Masters champion Adam Scott rated his course-record 10-under 62 at the Emirates Australian Open as one of his best-ever rounds but maintained his picture-perfect golf swing was not quite where he wanted it to be.
The world No 2 burst out of the blocks with six straight birdies but lost his rhythm midway through his opening round at the Royal Sydney Golf Club and had to settle for eight straight pars.
He bounced back with a superb tee shot on the par-three sixth and sunk the short putt, however, to spark another run of four straight birdies and smash the previous course record by three shots.
“I felt like there’s been a good round in me for four weeks, and finally I threw it out there today,” he said.
Scott, looking to become the second man to win Australia’s Triple Crown in a single season, led little-known Canadian Ryan Yip and American John Young Kim by three shots heading into round two after the pair posted 65s.
The other star attraction in Sydney this week, Rory McIlroy, headed into the second round seven shots adrift of Scott after starting with a three-under 69.
The 24-year-old Northern Irishman is still seeking his first win of a troubled year but has at least shown signs of improvement in recent weeks and he recovered well yesterday after bogeying his first two holes.
Starting from the 10th, McIlroy dropped shots on the 10th and 11th holes, but was flawless for the remaining 16, picking up five birdies to get himself back into contention and into a share of 16th spot.