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Adam Scott put his driver in time-out last Thursday at Bay Hill and played the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational without a driver. The club was back for the second round and remained in Scott’s bag throughout the weekend, but clearly it was on a short leash. Thursday morning at TPC Sawgrass, the 2013 Masters champion had a new driver in his bag, a TaylorMade Strealth Plus+ fitted with the same Graphite Design Tour AD DI-7 X shaft.
Scott also started Thursday’s round with a new TaylorMade Stealth Plus+ 3-wood and used it off the tee for his first shot of the day at the Players Championship.
As can be seen in the chart below, the Australian led the PGA Tour in strokes gained off the tee in 2006 with an average of 0.955, which means he gained nearly a full shot over the average competitor solely on the quality of his driving. He ranked third in that category in 2011, second in 2013 and was in the top 20 from 2014-2016. However, in the past two seasons, Scott performed worse than the average Tour player and finished the year ranked outside the top 100 in strokes gained off the tee. His average is up this season, but clearly he has been frustrated with his driving.
Scott won the 2004 Players championship at age 23 and has won more than $58 million in career prize money on the Tour.