Adam Scott: Girlfriend didn't cause slump

Back home in Australia for Tigerpalooza (the event formerly known as the Australian Masters) and coming off a T3 finish at the Barclays Singapore Open, Adam Scott sounds like he's ready to put his 2009 slump behind him. Scott's still not sure what caused his drop from 3rd to 62nd in the world rankings, but he's sure it wasn't his relationship with tennis player Ana Ivanovic as some commentators suggested, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

However, while Scott said he paid no heed to the speculation - partly because he had not been home since March - he is adamant his relationship with Ivanovic, who is with him in Melbourne this week, had played no part in a form slump during which he twice felt like taking a long break from the game.

''I don't know how to respond to that,'' Scott told the Herald of talk golf had not been his main priority. ''Should I not have a girlfriend? I tried to do everything that I felt was 100 per cent right for me this year. I wasn't working on the right things for a period of time and it took a long time to work out what was right again.''

Fellow Tour Player Retief Goosen believes that Scott's game will return to form, but he's got other ideas about what caused his slump. "Scotty's still young and he has a lot of hot chicks on his mind," Goosen said in the November issue of Golf Magazine. "I'm sure once he gets over that his game will be back."

Photo: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

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Alan Shipnuck's Mailbag: Gary Nicklaus, Tiger's win total, Adam Scott and more

Having no PGA Tour event this past weekend deeply affected my biorhythms, so apologies for the belated ‘Bag. Onward:

"How did Gary Nicklaus get his amateur status reinstated? And now he is turning pro again? Doesn't this make a bit of a mockery of the rules about amateur status?"

There are a lot of reinstated amateurs prowling around, their failed pro careers cleverly disguised by ratty carry-bags and logo-free polos. I covered the 1996 Publinks in Kauai—tough gig, I know—and a reinstated amateur named Tim Hogarth prevailed, thus earning a tee time at the ensuing Masters. In a moment of candor, Hogarth admitted he knew the only way he was going to get to Augusta was as an amateur, not a pro.

The USGA has a fairly rigorous protocol for reinstating amateurs, generally calling for a two-year waiting period after the end of a professional career. What I find amusing is that the USGA explicitly says reinstatement is basically just for scrubs, declaring in its guidelines, "Players of national prominence who have acted contrary to the Rules of Amateur Status for more than five years normally will not be eligible for reinstatement." Luckily for Gary Nicklaus (at right, with Jack), he never achieved national prominence. But now that he’s turning pro again I seriously doubt the USGA will ever grant him amateur status again.

Ship: Tiger is creeping up on Jack's 73 PGA Tour wins with his current 71. We know Tiger's benchmark is the majors, but aren't total wins a better indicator of greatness? The depth of the field at many events, e.g., Fed ex, Bay Hill, Players, Memorial, seem to rival the fields at the Majors. Major winners get more notoriety but that seems to be largely from sentimental tradition." — David from Hazeltine

I agree total victories is an underrated measuring stick. If his career ended today, Phil Mickelson’s 36 career wins—12th all-time—is a better reflection of his talent level than his three majors, which ties him for 26th, with guys like Denny Shute, Julius Boros, Bob Ferguson and Ralph Guldahl. In my mind majors are largely a measure of a player’s mental toughness and course management. Regular tour victories reflect consistency, longevity and an ability to shoot really low numbers. (These skill sets overlap to some degree, obviously.) Tiger doesn’t talk much about his career victory total, but it will get a lot of play when he passes Nicklaus, and even more so when he usurps Sam Snead's 82. Hopefully these epic totals will garner the respect they deserve.

"With the season that Adam Scott has had, what do you think the chances are of him having any success at the Presidents Cup? Putting is key and he hasn't been lighting it up on the greens." —Fred Matsubara

Scott has never been an ace on the greens, but in partner play he has a very solid 6-4-2 record in three Cups. (As for his 0-3 singles record, the less said the better.) He used to hit the ball so straight that he was a coveted alternate-shot partner, and his birdie binges made him pretty tough in foursomes, too. Watching Scott at this year’s Presidents Cup will be a fascinating exercise, as he will be a lab rat in SoftSpikes. He is going to face more scrutiny than any captain’s pick ever has. The pressure may break him, but I think he’s going to be a pleasant surprise. Being in a slump is a lonely experience, but at the Prez Cup he will have very supportive teammates cheering him on and the avuncular counsel of his idol and mentor, Capt. Norman. Also, a lot of Scott’s tournaments this year have featured a good number of birdies but were spoiled by a few blow-up holes, which don’t hurt as much in match play.

