World Number 7 Adam Scott has returned to Royal Sydney Golf
Club, a venue which holds positive and negative memories, as he tries to win
the Stonehaven Cup for a second time.

In 2013, Scott stormed into the lead at the Emirates
Australian Open firing a course record 10-under 62.

Come Sunday, he was going head-to-head with Rory McIlroy,
before disaster struck on the 18^th green. Scott flew the green and with
it saw the Stonehaven Cup fly into McIlroy’s hands.

"Obviously the
18^th hole stands out and I made an error on the last hole when I
couldn’t afford to. It’s just the way the game goes," said Scott. 

"If I’d hit a
pretty average shot to the front of the green and two putted, Rory probably doesn’t
make his putt and I win the tournament. 

"But, I just
slightly pushed the 8 iron and misjudged the wind, it goes over the green into
a tough spot, I make a five and the door’s open for Rory and being such a great
player, you’ve got to take those breaks when they’re given to you and he knocks
it in."

This week Scott has returned to Royal Sydney Golf with
redemption on his mind.

"I’d certainly like to get a win here at Royal Sydney after what
happened a few years ago, that burns a little bit," said Scott.

"To win the Aussie Open is special, but it would kind of cap off what
was a good year, but it would make it feel just that bit better because I’ve
got another win.

To ensure a different ending to 2013, Scott has been meticulous in his
preparations.

"I came down
for a couple of hits last week and refreshed myself with the course," added
Scott.

"I’ve done a
fair bit of work the last couple of days around the greens and on the short
game, and that’s where I think if that’s sharp enough this week I think that
will put me in with a good show.

"The rest of
my game feels very solid and I’ve had mostly good scores lately.  I had a couple of shockers, but it happens
occasionally.  Unfortunately, there’s
been a lot of low scores, so hopefully I can run with that momentum this week."

While McIlroy isn’t in the field this week, Scott will still
need to overcome an impressive field including World Number 5 Jordan Spieth.

Depite this being Spieth’s first time playing the Royal
Sydney Golf Course, Scott doesn’t see course knowledge being a big advantage to
him.    

"Having
played here a fair bit over the years, I feel very comfortable. I might have a
little bit of an advantage in that sense," said Scott.

"Jordan is
such a good player.  He can figure a
course out pretty quickly.  I think even
though he’s young, he’s already got so much experience playing everywhere
around the world. It’s to his advantage that he’s coming out here to play this
event."

Just like McIlroy did in 2013 and Spieth in 2014, Scott
hopes that a win this week would be the springboard for a successful 2017
season.

"Getting a win at any time is huge for the confidence because even the
best players or the guys at the top of the world, they’re not really winning
that much compared to how many events they play," added Scott. 

"It’s a strange game and that extra confidence a win gives you, it’s
huge. Those guys went on and had unbelievable years right after winning here;
so you’ve got to take something from that, it’s probably not just coincidence.

"Being on such a high early in the year this year, it kind of flattened
out a little bit, even though the results were pretty good throughout the year
and it would kind of lift me up going into next year, so it would be a nice way
to finish off."

The Emirates Australian Open is being played at Royal Sydney
Golf Club from 17-20 November.

Adam Scott tees off in the first round at 12.10pm playing
alongside Aaron Baddeley and Jhonattan Vegas.