Scott is a two-time winner at the venue which will host the golf competition at the 2028 Olympic Games and his wonderful memories of those triumphs have a been a calming influence during an intense lead up.

It was announced during the week that the 42-year-old was named chairman of the PGA Tour Players Advisory Council – which advises and consults with the policy board and commissioner Jay Monahan on issues affecting the tour – and he joked with journalists at Riviera on Wednesday that he demands to be called Mr. Chairman.

That appointment has taken some of his attention away from the golf course, but when it comes to matters inside the ropes he has also had to deal with an unwelcome distraction.

Scott’s caddy Steve Williams has been in a race against the clock to make it to Los Angeles for their Thursday tee time due to Cyclone Gabrielle disrupting travel out of New Zealand.

Despite those issues impacting his preparation, Scott is confident that his game is in the best shape it has been since he won at Riviera only weeks before the world shutdown in 2020 courtesy of a strong finish to last year and some rejuvenating time at home in Australia in recent months.

“I don’t think I’m that far away from getting back to that kind of contending level,” Scott said.

“So, I’m optimistic about what I can do this year and beyond. For the moment I’m healthy, I’m still hitting it well, my putting has been most consistent the last three years and stats are looking good.

“So, every area is in a good spot, I just maybe need to narrow my focus a little bit. I feel like making East Lake last year and allowing myself to take the pressure off and focus on what I want to focus on this year has been a good thing for me.”

. @AdamScott is going to have significant input into the future of the @PGATOUR.https://t.co/u2Dhq9ZVDk

— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) February 14, 2023

The ten-year anniversary of Scott’s win at The Masters is fast approaching and when he reflected on that career-defining moment, he also gave a glimpse into his future.

Asked if he would be the sort of player of uses their champion’s exemption to play at Augusta National until they are 65 and go out and shoot 80, Scott made it clear that he is not going anywhere anytime soon.

“I hope I can do better than that at 65, but you might be right,” he said with a laugh.

“That might be one tournament they might have to ask me to stop playing. (Laughs.) I’m going to probably try and milk that exemption as long as I can. I think I’ve got a fair few years left in me yet.”

Jason Day will also tee it up at Riviera this week after he has finished inside the top ten in his two most recent starts, including his fifth-place finish at last week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open, while Cam Davis and Lucas Herbert are the other Australians in the field.

The Ladies European Tour heads to Saudi Arabia this week for the Aramco Saudi Ladies International with Hannah Green making her first start of 2023, while Steph Kyriacou, Gabi Ruffels and Whitney Ruffels are also taking part in the $US 5 million event.

Top-five finishers on last season’s ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit Blake Windred (2^nd), Dimitrios Papadatos (4^th) and Aaron Pike (5^th) are all in action on the DP World Tour alongside Louis Dobbelaar, Jason Scrivener and Anthony Quayle at the Thailand Classic.

Meanwhile eleven Australians are in Qatar for the Asian Tour’s International Series Qatar including Asian Tour Qualifying School winner Jack Thompson.

Round 1 Tee Times AEDT

PGA TOUR

The Genesis Invitational

The Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, California

2.02am Danny Lee (NZ), James Hahn, Ben Taylor

2.13am*           Jason Day, Sepp Straka, Sungjae Im

2.35am*           Adam Scott, Tony Finau, Billy Horschel

6.53am*           Cam Davis, Luke List, Kevin Kisner

7.26am*           Lucas Herbert, Trey Mullinax, Harris English

Defending champion: Joaquin Niemann

Past Aussie winners: Robert Allenby (2001), Adam Scott (2005, 2020), Aaron Baddeley (2011)

TV times: Live 4am-12pm Friday, Saturday, Live 5am-11am Sunday, Live 5am-10.30am Monday on Fox Sports 503.

DP World Tour

Thailand Classic

Amata Spring CC, Chon Buri, Bangkok, Thailand

11.55am           Daniel Hillier (NZ), Andrew Wilson, Garrick Porteous

12.28pm           Aaron Pike, Kwanchai Tannin, Louis De Jager

3.40pm*           Blake Windred, Matthew Southgate, Marcus Helligkilde

3.51pm*           Louis Dobbelaar, Dimitrios Papadatos, Niklas Norgaard

4.02pm*           Jason Scrivener, Anthony Quayle, Mikko Korhonen

Defending champion: Scott Hend (2016)

Past Aussie winners: Andrew Dodt (2015), Scott Hend (2016)

TV times: Live 4.30pm-9.30pm Thursday, Friday; Live 4.30pm-9pm Saturday, Sunday on Fox Sports 505.

Asian Tour

International Series Qatar

Doha Golf Club, Qatar

2.20pm John Lyras, Matt Killen, El Mehdi Fakori

2.50pm Terry Pilkadaris, Mathiam Keyser, Tirawat Kaewsiribandit

3pm     Kevin Yuan, Karandeep Kochhar, Natipong Srithong

3.20pm Zach Murray, Kieran Vincent, Michael Tran

7.10pm Andrew Dodt, Jeev Milkha Singh, Miguel Carballo

7.20pm Wade Ormsby, Pavit Tangkamolprasert, Tomoharu Otsuki

7.30pm Scott Hend, Ian Snyman, Kaito Onishi

7.40pm Travis Smyth, Nitithorn Thippong, Shiv Kapur

8.10pm Todd Sinnott, Sanghyun Park, Jinichiro Kozuma

7.30pm*           Marcus Fraser, Neil Schietekat, Bjorn Hellgren

7.40pm*           Ben Campbell (NZ), Jarin Todd, Minkyu Kim

8.10pm*           Jack Thompson, Yikeun Chang, Danthai Boonma

Defending champion: Inaugural event

Past Aussie winners: Nil

TV times: Live 9pm-1am Thursday, Friday; Live 8pm-12am Saturday; Live 7.30pm-11pm Sunday on Fox Sports 503.

Ladies European Tour

Aramco Saudi Ladies International

Royal Greens Golf and Country Club, Saudi Arabia

3.21pm*           Lydia Ko (NZ), Atthaya Thitikul, Charley Hull

3.43pm*           Hannah Green, Chiara Noja, Jeongeun Lee6

4.16pm Gabriela Ruffels, Kim Metraux, Yujin Sung

4.16pm*           Whitney Hillier, Trish Johnson, Maha Haddioui

9.13pm Stephanie Kyriacou, Jenny Shin, Liz Young

Defending champion: Georgia Hall

Past Aussie winners: Nil

TV times: Live from 9pm Thursday, Friday; Live from 8pm Saturday, Sunday on Fox Sports +.

PGA TOUR Champions

Chubb Classic

Tiburon Golf Club, Naples, Florida

12.21am Mark Hensby, Woody Austin, Bob Estes

1.05am Robert Allenby, Brandt Jobe, John Huston

1.16am Stuart Appleby, Tom Pernice Jr, Jeff Maggert

1.38am Steven Alker (NZ), Bernhard Langer, Jim Furyk

2.55am Rod Pampling, Brian Gay, KJ Choi

3.39am John Senden, Tom Lehman, YE Yang

4.23am David McKenzie, Timothy O’Neal, Rob Labritz

4.34am Richard Green, Mario Tiziani, Brian Cooper

Defending champion: Bernhard Langer

Past Aussie winners: Nil