Rory McIlroy was 12 years old. The Fast and the Furious (the first one) had just been released. Shrek was the top-grossing movie.
That was the last time Adam Scott didn’t find himself in this position.
Then, the smooth-swinging Australian teed it up at the 2001 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club and started a streak that is still going 25 years later. A streak that will reach 100 on Thursday when he sends his first tee shot into the air at this year’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.
It takes many things all coming together to play in 100 consecutive major championships. Talent, yes. Drive, undoubtedly. Health, certainly. Luck, unquestionably. All of that has to come together. It’s something that only two players have accomplished — Scott and Jack Nicklaus, who played in 146 straight majors.
“It’s absolutely incredible. I think to even just play 100 majors throughout your career is an amazing achievement,” Rory McIlroy, whose current major streak is at 40 and would be at 70 had he not suffered an ankle injury while playing soccer ahead of the 2015 Open Championship. “I just think about the level that you need to be at and no injuries. … You know, just there’s a lot of things that need to sort of fall in line. So it’s incredibly impressive.”
Scott made his major debut at the 2000 Open Championship, where he missed the cut. He missed the next two majors before finishing in a tie for 47th at Lytham. He has been teeing it up and contending at major championships since. That streak included his 2013 Masters win, playing through a broken bone in his hand during the 2008 U.S. Open and numerous close calls that have him still stuck at one career major. He has made 74 cuts in 99 majors, while racking up 45 top-25 finishes, 20 top-10s and nine top-fives.
Scott’s streak was in jeopardy ahead of the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, when he was No. 61 in the world, just outside of the top 60 cutoff for automatic qualification. He lost a playoff at final qualifying and was on track to miss his first major since Vin Diesel told Paul Walker about the importance of family and fast cars (the franchise has gone in a different direction since).
However, he earned a spot in the field after the United States Golf Association adjusted the field following the tragic death of Grayson Murray, who was ranked 59 at the time of his passing. It was around that time, when his streak was extended to 92, that Scott started to emphasize getting to a mark only Nicklaus had touched.
“But in all honesty, since Pinehurst a couple years ago, it kind of was on my radar,” Scott said on Tuesday at a pre-U.S. Open press conference at Shinnecock Hills. “Earlier this year, as I wasn’t automatically qualified for this event, it became a bit of a weight on my shoulders making sure I got here.”
Scott is still grinding and competing at the highest level. He entered the final round at last year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont with a chance to add major No. 2, but a dreadful Sunday on a water-logged course that was on the edge of unplayable saw that chance slip through his fingers.
A month ago at the Cadillac Championship at Doral, Scott was asked to put his upcoming achievement in perspective. He joked that he’d still like to win tournaments, not just get things for showing up. It was a nice milestone, sure, but Scott was relatively uninterested in career retrospectives.
“Like my head’s still really in, like I should be able to compete and win these things, so maybe I don’t see it as much of an accomplishment,” Scott said. “But I guess if you ask someone who is at two majors it seems like a long way away. I’ll give myself a pat on the back, but I would love to still win.”
As his 100th straight major start approached, Scott grappled with how to view it. He’s not in the reflective part of his life yet, so he didn’t expect to feel any sort of way about it as the moment arrived. He’s just focused on the grind, on the shots, on what’s needed to fight off the setting sun, which he knows is closer than it has ever been.
But Scott found something different as his centurion moment arrived.
“It’s an interesting one, as I’ve thought about it over the last couple of weeks, obviously this week getting closer,” Scott said. “I found it difficult at first reflecting on something while I’m still playing. I think I’ve never really been one to dwell on milestones. I think it’s something I’ll probably do at the end of my career. However, it’s resonated a little bit more with me the last few days, and from people close to me, to my sponsors and partners, I’m so appreciative of everyone recognizing this. It’s a strange one because it’s not something you really set out to do or aim for.”
Two weeks ago at the Memorial Tournament, Scott took a photo with Nicklaus, the two members of the 100 Club, and he told Nicklaus that his record isn’t in jeopardy, at least not from Scott.
“First thing he says is, A hundred, it feels like an eternity, and you got 46 more,” Nicklaus said. “He says, I don’t think I’ll make that.”
On Tuesday at Shinnecock, Scott was asked to reflect on 25 years of majors, on the journey and what it took to make it all possible. Focus, Scott said, was the biggest key to achieving something that he is unsure how to absorb. Asked about what his younger self didn’t know that he now does, Scott admits there was “lots” his younger self didn’t know, but overall, he must have had a lot of it right in order to have made it to the mark he’ll cross on Thursday.
Longevity in sports is sometimes underappreciated. The highest peaks are celebrated, but the ability to perform at an elite level for decades shouldn’t be underrated. McIlroy has been in the top 16 in the Official World Golf Rankings for 12 straight years, barely ever drifting south of the top 10. Roger Federer first became the top-ranked tennis player in the world in 2004 and recaptured the top spot for the final time in 2018. Tom Brady won a Super Bowl at age 43. LeBron James continues to defy Father Time at age 42.
Scott has played in every major for a quarter of a century. His motivation and focus never waned, and at age 45 he is as motivated as ever to keep the sand from slipping through his hourglass.
Back at Doral, Scott was asked about Justin Rose’s latest close call at the Masters. Rose and Scott are contemporaries. They arrived around the same time and have been mainstays in professional golf ever since. Both have only won one major, and both are fighting to find a way to grab another before their time finally runs out.
“I’m still motivated to continue pushing; seeing Justin push and get so close is motivation for me as well,” Scott said. “Our careers have been almost paralleling each other for 25 years, so I don’t know which one of us is going to give up the ghost first, but for the moment we’ll keep pushing.”
Twenty-five years and 99 majors later, after 32 worldwide wins and a green jacket, Adam Scott is still chasing, still hoping the horizon holds what he most desires — a win that will finally give him a major total that equals his impressive resume.
That of a man who has been omnipresent on golf’s biggest stages for a quarter of a century.
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