Scott to expand playing schedule in 2018

Adam Scott has made no secret of his limited playing schedule this past season but as the year comes to a close, the former World Number 1 revealed a return to more tournament golf may be on the cards in 2018.

On the Gold Coast for the 2017 Australian PGA Championship, Scott discussed how his priorities shifted this year.

Scott and his wife Marie welcomed their second child, Byron, into the family which has seen life outside of the ropes take priority this year.

“It’s been a fantastic year for me. A very exciting last few months with my family and having a new baby and all the good things that come with that,” Scott said.

“I guess that’s been the focus of the year for me really. It was a lot of planning around that.”

The 2013 Masters champion admitted to a scaling back time spent practicing due to his life changing away from golf.

“It was probably just the less practice this year. You know, the priorities just had to shift a little bit. I traveled a lot more and practiced a bit less and they were the challenges.

“You know, the first half of the year I played okay but didn’t get much out of it, and then since the U.S. PGA, the focus hasn’t been on the golf at all and that shows up when you’re going to play in world class fields, there’s no doubt.”

The 37-year-old has reached a point in his career where he can take valuable lessons from the outcomes of his schedule change and will now look to resume a familiar routine in the 2018 season.

“It’s good for me to see that because it’s very clear for me going back next year exactly what I need to do to remind myself what I’ve done for the past five or six years to play at the level that these guys at the top are playing at,” added Scott.

“I really look forward to getting back into those kinds of routines that I’ve been in over the past few years that have produced great golf

“But of course it’s difficult not to be frustrated. If I’m going out to play, I want to play really well. But I also have taken a bit of a realistic attitude that back half of the year that I haven’t prepared as well as I normally would like.”

Renowned for his meticulous preparations to a tournament, Scott has stated he’ll need to look for a more balanced approach as his schedule builds in 2018.

“I pride myself on being really prepared to play, but I’m learning as my career and life evolves and changes that I have to kind of temper that.

“I think I’m going to have to learn to switch on and off a little bit more in the future. I’ve got little notes about different things like that to think about for the future.”

This year Scott played the week before each major and found some benefits to his game, but will still endeavor to play more tournaments now things have settled with his family.

“I played the weeks before majors this year, which I actually think worked quite nicely to play my way into a bit of shape. I’ll probably go back to playing a more similar schedule to what I’ve played in the past.

“But given that the circumstances will be different again next year, I think I’ll go back to what I used to do and probably get back more into my practice and preparation plans to focus obviously on playing great those four weeks of the year.

“So my schedule starts somewhere in February on the U.S. Tour on the west coast like it usually does, play a few events and try and play myself into form quickly.”