Lytham St. Annes, England – Adam Scott realized, in the bathroom off 17 of all places, that he had a chance to become the first player in major championship history to shoot a 62.
He went par-bogey and actually missed out on becoming the 26th golfer to post a 63 in a major.
But Scott did shoot a 6-under 64 and is the leader during round one of The Open Championship.
"I realized it was a par 70 and also probably then realized I wasn't going to be the guy to shoot 62," Scott said of his thoughts in that bathroom. "It's one of those things you don't want to go through your mind, thinking about your final score."
Scott has two top-15 finishes in this year's major championships, but the Aussie decided to approach this week a little differently. And he did it right out of the gate.
"That was my goal here starting the week was to play today like it was Sunday and there was no tomorrow," Scott said. "I did a good job of that."
Agreed.
"To focus and play the first hole of the tournament like it's the 72nd and you've got to make three to win was my mind-set on the first tee this morning," Scott said. "Really switch on right from the first tee and not just see how it goes the first few holes.
"That was really the difference. I didn't hit that good of shots, but I was really focused on what I was doing the first few holes."
That kind of focus seems eerily familiar.
Maybe it's Tiger Woods I'm thinking of, or, as Paul Azinger tweeted this morning, "Adam Scott leading the Open using Tiger Woods old swing and caddy."
"Between myself, Steve (Williams, the aforementioned former caddy) and Brad (Malone), my coach, we could see how nicely I'd been playing the practice rounds," Scott said.
This philosophical shift paid dividends on Thursday, but can it hold up? Scott is just a fourth of the way through this major championship and, if bad weather, you know, actually shows up, could that singular focus on every shot lead someone who admittedly "can cruise a little bit too much" to burn out?
The answers to those questions won't be hashed out until at least Sunday, maybe earlier.
Focus for a wanderer is a good thing. Sustaining it can be tricky. It's fair to wonder after Scott essentially admitted that, while in a Port-o-John, he talked himself out of a 62.
Wait until the pressure hits when Scott realizes he may be the most naturally talented golfer in history to never win a major championship.
"I haven't achieved my goal of winning major championships," Scott said. "That's what I dreamt of as a kid and that's what I made as goals when I turned pro and what I thought about when I turned pro.
"I guess I haven't achieved that."
If he takes focuses from the first tee forward, he might achieve that.
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