Adam Scott Has Rory McIlroy Envy Off the Tee at Bay Hill

Veteran Australian shoots 4-under 68 Thursday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational without a driver in his bag.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Watching Rory McIlroy hit driver may be one of the sweetest things in golf, says Adam Scott.

Paired with the prolific driver of the ball on Thursday morning, Scott marveled at the Northern Irishman’s game off the tee and wishes he had a magical driver that could go as long and straight as McIlroy’s.

Unfortunately, Scott, a veteran of 10 prior Arnold Palmer Invitationals, decided that his driver needed a day off and his 2-wood should come off the bench, so he could find the short grass, versus the wavy and thick rough.

“It’s kind of hard to figure out how I’m going to get (the driver) back in the bag,” Scott said after a 4-under 68. “It’s inspiring to watch Rory driving and I’d like to hit a couple (like that). I’m going to hit a few (drivers) on the range and see how it feels, but my game plan worked pretty good so far.”

That was Thursday; Friday’s forecast may change the need for Scott to put driver in the bag and on the weekend, the wind is expected to appear, and Scott will have no choice.

“I just don’t think anyone is particularly accurate with a driver, myself included,” Scott said. “When you get up to these ball speeds, it just very hard to be incredibly accurate. Rory made it look great today.”

Scott isn’t terrible off the tee, ranking 71st in strokes gained in 2022 and since the middle of last year, Scott confidence in the driver has improved markedly. But this week at Bay Hill, Scott can reach all of the par-5s without driver in the bag and doesn’t believe he is handicapping himself even though he was watching a guy 50 yards in front of him all day.

“I like playing with Rory,” Scott said. “I really enjoy watching him play. He's a guy I can watch play and get positive swing thoughts for myself. I love watching him swing a golf club. I think almost everyone in the world would say that. But he's a guy I like watching play.”

McIlroy has been very successful at Bay Hill with a win in 2018 and hasn’t finished outside of the top 10 since 2016, leaving him a favorite coming into this week. Scott’s best finish at the API is a pair of third-place finishes in 2004 and 2014, so will a driverless Scott have his best chance?

“Tomorrow, it looks a bit windier and I’m going to have a serious think,” Scott said of driver or 2-wood. “If it was like into a stiff breeze on 18, maybe I’m handicapping myself, you kind of got to have your head in the right place to do stuff like this.”