Adam Scott prepared to take leading Presidents role

Looks can be deceiving. At 31, Adam Scott barely looks older than he did when he turned pro in 2000, at the age of only 19, but the Queenslander enters this week's Presidents Cup as a seasoned professional. As the bi-annual tournament between an International team and the United States returns to one of Scott's favourite homeland golf courses, Royal Melbourne, his captain Greg Norman has said he expects Scott to play a leading role on and off the golf course, and Scott agrees.

"I have been very vocal with Greg about my thoughts," starts Scott, who was talking at the recent Mercedes Trophy in Stuttgart, where he was appearing with new sponsors Mercedes-Benz before returning to Australia. "Geoff Ogilvy has too, and I think it is because we are sick of losing. This is going to be my fifth Presidents Cup and I am certainly not afraid to be heard, and I care a lot about what happens."

The last time the Internationals won the Presidents Cup outright was at Royal Melbourne in 1998, when Norman was playing and Scott was in college. This time around there is no shortage of motivational factors for Scott: he is yet to taste victory in the event, he is playing in front of a home crowd, and he is playing under the leadership of his childhood idol - as he did in 2009.

"It was a dream come true when I played in Greg's team in 2009," says Scott, "and to get an insight into my game from his perspective. Greg can be a calming influence, he can be inspirational, and he does not mind lighting a fire under my arse, that's for sure.

"That is what he did leading up to the last Presidents Cup, when he picked me for the team. I was struggling with my game at the time and Greg had a lot of belief in me - probably more than I had in myself. Just being in that environment again fired me up. There is nowhere to hide in team events: there can be no hiding in the middle of the field if you feel like it's not your week: everything you do gets noticed because everyone has got to win points so the team can win.

"The Presidents Cup in 2009 switched me back on, and made me believe that this is where I am supposed to be. Greg was a big part of that. Greg is really fired up about it and he does not want to lose. And I want to be on a winning team for once - those defeats were just so brutal. I really like the way our team has come together. It is going to be tough to beat the Americans, but I feel very good about it."

Article courtesy of Mercedes-Benz

See also:

US Presidents Cup pictures gallery