Adam Scott, nearly a month after his uber-secret, surprise wedding in the Bahamas, whiffed on yet another opportunity to overtake Tiger Woods for golf’s No. 1 ranking. But many projections have Scott passing Woods at No. 1 next week without the Aussie even teeing it up -- the latest quirk in the complex calculations of the Official World Golf Rankings.
Tiger Woods retains No. 1 ranking, but not for long
Adam Scott has had his chances to bounce Tiger Woods from his No. 1 spot atop the world rankings, but the newly married former Masters champion may finally reach his childhood goal next week.
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The second-ranked Scott, who married long-time sweetheart, Swedish architect Marie Kojzar, on April 17, was one of a handful of players at last week’s Players Championship with the chance to depose the idled Woods from the slot atop the official world rankings. Scott could have done so with a top-16 finish at TPC Sawgrass, but the Aussie barely made the cut on Friday, scuffled to a 1-over 73 in Sunday’s finale, and settled for a T38 outcome.
'Tiger Woods Rule'
“I’ve had a couple of good chances this year already and haven’t been able to pull it off, not because it’s been weighing on my mind, but I just wasn’t sharp enough playing the last couples rounds at a few events,” Scott told reporters ahead of The Players about his inability so far to fulfill a childhood dream.
Scott, who intended to start the Memorial Tournament in three weeks, may play the Colonial in two weeks as well. The first Australian to win at Augusta could ascend to the No. 1 perch sooner than that with Woods remaining sidelined after back surgery.
“Overall this week I just didn’t play good enough,” Scott told AAP’s Ben Everill after Sunday’s round. “I was lucky to even make the weekend ... I wasn’t pressing but I am lacking a little confidence with the swing at the moment.
“I think No.1 is a nice feather in the cap,” he said, “but I’d also much rather win the U.S. Open and not be No. 1 at all this year.”
Scott was not the only player at Sawgrass who had the top spot in sight and swung and missed. Third-ranked Henrik Stenson needed a top-six finish but ended up sharing 34th place, while Masters champ and fourth-ranked Bubba Watson’s T48 was 46 berths below the solo second-place result he needed to leapfrog Woods.
Players Championship
Matt Kuchar (No. 5) also had an outside chance of surpassing his Presidents Cup partner in the world rankings. Needing a win to grab No. 1, Kuchar tied for 17th.
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