Scott Won’t Play ‘Til February
Posted by CP on January 3, 2008
Adam Scott won’t tee it up in the United States until mid-February, and his representatives disputed a recent report that attributed his withdrawal from this weekend’s festivities in Hawaii to exhaustion. Scott reportedly won’t play on the PGA Tour until the Northern Trust Open (previously the Nissan Open) on February 14 as he focuses instead on overseas events such as the Abu Dhabi Championship, which Scott will play on January 17th.
My initial reaction to this news was that it seemed like a big deal for a player who has only played 19 events on the U.S. Tour in each of the last three seasons, but the reality is that he’s generally only played once or twice before Riviera anyways – usually at one or both of the season-opening Hawaii events.
Upon further reflection, the bigger news from the same report on golfchannel.com is that Scott is trying to focus more on contending at major championships this season (then again, aren’t we all?). That’s all fine and dandy, but is teeing it up (and cashing in on lucrative appearance fees) in the Middle East really a better way of preparing for majors than, say, heading to the Buick Invitational for a little practice at Torrey Pines (which just so happens to also be this year’s U.S. Open venue) at the Buick Invitational in late January?
As noted, I don’t think Scott skipping what amounts to one significant tournament (since most fantasy golf leagues don’t include the limited-field Mercedes-Benz Championships) that he usually plays in should detract significantly from his fantasy value – he’s still a threat to win every time he tees it up and will almost certainly rank as one of the top 10 fantasy golfers by the end of the year.
