Why Tiger Woods plays a role in both of Adam Scott’s greatest Presidents Cup memories

Adam Scott of Australia and the International team shakes hands with Playing Captain Tiger Woods and the United States team after the United States team defeated them 16-14 on day four of the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Course on December 15, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia.

Scott felt he finally had a home course advantage at the 2019 Presidents Cup.

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This week’s Presidents Cup is Adam Scott’s 10th, more than any other International player. With 19 years of matches and memories from the event under his belt, he’s sure to have at least a couple that stand out.

He told GOLF’s Subpar co-hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stolz, both of his top memories involve Tiger Woods.

“South Africa, I think, was the greatest experience of the Presidents Cup for me,” Scott said on this week’s episode of the podcast. “When it came down to Tiger and Ernie having a playoff both in the prime of their career.”

Scott was referring to the 2003 iteration of the event. It was the only one to ever end in a tie after all matches resulted in an overall tie and Woods’ and Ernie Els sudden-death tie breaker ended after three holes due to darkness.

“It was really fascinating stuff, really,” Scott said. “And incredibly, incredibly nerve-wracking watching them on the sidelines.”

“I can’t imagine, especially those two, having to play in the dark with everything on the line,” Knost added. “That one is going to be hard to beat.”

The aura and legacy surrounding that match probably contributed to his other top memory; the crowd at the last Presidents Cup in 2019 in his home country of Australia.

“I felt like it was an incredibly special feeling for me playing in front of the home crowd and for the first time ever I felt like we had a home crowd advantage,” Scott said. “I always felt, certainly with Tiger and everybody else, but when they traveled the world, because they don’t travel outside of America so much, everyone’s so excited to see the U.S. team too, they kind of forget that we’re meant to have the home advantage and the cheering is very equal, which is all very nice.

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“Melbourne was great for me personally. I felt incredibly supported at home, but I also felt the rest of our team was supported.”

For more from Scott, including the mind games Woods played on the course and why he got off a plane to join a fellow pro’s celebration, listen to the full episode below.

Jack Hirsh

Golf.com Editor

Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.