Open collapse can help Scott, says Norman

London: Adam Scott’s disastrous outing in the British Open could actually serve as the blueprint for his success in the future, according to Greg Norman.

Scott’s shattering collapse at Lytham St Annes earlier this month was widely described by the media — especially in Australia — as being like Norman’s dramatic meltdown at the 1996 Masters when he blew away a six-shot lead to finish runner-up to Nick Faldo. Even though Norman achieved greatness as a golfer, winning two Open Championships, his career was defined by that stunning loss of composure in 1996. Norman has since gone on to achieve fame and fortune as a golf-course designer and entrepreneur in the game.

The man known as the Great White Shark said he had spoken to Scott since he shot bogeys on the last four holes at Royal Lytham and St Annes to blow a four-shot lead. He said: “I told Adam that he played 68 great holes and 50 per cent of his shots on the last four holes were fantastic. So I told him to walk away and think of how well and how easily he beat a quality field in 68 holes. He can’t walk away with a negative reaction drilled into his brain.

“I told him that if he wanted to be on top of the heap then he has to be able to take the knocks. He cannot have everything going his way. There’s no player in the planet who hasn’t gone through that,” argued Norman. “It’s happened to me, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino and even Tiger Woods. Embrace the adversity of life is what I told Adam and learn about how you can improve on them in whatever way you can.”

Norman added that he “loved the kid (Scott) to death”.

He added: “You don’t want to see him or anyone else for that matter go through such things. But at the same time you have to navigate the way out yourself. I cannot be sitting there telling him what to do. I can only tell him what I know from experience. He’s the one who must show the ability to take bits and pieces of that information and bounce back. The next two weeks is going to be important for him.”

Confident that Scott would return from his bad outing “because he’s a phenomenal player”, Norman added: “He’s shown it through his performance in the past. Yes, that was the first time he’s ever been in that situation in a championship, but sometimes it takes a while for a guy to put his feet on the blocks and push on out. Even though he didn’t win, I think that this will be the catalyst for better things.”