Two weeks after the 14-time PGA TOUR winner sent the Sunshine Coast
into a frenzy by popping in to play at Maleny Golf Club in the
hinterland, Scott has agreed to a return visit that will be broadcast to
the world.
Scott and
long-time friend, PGA Professional and Maleny General Manager Wayne Perske will
face off at the picturesque 18-hole layout from 8am on Friday morning, Perske
joking that he might need a five-shot handicap to keep pace with the 2013
Masters champion. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic making crowd attendance
impossible, Scott’s Maleny match will be shown via his Instagram account
(@adamscottofficial) and give Aussie golf fans a rare opportunity to
watch live golf featuring one of our very best.
“He came up
on Tuesday with his dad for a game and asked whether we could do an Instagram
Live match on the back nine on Friday morning,” said Perske, a former winner on
the Japan Golf Tour. “I’m
thinking there’ll be quite a few people logging on to watch and I’m sure it
will end up on YouTube afterwards. “I don’t
know why he chose me but it’s going to be pretty cool.
“We used to
play in a few amateur events together but I was 20 and he was 15 at the time.
He’ll say that I beat him a few times but that’s probably what a 20-year-old
should do to a 15-year-old.” As he was
playing his second round at Maleny on Tuesday, Scott received national recognition
for a story by renowned journalist Roy Masters in the Sydney Morning Herald
that proclaimed the Queenslander as the winner of the “lockdown act of
kindness” award. Ross
Campbell’s daughter Leigh reached out to Scott as her father – suffering with
seven brain tumours – believes that he and Adam are best mates and regularly
play together at Riverside Oaks in Sydney’s north-west.
Given their
relationship, Ross was not at all surprised by Adam’s phone call but for his
wife, Pam, it was a moment in time that she will cherish forever. “Many high-profile
athletes must get so many requests to put themselves out, yet Adam responded to
my daughter’s request straight away,” Pam told the Sydney Morning Herald. “The video
he sent also shows him practising putting and Ross can watch it any time he
feels inclined.” Wayne Perske has seen it many times before.
Upon his
return to Australia last month Scott reached out to Perske and Caloundra Golf
Club PGA Professional Tom Arnott asking in what ways he could help. Perske
suggested the publicity generated by a visit to the club would do wonders;
Arnott had to politely decline when Scott offered to come and help clean golf
carts due to a shortage of staff. “That’s the
kind of stuff Adam does all the time and most of the time no one ever finds out
about it,” adds Perske.
“The lady
obviously wanted to give him some credit for what he did but he doesn’t do it
for any fanfare or accolades. “A bloke saw
that I played with Adam the other day. He sent a message asking whether I could
ask Adam to send a video message to his 9-year-old son who just idolises Adam. “He didn’t
hesitate. He spent 30 seconds wishing the kid a happy birthday, thanking him
for his support and encouraging him to keep practising. “He does
that stuff all the time without batting an eyelid.”
A portrait
of Scott by Perske’s wife Vanessa that was entered into the 2014 Archibald
Prize hangs in the modest clubhouse at Maleny and now also boasts the autograph
of the subject.
When he played two weeks ago Scott hit a soaring 2-iron 268 metres
from the 10th tee to the 12th green that landed within eight inches of
the hole, leaving those who witnessed it with a story to tell every time
they step onto that tee box.
Article from PGA Australia - Tony Webeck
