A tournament that has been a happy hunting ground for Australians in years gone by, Scott’s 5-under 68 on day one raised the prospect of the Queenslander adding his name to the list of champions but the 40-year-old was unable to keep pace with the front-runners.

Scott’s Presidents Cup teammate Joaquin Niemann used a blistering 9-under 64 in blustery conditions at the Kapalua Resort’s Plantation Course to storm to 25-under par where he was joined by Harris English after the American just missed an eagle putt to win in regulation.

It only took one return trip down the 18th hole for English to secure his first win since 2013, a birdie enough to best Niemann in the playoff.

Scott closed out his opening tournament of the year with a 3-under par 70 to finish tied for 21st, a double bogey on the par-4 fourth – the No.1-ranked hole on the golf course – an early stumble before registering five birdies on the back nine.

While he finished on a positive note ahead of a return to the Sony Open this week where he was runner-up in 2009, Scott was most excited by a round one ball-striking display that yielded 80 per cent of fairways and 94 per cent of greens in regulation.

“Probably the best ball striking round I’ve had in about five years, so I feel like that’s something good to start the year out with,” Scott said.

“It is a nice course to get the confidence up, the fairways are wider, but still with the wind and the elevation you’ve got to be a little bit careful.

“I drove it really well and also proximity (to the hole) was really tight.

“I kind of started feeling it there at Houston and the Masters and managed to keep in the practice something going in the right direction, so it was nice to see that on the course.”

Scott has played the Sony Open just four times since he finished second to Zach Johnson but will return to Waialae Country Club where countryman Cameron Smith is the defending champion.

A third-round 7-under 66 was the highlight of Smith’s week at Kapalua as he and Marc Leishman both finished one stroke back of Scott in a tie for 25th.

PGA TOUR
Kapalua Resort (Plantation Course), Maui, Hawaii
Won by Harris English on the first playoff hole
T21        Adam Scott         68-71-68-70—277            $US75,000
T25        Marc Leishman  69-69-71-69—278            $63,200
T25        Cameron Smith  70-70-66-72—278            $63,200