His first and last rounds weren’t what he wanted but Adam Scott’s middle 36 holes at the Crowne Plaza Invitational will give him plenty of confidence for the busy northern summer.

But while Scott’s 8-under effort for Friday
and Saturday was a highlight for Australian fans the news Jarrod Lyle will skip
the rest of the 2015 season to try to get his game back in shape was not.

Scott will be breathing a sigh of relief
after back to back solid rounds in Texas showed his game is not far from being
back to its best.

Scott’s opening and closing rounds were
poor by his standards but on both Friday and Saturday his pair of 66’s were
second best in the field.

Only Erik Compton Friday and Chris Kirk
Saturday went lower, an indication of how good Scott’s play was over those 36
holes.

The former World Number One knows all too
well he needs to lift for all 72 holes to contend at the biggest events but
prior to this week there had been little in his play to indicate he was
anywhere near decent form.

With only six rounds in the 60’s in seven
starts in 2015, and the best of those a 4-under 68 at the Arnold Palmer
invitational in March, this week’s performance will be a big confidence boost.

Scott eventually finished T24 at Colonial,
one shot ahead of March Leishman who was T27.

Geoff Ogilvy was the only other Australian
to make the cut finishing T43 at 2-under for the week.

Jarrod Lyle, who played with Scott
Saturday, was a victim of the large number of players to make the weekend when
he missed the 54-hole cut.

With 78 players advancing beyond Friday the
PGA TOUR instituted the 54-hole rule to reduce Sunday’s field to as close to 70
as possible and Lyle’s 74 saw him finish in the MDF category.

John Senden and Aaron Baddeley both missed
the 36-hole cut while Steven Bowditch was listed as a DQ though with rounds of
69-76 would have had the weekend off anyway.