Las Vegas, Nevada (May 17, 2010)–Adam Scott played college golf, briefly, at UNLV, under Hall of Fame coach Dwiane Knight. But with his tremendous talent, Scott quickly left the program and Las Vegas' golf courses in search of success on the PGA Tour. Scott has found it, but was in a bit of a swoon before winning the PGA Tour's Valero Texas Open, where the putting philosophy of Dave Stockton helped make it possible.–By Brian Hurlburt.
"I had a 30-minute lesson from Dave Stockton back in Charlotte on Friday afternoon after I missed the cut, which I found fantastic, and the immediate effect it had was noticeable to me and it wasn't anything crazy at all," Scott told the media following his win at the Valero. "It actually got me back to kind of a natural position for me to be in, I feel, and it was actually a lot how I was putting when I won the Byron Nelson in 2008. I was working on a very similar kind of thing. But he gave me some other little tips to just really feel my putts out better than I was. I also did a little work with his son, Junior, last week in Sawgrass. I putted well in Sawgrass, I just didn't make anything outside ten feet, really, and this week I got them rolling a little better from outside and I was still good in close. It was solid and it certainly makes the game a little easier when you're making some putts and you can rely on the fact that you're going to make five and six-footers." Scott recorded rounds of 71-70-66-67–274 to defeat Fredrik Jacobsen by one shot.
Scott has now won seven PGA Tour events and nine times internationally, but hadn't won on the PGA Tour since the 2008 EDS Byron Nelson Championship. The win had even more meaning because the TPC San Antonio course which was used for the first time was recently re-designed by Scott's fellow Australian countryman and boyhood idol Greg Norman. "When I played Tuesday I was amazed how much it looked like some of the courses back at home," said Scott about the course. "It was a lot like the Mornington Peninsula. I even saw some of the Brisbane courses. I felt like the landscape looks very similar to back home, kind of harsh, scrub land off the fairways and I had a feeling I knew Aussies would do well here this week. Greg's greens are a lot like some of the sandbelt greens back at home, you know, that design and the bunkering. I felt comfortable on it and I think a lot of the other Aussies did, too, because there were a lot of Aussies up there through 36 holes this week and you know, when you feel comfortable like that, it certainly helps."
Scott is one of more than 30 tour pros who have deep ties to Las Vegas golf courses, and part of what makes Las Vegas the Ultimate Golf City. Besides being the current and former home to pros, Las Vegas is also home to some terrific golf courses, including Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort, the home of three Pete Dye=designed Las Vegas golf courses. The Wolf, Snow Mountain and Sun Mountain golf courses are each worth the play, and the facility has been awarded the best value award by Greenskeeper.org, a respected website. Scott also said that Norman had been in touch with him following his victory, and appreciated Scott's kind words about the new design.
Other Las Vegas golfers in the field at Valero and who made the cut included residents Charley Hoffman (T13) and Scott Piercy (T30), former Rebel Chad Campbell (T34), and residents Bill Lunde (T45) and Craig Barlow (T45). For Barlow, who doesn't have full playing privileges on the PGA Tour in 2010, it marked his 3rd-straight made cut on the PGA Tour in 2010. Through Texas he had earned $37,452 but stood 204th on the money list. Barlow is also playing the Nationwide Tour but has missed four of six cuts there and stands 68th on the money list. Those Las Vegas golfers missing the cut included Chris Riley, Robert Gamez, Dean Wilson, and Tommy Armour III. Armour now lives in Texas but grew up in Las Vegas. He withdrew during the second round, citing allergies.