The 44-year-old Scott’s Presidents Cup journey is like no other.

As a 23-year-old he made his International team debut at Fancourt in South Africa in the famous tied competition where darkness ended a titanic contest with Ernie Els and Tiger Woods on the course.

He remembers being “incredibly nervous” and leaning on his teammate Ernie Els for support; they played together at Fancourt, and Els remains a close confidante and mentor for Scott to this day.

His first match with Els sticks is embedded in his memory. “Ernie and I were 2-down with three to go in alternate shot and I was very nervous. He was playing great at the time, and I felt like it had been my fault we’re 2-down and he said, ‘Don’t worry about it, we’ve just got to stay the course’. He kept telling me that.

“And then I holed a good putt on 16, he holed a good one on 17 and then he chipped it stiff and we won the 18th and the match 1-up. That’s just one that really sticks with me. It was a great first match in the Presidents Cup for me, playing with one of the greatest friends and real flip in match play.”

As it happens 21 years on it is still the closest Scott has come to a win in International colours. Despite leading deep into the event at Seoul in 2015 where it ended up 15.5-14.5, and Melbourne in 2019 when it was 16-14, Scott still does not have a victory in this competition.

The Internationals’ win at Royal Melbourne in 1998 is the only time the US has lost in the Presidents Cup. Potentially, this could be Scott’s last opportunity.

“There’s been a lot of hurt, especially on a couple of the close calls, most recently in Korea and then in Melbourne,” he said. “Melbourne was a tough one going into Sunday with the lead in my home country and not getting it done. But the US is a great team.

“They keep putting up great teams and I feel like the great memories for me are being part of this team, being with the guys and on a different level for the week and hopefully inspiring some of the younger players now to continue to make the teams, continue to gain experience and eventually get the upper hand on the US team.”

Scott’s relationship with captain Mike Weir goes back years, including several times as a teammate for the Internationals. One of his most positive memories is of the famous singles match in Canada in 2007 when Weir took down Tiger Woods.

“I have strong memories of Royal Montreal with Mike in 2007 and for any of the younger guys, if they want to see what Mike is made of, they just need to watch him play Tiger (Woods) at Royal Montreal in 2007 and they know they’ve got a great leader.”

Scott is one of three Australians on the International team, with Min Woo Lee and Jason Day.

Day one matches begin at 1.35am (AEST) Friday.

PHOTO: Adam Scott tunes his bunker play at Royal Montreal on Tuesday. Image: Getty