Rory McIlroy was 12 years old. Fast and Furious (the first) had just been released. Shrek it was the highest grossing film.
This was the last time Adam Scott did not find himself in THIS position.
The smooth-swinging Australian then swept him in the 2001 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club and began a streak that still continues 25 years later. A streak that will reach 100 on Thursday when he sends his first ball into the air US Open this year at Shinnecock Hills.
It takes a lot to come together to play in 100 consecutive major championships. Talent, yes. Travel, of course. Health, of course. Luck, no doubt. All of this must come together. It’s something only two players have accomplished – Scott and Jack Nicklaus, who played in 146 consecutive majors.
“It’s absolutely unbelievable. I think even just playing 100 championships in a career is an amazing achievement,” Rory McIlroy, whose current major streak is 40 and would have been 70 if he hadn’t suffered an ankle injury while playing soccer before the 2015 Open. “I just think about the level you have to be at and injury-free. … You know, there’s just a lot you have to do. fall in line. So that’s pretty impressive.”
Scott made his major debut at the 2000 Open Championship, where he missed the cut. He lost the next two races before finishing in a tie for 47th at Lytham. Since then, he has been doing it and competing in major championships. That streak included his victory at the 2013 Masters, playing through a broken bone in his hand during the 2008 US Open, and numerous closing calls that still have him stuck in a great career. He has made 74 cuts in 99 majors, while amassing 45 top-25s, 20 top-10s and nine top-fives.
Scott’s streak was in jeopardy ahead of the 2024 US Open at Pinehurst, when he was ranked 61st in the world, just outside the top 60 cut-off for automatic qualification. He missed a playoff in the final qualifiers and was on track to lose his first degree since Vin Diesel told Paul Walker about the importance of family and fast cars (the franchise has gone in a different direction since then).
However, he earned a spot in the field after the United States Golf Association adjusted the field following the tragic death of Grayson Murray, who was ranked 59th at the time of his death. It was then, when his streak extended to 92, that Scott began to emphasize reaching a mark that only Nicklaus had touched.
“But in all honesty, since Pinehurst a few years ago, it was on my radar,” Scott said Tuesday at a news conference before the US Open at Shinnecock Hills. “Earlier this year, after not automatically qualifying for this event, it was a bit of a weight on my shoulders making sure I got here.”
Scott is still grinding and competing at the highest level. He entered the final round at last year’s US Open at Oakmont with a chance to add the No. 2 major, but a terrible Sunday in a stream full of water who was on the brink of not playing before the chance slipped through his fingers.
A month ago at the Cadillac Championship in Doral, Scott was asked to put his next accomplishment into perspective. He joked that he would still like to win tournaments, not just get things to show up. It was a nice milestone, sure, but Scott was relatively uninterested in career retrospectives.
“Like my head is still really, like I should be able to compete and win these things, so maybe I don’t see it as an accomplishment,” Scott said. “But I think if you ask someone who’s in two majors, it seems like a long shot. I’ll give myself a pat on the back, but I’d still like to win.”
As his 100th consecutive start approached, Scott struggled with how to look at it. He’s not in the reflective part of his life yet, so he didn’t expect to feel any kind of way about it when the moment came. He is focused only on the shots, on the shots, on what is needed to fight the setting sun, which he knows is closer than ever.
But Scott found something different when his centurion moment came.
“It’s an interesting thing, as I’ve been thinking about it for the last couple of weeks, it’s definitely getting closer this week,” Scott said. “At first I found it hard to reflect on something while I’m still playing. I guess I’ve never been one to dwell on milestones. I think it’s something I’ll probably do at the end of my career. However, it’s resonated with me a little bit more in the last few days, and from people close to me, to my sponsors and partners, I’m very curious about this app. It’s not something you really set out to do or aim for.”
Two weeks ago at the Memorial Tour, Scott took a picture with Nicklaus, the two members of the 100 Club, and he told Nicklaus that his record is not in danger, at least not from Scott.
“The first thing he says is, A hundred feels like an eternity, and you have 46 moresaid Nicklaus. “He says, I don’t think I will do that.”
On Tuesday at Shinnecock, Scott was asked to reflect on the 25 years of the degree, the journey and what it took to make it possible. Focus, Scott said, was the biggest key to achieving something he’s not sure how to absorb. Asked what his younger self didn’t know now, Scott admits there was “a lot” his younger self didn’t know, but overall, he must have had a pretty good time to get to the point he’ll be on Thursday.
Longevity in sports is sometimes underestimated. The highest peaks are celebrated, but the ability to perform at an elite level for decades should not be underestimated. McIlroy has been in the top 16 in the Official World Golf Ranking for 12 straight years, barely ever breaking south of the top 10. Time at the age of 42.
Scott has played in every major for a quarter of a century. His motivation and focus never waned, and at 45 he is as motivated as ever to keep the sand from slipping through his watch.
Back in Doral, Scott was asked about Justin Rose’s latest close call at the Masters. Rose and Scott are contemporaries. They arrived at the same time and have been mainstays of professional golf ever since. Both have won only one major, and both are struggling to find a way to catch the other before their time runs out.
“I’m still motivated to keep pushing; seeing Justin push and come so close is motivation for me as well,” Scott said. “Our careers have been almost parallel to each other for 25 years, so I don’t know which one of us will give up the ghost first, but for now we’ll keep pushing.”
Twenty-five years and 99 majors later, after 32 world wins and a green jacket, Adam Scott is still chasing, still hoping the horizon holds what he wants most – a win that will finally give him a major to match his impressive resume.
That of a man who has been ubiquitous on golf’s biggest stages for a quarter of a century.
“>
