Don’t let Adam Scott’s demeanor as the calmest, coolest, most unaffected guy in the room fool you.
His competitive fire burns at a pretty high temperature. So Scott would like his No. 1 world ranking back, thank you.
Are you listening, Rory McIlroy?
Scott’s reign as the No. 1 ranked player in the world lasted for 11 weeks, from mid-May until August — until Rory.
During Rory McIlroy’s summer of love, in which he won the last two major championships and his last three tournaments overall entering this week’s FedEx Cup playoff opener at The Barclays, he pretty much swallowed up Scott’s No. 1 ranking and digested it without even chewing.
“I’d love to get back to No. 1 and I think this is a good stretch of golf for me to try and do that,’’ Scott said Friday after shooting a 6-under-par 65 to seize a share of The Barclays lead at 8-under par at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J. “But the standard I’ll have to play at is really high. It would be great to put myself up in the mix, and hopefully have Rory think he’s got to look over his shoulder at least for me.’’
Scott’s 65, which could have been a 59 had he not played the three par-5s in 1-over, and had he putted better, has him tied with Cameron Tringale for the 36-hole lead.
McIlroy, who brushed off his sloppy opening-round 74 with a 65 on Friday, is lurking at 4-under, very much in position to win his fourth consecutive tournament and further cement his No. 1 status.
Not, however, if Scott has anything to say about it.
“I really loved [being No. 1],’’ said Scott, only the second Australian to ascend to the top spot, following his idol, Greg Norman. “It was a unique feeling for sure. I tried to ham it up the best I could, and I felt proud walking to the golf course every time I did as No. 1. I enjoyed that whole experience of showing up at tournaments as the No. 1 player.
“I guess it’s inevitable that you’ll lose it one day.’’
What hurts Scott at least as much as losing his No. 1 ranking was not winning a major championship this year — something he said he entered the year anticipating he would do. He finished in a tie for 14th in his defense of the green jacket at the Masters, tied for ninth at the U.S. Open, tied for fifth at the British Open and tied for 15th at the PGA Championship two weeks ago.
So now Scott is now using these FedEx Cup playoffs as his final crack at a “major’’ for 2014, and his motivational fire has been stoked by McIlroy’s recent dominance.
“I think you’ve got to draw motivation from wherever you can,’’ he said. “And I’m not afraid to say that I look at the way he played and I want that to be me. And I feel that I can play like that and have runs like that.
“You’ve got to learn from the best and he’s one of them. So look at what he’s doing, and the way he’s going about it is important because it’s relevant to the way we all play out here.’’
Asked if it bothered him to lose his No. 1 ranking, Scott said: “Not to golf like what Rory played those few weeks, no. That’s deserving. I think you need to see the No. 1 player winning frequently, and [McIlroy’s run] was perfect for that … every week. I think in that sense, the rankings were very accurate.’’
Scott said he “learned a lot out of the major season this year,’’ watching Bubba Watson take his Masters green jacket away, Martin Kaymer blow the U.S. Open field away and McIlroy play so well with the lead en route to winning the British Open and PGA.
“We saw guys win on top of their game not looking back, just going forward,’’ Scott said. “There’s so much to play for and for me to be satisfied with the year, I need four really great weeks here, and I’d like to pick up the FedEx Cup. Then I’ll be satisfied with my year.’’
Should he do that, depending on McIlroy’s performance during the next month, a byproduct of capturing the $10 million FedEx Cup pot of gold at the end could be a return to world No. 1.