2013 Masters champion Adam Scott hopes he’s cresting the hill, not going over it

As he enters his 40s, Adam Scott has some big goals left, including becoming a multiple major champion, catching his hero Greg Norman on the PGA Tour victory list and continuing his run of consecutive major starts.

Scott, who turned 40 on July 16, can reach the multiple-major goal at this year’s Masters, where his lone major victory came in 2013. He comes into Augusta National Golf Club having won twice since December.

“It would be huge (to win the Masters again),” Scott said. “The biggest goal in my career is to become a multiple major winner now. That would certainly do it. At least in my own head, it would validate the major championship a little bit. With my own expectations in golf set very high even from a young kid, I wanted to be a multiple major winner.”

Scott continued a resurgence in December when he won the Australian PGA Championship in his home country. Then, he ended a nearly four-year victory drought on the PGA Tour by winning the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in mid-February. He beat a top-heavy field that featured nine of the top 10 players in the world.

“It’s exciting to think about going back there (the Masters) and having another chance to have another win,” he said. “I’ve got a high level of comfort playing there.”

After tying for 32nd in the 2018 Masters, Scott rebounded last year. He opened with 69-68 and was tied for 36-hole lead. He closed with 72-73 and tied for 18th.

“Last year I played really well,” Scott said. “I didn’t putt so well on the weekends. I’m trying to put everything in place to have a really good run at it again. I think the biggest thing for me between now and then is managing my own expectations and trying to play golf.”

The rescheduled Masters is Scott’s last chance last in 2020 to become a multiple-major champion. He tied for 22nd place in the PGA Championship in August and tied for 38th in September’s U.S. Open. The British Open was canceled for 2020.

With the Genesis victory, Scott now has 14 wins on the PGA Tour. Among Australians, he’s tied for third place with Bruce Crampton. Jim Ferrier is second with 18 and Norman leads the way with 20.

"It's an interesting time for me to compete,” said Scott. “I feel like I have a great opportunity at the moment to achieve some of the things that I have set out to do. Coming off the back of not necessarily last year but the year before not playing as well as I hoped when these opportunities present themselves you want to take advantage of them. So I'm excited for that. I think I'm not really trying to prove that I can beat any of the young guys, but I think some of the old guys still have it out here.”

Scott takes pride in his streak of consecutive majors he’s played in, which will reach 77 if he tees it up at the Masters. He had to withdraw from the ZoZo Championship in late October after testing positive for COVID-19.

Jack Nicklaus has the record at 154 consecutive majors. Among active players, only Sergio Garcia, who has played in 84 in a row, tops Scott.

“Yeah, it does,” Scott said when asked if the streak is meaningful to him. “That's why I tried so hard to qualify for the U.S. Open. I mean, I don't know why. You don't get anything for how many consecutive majors you play in. But I know Sergio has got a few more than me, and I think he's currently holding the most consecutive, taking Jack Nicklaus out of the equation and some others.”