Form is temporary, class is permanent, as two class golf players proved

Last week saw two of the finest golf swings in the business — Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen — winning in two different parts of the world.

Australia’s Scott won the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic on the demanding PGA National course, while the South African was in terrific form Down Under in securing the Perth International title. Both players have endured a couple of difficult seasons, but by getting back into the winner’s circle, they have once again proved the age-old adage — class is permanent.

Both Scott and Oosty last won in the first half of 2014, and 2015 wasn’t exactly their finest year, even though the 2010 Open Champion came close to major glory on a couple of occasions.

Oosthuizen finished runner-up in both the Open Championship and the US Open, where he came back at Chambers Bay with three spectacular rounds after starting with a 77, but continued to struggle with his back injury and even needed to pull out of a couple of events because of it.

Scotty, on the other hand, failed to win a single tournament, which was surprising for a player of his calibre, as he tried to make a switch from the long putter.

There were some people who doubted if the Australian would remain the same force after shifting to the normal putter, but that did not include any of us players. Obviously, Scott felt a lot more comfortable using the long putter, but let’s not forget that a majority of his wins came with the short one. It was just a matter of making the transition, and by finishing second in Northern Trust Open and winning The Honda Classic in back-to-back weeks, it is abundantly clear that he is back in supreme form.

I thought the most interesting part of Scott’s duel with Sergio Garcia over the weekend was how he did not let a debilitating quadruple bogey on the 15th hole on Saturday get to him. He quietly regrouped after that, made a birdie on the 17th and then produced a steady round of 70 on Sunday to get past the Spaniard.

Oosty’s was a masterclass of ball-striking, which is not surprising. When on song, there are very few players who can make the ball do things exactly as per their wish and he is one of them. Lake Karrinyup is a relatively easy golf course, but to hit 67 greens in regulation out of 72 is phenomenal — even on a par-3 course.

The action this week shifts to the first World Golf Championship event of the year, the Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral. The Blue Monster, with its new changes, proved a tough challenge, and with the cream of world golf in the field, I am sure it is going to be another sensational week.

— Jeev Milkha Singh is a four-time champion on the European Tour