Adam Scott knows how to close a performance with a showstopper.
For the second straight day at the 2022 ISPS Handa Australian Open, Scott eagled the final hole, which was enough to leapfrog Adrian Meronk for the 54-hole lead of the DP World Tour event in Melbourne, Australia.
Scott played solid and smooth en route to a 67 on Saturday, a day after he scorched his way into the lead with a 63.
According to stats guru Justin Ray, Scott is 9-for-15 in converting over the last 15 years when he has a stake in the lead after 54 holes.
Adam Scott takes the clubhouse lead at the last!
He eagles the 18th for the second day in a row. #AusOpenGolf pic.twitter.com/Ng9ox6VrR1
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) December 3, 2022
Meronk, who birdied six of his first eight holes, had the best third-round score, posting a 63 to briefly take the lead before Scott’s final-hole heroics.
Meanwhile, Cameron Smith — who won the Australian PGA Championship for a third time last week — admitted after shooting a third-round 69 that he didn’t realize he would be playing on Saturday and spent some of Friday night in a pub.
The event cut to 60 players after Friday’s round — and again to 30 after the third round of play — and he was out late on Friday when he found out he had an early tee time on Saturday,
“I was pretty quick to the pub (after Friday’s round) and, yeah, was probably a few too many beers deep and then I realized we had an early tee time, so I got back on the waters and was a good boy the rest of the night,” Smith said.
He made the turn at 1-over 36, but then came home in 33, good enough for his best round of the week. It wasn’t good enough to make the final cut, however.
“I thought I had it in me today and hit lots of good golf shots, and just couldn’t really capitalize. Just not my week,” Smith said.
On the women’s side, Jiyai Shin used a 67 to grab the lead after three rounds, with Ashleigh Buhai one stroke back and Hannah Green two off the pace.