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Adam Scott Sails to Australian Open Co-Lead With Second-Round 63

The former Masters champion sunk a long-range eagle putt on the 18th to tie the course record at Victoria Golf Club.

Gabrielle Herzig

Adam Scott Sails to Australian Open Co-Lead With Second-Round 63
Adam Scott Sails to Australian Open Co-Lead With Second-Round 63 /

Adam Scott took a share of the lead at the ISPS Handa Australian Open on Friday in dramatic fashion: a final-hole eagle for a 7-under 63 that tied the course record at Victoria Golf Club. The 2013 Masters champion bounced back from his first round 70 (-1) at the tournament's additional host course, Kingston Heath Golf Club.

"I really didn't have good rhythm or control over the golf club and therefore the ball, but I did putt well," Scott said of his first round. "Yeah, I don't know, too many early mornings for me, I think."

The former World No. 1 evidently recovered from his sleep deprivation before his second round, as he put on a ball-striking master class. Scott made five birdies in addition to his close-out eagle to surge up the leaderboard. 

"I've had plenty of bad rounds in my career and had to come out the next day," Scott said. "To get yourself back to that one-hundred percent confidence you have to let go of some inhibition or the fear of it going offline and just swing the club." 

It wasn't just Scott's full swing that clicked on Friday—his putter was hot as well. Scott's smashing eagle on the 18th was capped by a long range putt that lit up his home crowd surrounding the green. 

"I managed to stick with one thought for the day which is always a positive," Scott said. "It usually leads to good things when you keep it simple. That's nice, so I'll try and do that tomorrow and hopefully I keep making some putts."

The Australian Open features both male and female professional golfers for the first time this year. 

Scott co-leads the men's competition along with World No. 556 David Micheluzzi at 8-under, while Hannah Green sits atop of the women's leaderboard at 11-under. 

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Gabrielle Herzig
GABRIELLE HERZIG

Gabrielle Herzig is a Breaking and Trending News writer for Sports Illustrated Golf. Previously, she worked as a Golf Digest Contributing Editor, an NBC Sports Digital Editorial Intern, and a Production Runner for FOX Sports at the site of the 2018 U.S. Open. Gabrielle graduated as a Politics Major from Pomona College in Claremont, California, where she was a four-year member and senior-year captain of the Pomona-Pitzer women’s golf team. In her junior year, Gabrielle studied abroad in Scotland for three months, where she explored the Home of Golf by joining the Edinburgh University Golf Club.

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