Adam Scott Is In Striking Distance at Wells Fargo, But Will Need Help Sunday

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Adam Scott stood on the 18th tee at Quail Hollow on Saturday, 5 under par for his round and wondering what was going on.

Having started the third round of the Wells Fargo Championship just a shot out of the lead, he was playing his best golf of the week and was somehow three strokes behind.

And then matters got worse, as his tee shot caught a tree just 40 yards off the tee, dropping straight down, and leading to a bogey.

Still, he heads into the final round tied for third, five strokes back of surprising third-round leader Wyndham Clark, who has never won on the PGA Tour. He will try to get his first victory at a designated event that carries a $20 million purse.

Scott, 42 and a pro since 2000, is in his best position of 2023 which is a bit of a surprise coming off a resurgent year in 2022 that saw him make the Tour Championship.

“It's been hard not to be frustrated because there isn't one thing that I can really put my finger on why I'm not getting better results,’’ said Scott, who has yet to finish among the top 20 in eight events this year. “I play O.K. every week and O.K. kind of sucks on the PGA Tour, so I'm nowhere with anything.

"This business is all about results, so that's what I'm looking for tomorrow."

Scott could use a low round at Quail Hollow, which yielded an 8-under-par 63 to Clark, who broke from a pack that once saw 11 players tied for the lead. Clark is two shots ahead of Xander Schauffele and five ahead of Scott and Tyrrell Hatton.

Ranked 41st in the Official World Golf Ranking (No. 69 in the SI World Golf Rankings), Scott is the most accomplished player on the leaderboard, but lacking tournament titles in recent years.

Scott has recounted often how the pandemic was particularly difficult on his career. He had just won the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in 2020, moving to seventh in the world, when the world shutdown.

Not knowing how things would play out, Scott returned to Australia to be with his family and had difficulty with various travel restrictions and delayed his return to competitive golf until August of that year.

It took him a full year to post a top-10 finish, losing in a playoff at the Wyndham Championship before finally seeing some success last year.

"I think it was a bit of a setback for me, which is a shame, but that's what it is," Scott said. "I was in charge of all those decisions that I made. I feel like last year I really worked hard to kind of climb myself back into a good spot and this year has been slow to get going, calendar year-wise certainly.

"This is the best performance for three days of a tournament so far, so I'm looking for a really good back half of this season."

Whether he can chase down a victory Sunday might have more to do with Clark, who is in his fifth year on the PGA Tour, having posted 14 top-10s without a victory.

"I'm excited to see how I handle the pressure tomorrow," said Clark, who had eight birdies without a bogey Saturday. "It's going to be a fun challenge. Obviously it's going to be tough, I've got one of two the best players in the world right behind me and a bunch of other good players. I'm just really looking forward to the challenge tomorrow."

So is Scott, who can appreciate what Clark is enduring in trying to get a first one. After all, it’s been more than three years since Scott won his 14th PGA Tour title—which is his only one in the last seven years.

"Everything's gotten bigger and bigger and bigger, and here we are now, we've been at designated events, and if you're trying to win your first at a designated event, it's all incredibly significant," Scott said. "These events have a new status on the Tour.

"I think in time we'll see them somewhat revered amongst the players, like how many designated events have you won, counting them a little bit like we counted Tiger (Woods) winning WGCs (World Golf Championship events) throughout the years.

"It's never easy to win out here let alone your first, but I think, thinking back to when I won any tournament but even the first, you just, it's your day. If you can keep yourself under control, something goes right and you end up getting across the line. I know that's easier said than done, but that's kind of what it felt like. You've got to just do the same stuff that got you to that position through three days."