. Open field. He hasn’t missed a major since the 2001 U.S. Open at Southern Hills, a span of 91 straight starts in men’s golf’s big four.
In 2018, the last time he slipped outside the top 60, he played in a 36-hole qualifier in Columbus, Ohio and earned his way into the field. But Scott said he won’t be playing at Final Qualifying on Monday. He signed up for a site in Ohio — he wasn’t originally planning to play north of the border — and said he’s won’t be there. He also isn’t in the field for next week’s Memorial. That means Sunday’s final round of the RBC Canadian Open is his last chance to make his case. It’s down to the wire, but as Scott noted, “Some weeks you don’t play and you move up in the rankings,” he said, before adding, “I know the situation. It will be what it will be.”