Adam Scott: Pain of 2012 loss spurs me on

Yesterday, there was only flawless perfection. Nestled a few shots behind the leaders, he shrugged off the weather delay to shoot a second-round five-under-par 67, which might have been even better had a well-read putt at the Road Hole not come up fractionally short.

Scott has moved into familiar territory, in the hunt for another of those big titles so craved by players. Not by Mr Scott.

To study the on-course dynamic between Scott and Williams is to understand why the two seem incapable of surviving without one another. You have to earn it, to win it for yourself.

“I’m very motivated. I definitely let that one slip and I would love to be sitting here having won the Open”, said Scott. “I then had to go and practise really hard, so that I was going to play as good as he would expect”.

“It was the right call for me to make at this point in the year to get him back out and instil a bit of confidence in my game and get back in that flow”, he said. ‘I probably carried the chip into the Masters and maybe it got a bit smaller, but still I feel like I’ve been really close to lifting this trophy and I’m very motivated to do it this weekend now that I’m in this position.

Scott has former caddie Steve Williams back alongside him after he managed to lure the New Zealander out of retirement. There is a connect, an understanding that is apparent in terms of club selection and of committing to the shot. But certainly from my position, if I were to come out on top tomorrow, it would be a special round of golf because one of the guys in front is going to get it going.

Scott can’t wait to get cracking on the extra day’s play and is praying that he is able to arrow in on the target with more accuracy than he did in round three – even though he shot a perfectly decent round of 70. I have to absolutely give him a lot of credit for that. “He’s a huge factor in the way I’ve played in the last few years”.

The second round resumed on Friday after torrential morning rain had flooded the Old Course, leaving numerous greens, fairways and bunkers under water and causing a lengthy suspension of play.

Play was suspended due to high winds but Bowditch completed his second round, shooting three-under par 69 at St Andrews.

And that’s something legendary South African Gary Player, victor of nine majors, completely agrees with, saying: “The long putter allows you to hide your nerves and nerves are an integral part of the game of golf”. “If we make the wrong choice, you can end up who knows where”. It could be extremely challenging…

The Queenslander has been one of Australia’s strongest performers in the Majors in recent years but the form required for Links golf and to contend at The Open has always eluded him.

Williams also helped Woods to 13 of his 14 major triumphs after enjoying successful partnerships with Greg Norman and Raymond Floyd and Scott admitted he may not be in the hunt for the Claret Jug on Sunday if it wasn’t for the Kiwi’s influence.