"I was at the BMW Championship at Cog Hill. With a little work on the greens and narrowing the fairways, methinks it could be a US Open venue. Your thoughts, o wise one?" —Mike Colucci

If you define an Open venue as boring and hard, then sure, Cog Hill could easily fit the bill. It now has the length and crazy-deep bunkering to help protect par. The severe greens were kept soft for the BMW, which allowed for a lot of birdies, but if they were ever made firm and fast the course would be a monster. I don’t think Dubsdread is overly artful or interesting, but in the sadistic hands of the USGA it could definitely provide a very stern test.

"What has happened to Aaron Baddeley?"

Do you ever see those GolfChannel infomercials for the Stack ‘N Tilt, in which Baddeley had a starring role? Disregard. Dude is now unstacked and no longer tilting. Baddley’s career-long search for a repeatable swing has left him dazed and confused, and even his magical putting stroke can’t save him.

"What brand of pants are the Tour players wearing with the lower case letter 'e' above back right pocket? Example: Mark Wilson at BMW Champ." —Chase Adams

Good god, man, do you really want to admit to staring at the derrieres of various Tour players? I, personally, make it a point to never notice logos above the back right pocket, so I can’t help you here. But if you want to know what brand of skirt Beatriz Recari (right) is wearing these days...

Editors' Note: The brand appears to be élevée.

Photos: David Cannon/Getty Images (Nicklauses); Richard Heathcote/Getty Images (Recari)

Couples, Norman announce Presidents Cup picks

Captains Fred Couples and Greg Norman announced their picks for the 2009 Presidents Cup on Tuesday.

As expected, Couples chose U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover and Hunter Mahan for the U.S. team. Greg Norman made a more surprising choice, going with fellow Australian Adam Scott, who has missed the cut in 10 of the 18 tournaments he's played in this year and has only one top 10 finish. Norman's second choice was Japan's young phemon Ryo Ishikawa.

"Maybe somewhat unexpected. Obviously it's been a tough year," Scott said. "But I really am humbled. I feel like I can contribute points and contribute in the team room, as well."

Norman backed up his Scott selection. "When you look back a year ago, Adam was the No. 3 player in the world. So everybody goes through a slump," Norman said. "At the end of the day, he's got the playing skills, and as Adam said, the team camaraderie, what he can bring to the locker room, the support he gives to the other players, the connection and the experience that he's had playing on the Presidents Cup team. He was really a logical choice."

What gave 17-year-old Ishikawa the edge? "Enthusiasm," Norman said. Citing Ishikawa's credentials, ability to stand up to Tiger and experience dealing with crowds of media, the International captain said, "You've got to have faith in that ability, and I have a lot of faith in him."

Glover played on the 2007 U.S. Presidents Cup team, which won by five points. Mahan was part of the successful 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup team.

Couples struggled with his picks, also considering players like Dustin Johnson and Brian Gay, but in the end went with his gut. "For Hunter Mahan and Lucas, I think it's a no-brainer, I really do," he said. "I chose the two guys, and that's the toughest thing I'll have to do the whole time, and hopefully they'll go to San Francisco and play well."

The rest of the U.S. Team consists of: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Kenny Perry, Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink, Sean O'Hair, Jim Furyk, Anthony Kim and Justin Leonard.

The rest of the International Team is made up of: Geoff Ogilvy, Vijay Singh, Camilo Villegas, Retief Goosen, Ernie Els, Angel Cabrera, Mike Weir, Robert Allenby, Y.E. Yang and Tim Clark.

The Presidents Cup will be played on Oct. 8-11 at Harding Park in San Francisco.

Golf Notes: Adam Scott and Ana Ivanovic?

... Word on the cart paths of Bethpage had it that Adam Scott has gone so flowing-mane-over-soft-spikes for Ana Ivanovic (right), the statuesque tennis player from Serbia who's ranked 12th  in the world, that he will skip Tiger Woods's AT&T National  to attend Wimbledon.

