DORAL, Fla. — Credit to Adam Scott: He did not deflect a question Wednesday about his desire to overtake Tiger Woods as the No. 1 player in the world rankings with a default non-answer.
Scott, the defending Masters champion who is currently ranked No. 2, can unseat Woods at No. 1 with a win at this week’s WGC-Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral and a Woods finish of sixth or worse.
Instead of downplaying his desire by rambling on that “if it happens, it happens’’ or something similar, which some players might say, Scott was open about his motivation to reach that pinnacle.
“It’s impossible not to think about it,’’ he said. “It would be a dream come true to make it to that point. If you look at stats and numbers, there’s no reason why I’m just going to roll out and win this week, but there’s great motivation for me to do that.’’
Scott, who won four tournaments worldwide last year, including the Masters, and tied for 12th last week at the Honda Classic after taking six weeks off, is paired for the first two rounds, beginning Thursday, with Woods and Henrik Stenson, who is ranked No. 3.
“I’m very comfortable with where my game is at and certainly believe it’s in a position where I can put myself in contention this week, and if I got there, the motivation to win would be that much more than just winning a trophy,” Scott said. “But [to] win a tournament and achieve the No. 1 ranking potentially with that would be a great way to do it. It would be a great story for myself, anyway.’’
Woods said he has noticed a change in Scott in recent years.
“This is his progress he’s made,’’ Woods said. “In the last three years, he’s taken a more dedicated approach to how he schedules events, what he plays in, how he practices, how he prepares, and I think that’s really changed his performances. He’s won all around the world, he’s won a major championship and he’s slowly progressively gotten a little bit better.
“He’s put himself in contention in a number of major championships, not just the one he won at the Masters [but] the British Open and a few others, he’s been right there. I think his new approach has certainly changed, and I think that’s allowed him to be more consistent when he wants to play.’’
That all said, Woods made it clear he’s not ready to relinquish his No. 1 ranking.
“It feels good [to be No. 1], because you have to earn it,’’ Woods said. “You have to win golf tournaments to get there and you have to be pretty consistent. I have won, what, eight times in the last couple years to get back there, and that wasn’t an easy task, especially coming from outside the top 50 to be able to come back from that and get to where I’m at is something I’m very proud of.
“A lot of you in here [in the media] have wrote me off, that I would never come back, but here I am.’’