Masters champion Adam Scott admits he has been “floating in the clouds” since his victory at Augusta but has shunned celebrations in his native Australia as he focuses on more major titles.
Scott returns to action at the Players Championship at Sawgrass this week, almost a month after his memorable victory over Angel Cabrera on the second play-off hole.
The 32-year-old has been overwhelmed by the reaction to his first major triumph, which came nine months after squandering a four-shot lead with four holes to play in the Open Championship at Royal Lytham.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard was among those to congratulate Scott on becoming the first Australian to win a Green Jacket, but plans for a celebration back in Adelaide have been put on hold.
“I was very tempted to go home but I talked it over with the people around me and we are in the middle of the year,” Scott told a pre-tournament press conference.
“It’s a cause for celebration but we have a plan in place and hopefully it’s not going to stop with the Masters. I want to keep focused and try and make this my biggest year yet.
“I think we can rustle up some celebration when I get home at the end of the year. I’ve had a really nice break, which I had planned anyway, but it was even better because I was floating around on the clouds the last three weeks.
“It’s been an overwhelming time for me. So many people reached out to me, I was blown away.
“I put the clubs away for a week longer than I normally would to just unwind and get away, but the last week I had Brad (Malone) my coach back with me on the range. We quickly got back into it and after a couple of days the swing was still feeling good.
“You get itchy feet and are ready to get back out here and compete and I am looking forward to this week.
“It’s a nice week to come back because I have had such a great run here over the years (becoming the youngest winner in 2004). Hopefully I can take my head out of the clouds, come back down to earth and play some good golf.”
The world No 3 had looked set to break his major duck at Lytham last year, only to bogey the last four holes to finish a shot behind Ernie Els, who birdied the 18th.
But he used that as motivation for the rest of the season and carried that into this year’s Masters, where he birdied the 72nd hole to seemingly clinch victory and then repeated the trick on the second play-off hole after Cabrera had matched his birdie on the 18th to force extra holes.
“The Open was obviously a disappointing loss but it was a motivator and Bridgestone (the WGC Invitational) and the US PGA were just around the corner,” Scott said.
“I felt I had never swung the club as good as I did at the Open, it was a chance for me to go out at the PGA and right the wrong of Lytham.
“This (winning the Masters) is a motivator too, but I am finding it a bit harder to put the two together because of the sense of elation and achievement for me.
“But hopefully come tomorrow I will be able to land my feet on the ground and keep this going because it could be the start of a great year for me.
“It’s probably going to be the pinnacle of my career because of the whole first Australian to win the Masters thing, but it’s also not the end for me hopefully, it’s the start of me achieving my goals, trying to become the player I have always dreamed of being.”
Scott’s win at Augusta meant four of the last six majors have been won by players using long or belly putters, with the game’s governing bodies the R&A and USGA proposing to ban anchored putting strokes from 2016.
The PGA Tour and PGA of America have voiced their objections to the proposal but Scott has a simple solution to the problem.
“I don’t think there will be anything much for me to change,” he said. “If I have to separate the putter a millimetre from my chest then I’ll do that.”
Scott will play alongside world No 2 Rory McIlroy, who has never made the cut in three appearances at Sawgrass, and Steve Stricker in the first two rounds, with 45 of the top 50 competing for the first prize of just over £1m.