... Ian Poulter seems to be taking on Stewart Cink for the title of  golf's Twitter champ. On Sunday, Cink led in followers, 374,507 to  80,071, but Poulter earned points last week by taking on the USGA in 140 characters or less and  tweeting running commentary on the movie The Hangover, which he went to see during last Friday's rain delay.

... Stat of the week: three -- as in, only three of 109 U.S. Opens have finished on Monday because of weather (1926, '65 and 2009).

... The late finish meant that five players -- Retief Goosen, Todd Hamilton, Anthony Kim, Camilo Villegas and Bubba Watson -- had to bail on the CVS Caremark Charity Classic, an unofficial annual  event in Rhode Island run by Billy Andrade and Brad Faxon. Luckily, CVS had a Band-Aid ready, bringing in Brad Adamonis, Matt Kuchar, David Toms, Brittany Lincicome and Laura Diaz.

...  Last week SI contributing writer Jack McCallum camped in an RV near Bethpage (follow his tale at golf.com/rv), where the most popular player was amateur Drew Weaver, who proved so genuine and personable that one campground family named their cat after him.  

(Photo: Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images)

What to Watch For: Ryo Ishikawa and Adam Scott

All eyes, camera lenses and sunglasses (Transitions, I presume) will be trained on the 17-year-old Ryo Ishikawa, the Japanese wunderkind who is in position to both play on the weekend and, dare we say, move into contention to win. He shot a smooth 69 on Thursday to trail first-round leader Jim Furyk by four shots. Let's look at his chances to play on the weekend.

In his favor? Ishikawa made his PGA Tour debut last month at Riviera, where he missed the cut but surely got rid of some nervous energy. Ishikawa says he doesn't mind playing before a large group of media folk, and he will have them Friday. He doesn't have to go crazy low to make the cut. A solid, professional round of golf will get it done.

Against him? If Ishikawa does get nervous, it could show up in his accuracy, and his round could get away from him quickly. The rough here is dark and dense, a certified bogey maker. Ishikawa has to wait half the day to play -- he tees off in the last grouping, at 2:26 p.m local time -- and that leaves a lot of time to think.

I'll also be watching the confounding Adam Scott, who shot a three-over 74 and is getting next to nothing out of his game. I was in Irving, Texas, last year when he won the Byron Nelson. Scott's caddie, Tony Navarro, talked about the victory being a springboard for the U.S. Open. Scott finished tied for 26th at Torrey Pines and hasn't won since. Scott will have to hustle Friday to make the cut, and nobody wants to miss cuts this close to the Masters.

Adam Scott and actress Kate Hudson soak up the sun

"Just friends," huh? That's what Adam Scott said last week about his ties to actress Kate Hudson. Some photographs surfaced this week showing the two spending quality time together on a beach in Hawaii, where Scott was competing in the Mercedes-Benz Championship and the Sony Open.

Scott can be seen with a knee brace -- he has a history of dislocating his kneecap while running around the beach. As for their relationship? Well, they do look friendly. See the photos here.

Scott: Kate Hudson just a friend

KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Adam Scott says published reports that he is seeing actress Kate Hudson are untrue, and that the photogenic twosome, who met in Maui this weekend, are merely new friends.

Scott seemed to try to make a quiet exit after signing for a 3-under-par 70 in the final round of the Mercedes Championship, but a half dozen reporters flagged him down to ask about Hudson, star of "Bride Wars" and "Fools Gold," among other films.

Scott and Hudson were seen getting into a car together at the Plantation House restaurant earlier in the week. The golfer said the two were part of a group that included Mercedes winner Geoff Ogilvy and PGA Tour trainer David Darbyshire.

"We went out to dinner for David's birthday," Scott said.
 

Report: Singh pulls out of Sony, opts for knee surgery

Add Vijay Singh to the list of golfers with knee injuries.

First Tiger Woods went down in June after winning the U.S. Open on one leg, then Adam Scott dislocated his knee cap for the sixth time while running on a beach. Now Singh will have surgery for a torn meniscus, according to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

Singh, 45, will tough it out this week at the Mercedes on the hilly Plantation course, but he has withdrawn from next week's Sony Open and will be out five weeks. It has to be frustrating for a range rat like Singh, who went a whole month in the off-season without touching a club to allow tendinitis in his left arm to heal. It looked like he would come into 2009 in prime condition. He easily won the FedEx Cup in October, and beat a star-studded field at Tiger's charity event in December.

