Adam Scott posts “stress-free” round, surging into contention at Tour Championship

Adam Scott posted the only bogey-free round on Thursday at the Tour Championship. He signed for a 5-under 66 and now sits at 8-under overall.

The Aussie began the day at 3-under and picked up five strokes to sit tied for fourth.

“It was all good. I putted very nicely and felt like my swing was under control,” Scott said. “It was fairly stress-free. I didn’t get in the rough too much or into a spot where I couldn’t get out of. That’s helpful.”

The newly renovated East Lake Golf Club featured plenty of firm and fast greens, but Scott felt surprised by the lower scores. He was among 11 players to sign for a 67 or lower.

“I thought it was playing tougher,” he said. “I don’t know if they were the easy pins they just warmed us up with today or what. I didn’t think there would be so many mid-60s scores.”

Scott opened his round with four straight pars before making three birdies in a row at holes 5,6 and 7. He added his fourth birdie of the day at the par-4 12th with an impressive 14-foot putt.

The 44-year-old finished his round on a high note with a birdie at 18.

He leads the field in strokes gained off the tee at +1.047 despite only hitting 9-of-14 greens.

Scott struggled in one area, and that was his approach game. The No. 79 player in the world lost -2.512 to the field and hit only 11-of-18 greens in regulation.

Around the greens, though, the 14-time PGA Tour winner shined as his scrambling was perfect, with a 7-of-7. He was also 2-of-2 in sand saves.

Scott shined with his flat stick.

In strokes gained putting, he picked up +3.812 shots, which leads the field. The former Masters winner made 123 feet of putts on the day, the second most on Thursday among the Top 30 behind Wyndham Clark, who made 131 feet of putts.

That hot putter allowed him to avoid any dropped shots, which no one else can say. He took advantage of the 3-under start and added to it. Scott was not the only one who made a big surge up the leaderboard. Justin Thomas posted a 66 to go from dead last to T-14.

Scott is now in a great place to do something special this weekend in Atlanta if he can keep going low.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.