Presence of close friend Ivanovic helps bring out the best in Scott

Published on Friday 10 July 2009 22:54

WHEN Adam Scott holed a testing putt on the eighth hole at Loch Lomond, his 17th, Ana Ivanovic, the Serbian tennis player revered as one of the most beautiful women in sport, high-fived a friend and marched off towards the ninth fairway where the Australian would conclude his second round at the Barclays Scottish Open with another birdie and sign for 67 and 133, nine under par.

After a spell of modest form in which he's tumbled down the world rankings, the 28-year-old looks a contented man ready to win another event in Scotland. How much this can be attributed to his friendship with the world's former No 1 tennis player is a moot point and one Scott is not about to discuss publicly.

"I don't know how to answer that question," he replied shyly when asked if it was a comfort to discuss competitive issues with a friend who understands the pressure of top level sport. "Like I said, all areas of my life are in a good place right now."

Although it was another beautiful day on the banks of Loch Lomond and the galleries were happy to wear short sleeves, Ms Ivanovic obviously felt the freshness in the Scottish air and wore a long sleeved cardigan over a dress and jeans.

Just as Scott was seen at Wimbledon a couple of weeks ago applauding his friend, she's repaid the compliment at Loch Lomond. "I'm really enjoying my time in Scotland," she said, "and I'm here to support Adam."

There have been a few clouds in Scott's life over the past year; a knee injury sustained in surfing and the break-up of a relationship with the Hollywood actress Kate Hudson. While he likes to keep his private life to himself, the clouds are clearing and the friendship with Ivanovic has poured sunlight on his golf.

Scott enjoys competing in Scotland and won his first event in Europe (his third on the European Tour) at Gleneagles in 2002 when he tore apart the par 5s on the PGA Centenary. It was the week he signed for 26 under par and finished ten strokes ahead of Raymond Russell. Scott was 22 under for the par 5s alone in Perthshire.

"I still remember that week as probably the best golf I've ever played," he said. "It's certainly a fond memory. I also like Loch Lomond, absolutely, and felt that when I first played here, it was a lot like the course I grew up playing in Australia. That was a comfortable feeling for me.

"It's a beautiful place and the golf course is great. Especially on days like this. I mean these are few and far between. It would be nice to have a good weekend. It's very generous off the tee which can actually improve your driving.

"You know you are going to hit a lot of fairways, so you get a little confidence."

Scott says he's striking the ball purely again and was thrilled to play so well on consecutive days here.

"Two in a row in the 60s," he smiled, "that's good for me."

The strength of his resilience was underlined by how Scott reacted to carding a double bogey 5 on the short fifth hole. He pulled a tee shot into the left-hand bunker but wasn't too concerned about what might happen next until he spotted a piece of rock between his club and the ball.

Rather than landing softly, it surged forward with topspin and race over the green to the rough on the other side. "I didn't get up and down and was maybe a little unlucky," he rued.

Scott responded in the right manner and promptly reeled off three birdies over the next four holes and reached the turn in 34. His back nine was error free thanks to a smooth putting stroke and a timely short game.

"I've developed a bit of toughness during what was a tough few months," he said of a worrying form reversal.

"I feel like my pitching, putting and chipping has improved and I'm also starting to get a better golf swing. I've pulled myself out of something I've never really gone through before. I feel good about that and will be a better player for it."

Although they've yet to match the success rate of the South Africans, it was another good day for the Australians at Loch Lomond. Marcus Fraser, who was fifth behind Thomas Levet in 2004, put himself in contention with a tidy 66 for eight under before quipping: "I didn't realise we were in Scotland – the last couple of days have been beautiful.

"The greens are awesome and when the weather is like this it's one of the best places in the world."

A new father, Fraser, who comes from Melbourne, has Scottish roots on his own father's side. The six-month-old baby boy is called Archie Fraser. "That's as Scottish as it gets," he grinned.

Tee times

Third round (Gbr & Irl unless stated, all times Local) (x) denotes amateurs Starting at hole 1

0708 Gary Lockerbie

0717 Sam Little, Scott Strange (Aus)

0726 Graeme McDowell, Paul Broadhurst

0735 Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra), Gregory Bourdy (Fra)

0744 Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind), Seve Benson

0753 Miles Tunnicliff, David Lynn

0802 Nick Dougherty, Colin Montgomerie

0811 Alvaro Velasco (Spa), Alexander Noren (Swe)

0820 Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Boo Weekley (USA)

0829 Thomas Levet (Fra), James Kingston (Rsa)

0843 Ian Poulter, Scott Drummond

0852 Graeme Storm, Pablo Martin (Spa)

0901 John Bickerton, Steve Webster

0910 Oliver Fisher, Lee Slattery

0919 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Christopher Doak

0928 David Drysdale, Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa)

0937 Shane Lowry, Andrew McLardy (Rsa)

0946 Paul Lawrie, Peter O'Malley (Aus)

0955 Damien McGrane, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa)

1004 Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood

1018 Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Angel Cabrera (Arg)

1027 Anthony Wall, Brian Gay (USA)

1036 Ross McGowan, Richard Sterne (Rsa)

1045 Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Thongchai Jaidee (Tha)

1054 Oliver Wilson, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus)

1103 Alejandro Canizares (Spa), Rodney Pampling (Aus)

1112 Markus Brier (Aut), Stuart Appleby (Aus)

1121 Gary Orr, Ernie Els (Rsa)

1130 Darren Clarke, Gregory Havret (Fra)

1139 Brett Rumford (Aus), Jason McCreadie

1153 Jamie Donaldson, Mark Foster

1202 Richard Green (Aus), Ross Fisher

1211 Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den), Camilo Villegas (Col)

1220 Paul McGinley, Martin Laird

1229 Thomas Aiken (Rsa), Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa)

1238 Kenneth Ferrie, Soren Kjeldsen (Den)

1247 Soren Hansen (Den), Nick Watney (USA)

1256 Martin Kaymer (Ger), Marcus Fraser (Aus)

1305 Adam Scott (Aus), Retief Goosen (Rsa)