UPDATE: Singh said on Wednesday he hopes to only be out three weeks. If everything goes well with his surgery, he will return to the Tour at the AT&T at Pebble Beach next month.

"If I can come out then, then it will be okay, but I don't know what the doctor is going to tell me," Singh said. "He said my legs are really strong, which is a big advantage, having an operation like that. So I should be all right."

Scott's knee is hurting. So is his reputation

Adam Scott hasn’t made many mates on the Australian major circuit lately. Last week he withdrew from the Australian PGA after hurting his already gimpy knee while bodysurfing. This week, still ailing, he pulled out of the Australian Open, then told the press that he likely would have sucked it up and played had it been the U.S. Open and not the Down Under edition.

"Probably, yes, I would have," Scott said. "The reason I am not coming down to play is that I could hobble around this week and get it done, but I think that would set me back so far that I would not be able to start 2009 at the Mercedes (tournament).”

This news will go down with Australians like a warm pint of Fosters. Aussies are a deeply patriotic people, and many will take Scott’s admission as disrespectful if not flat-out treasonous. “A blow, a big blow,” is how Australian Open tournament director Trevor Herden described Scott’s decision.

“It's sad,” he said. “Unfortunately no one is going to see him down here this summer. It's just a shame."

More disturbing is the gravity of Scott’s injury, which last week Scott’s agent brushed off as a “very minor, little issue.” Scott, in fact, dislocated his kneecap and tore a ligament. “This is the sixth time I have done it to my knee,” he said in a conference call with the Aussie media yesterday.

"There is a lot of stuff going on in my knee already. I can't extend my leg properly to walk. If I spend five days walking incorrectly, it is going to take me two weeks to get out of that.

"All the muscles have shortened and weakened and deteriorated. The leg is not in great shape at the moment.”

Scott ascended to No. 3 in the world after a fifth place finish at Wachovia in May. A month later, at the U.S. Open, he played in a powerhouse grouping with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, though finished quietly with a T26. In his five PGA Tour starts since August, Scott missed two cuts and finished no better than T50. He has slipped to 16th in the world. 

“It's been a frustrating year,” he said. “To be honest, my head was not on the golf course after June."

When golfers answer call of the wild, injuries can follow

Seven years ago David Duval tweaked his shoulder while snowboarding in Colorado. The injury plagued him for months. In 2005, Ernie Els ruptured a ligament in his knee while wakeboarding. Els missed half a season. On Sunday, it was Adam Scott’s turn. While bodysurfing on Australia’s Sunshine Coast, the 28-year-old Aussie twisted his right knee as he waded out of the surf. “His kneecap popped out for a moment and then slid back into place,” The Australian reported.

Scott’s manager described the injury as a “very minor, little issue,” but you can bet the organizers of this week’s Australian PGA Championship, from which Scott was forced to withdraw, found nothing minor about the news. Scott’s equipment and clothing sponsors (Titliest, FootJoy and Burberry) probably weren’t thrilled either. To be fair, he was only bodysurfing, not riding a longboard on the Pipeline. But Scott is an avid surfer, with more than 10 boards in his collection, and has been known to catch waves between Tour stops, a risky respite to say the least. 

“Does Scott have a responsibility to the game of golf to not surf? No, I don’t think so,” says Ken Kennerly, an agent who counts Robert Allenby and Glen Day among his clients. “It’s a tricky situation. We’re not in the business of controlling what our players do, and I don’t think they’d want us to try.”

Kennerly wears a second hat as executive director of the Honda Classic, so he can empathize with the folks running the Aussie PGA. But, he says, when a big-name player withdraws, there’s not much a tournament can you do. “We chalk it up as bad luck,” he says.

Ultimately, Kennerly says, it’s up the players to make smart choices and to realize that poor decision-making off the course can and will hurt their earning potential. “It’s no different than you or I driving 80 through a snowstorm when you should be going 40,” he says.

Tour pros playing the part of X Gamers in their downtime isn’t commonplace, but let’s face it: few players get a rush from quilting, and there's little anyone can do to change that. Tiger Woods spearfishes. Davis Love III rides a Harley. John Daly sleeps outside Hooters. “What happens, happens,” Kennerly says.