Adam Scott has admitted that he didn't think his achievement of reaching World No.1 was possible because of the dominance of Tiger Woods.
The Australian spent 11 weeks at the summit from May that year and admitted the achievement was the realisation of a dream having grown up watching compatriot Greg Norman dominate the position.
Scott, who will play in this week’s Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club, said: “It’s a big moment, for sure, to know that you are the best player in the world. It’s childhood dreams come true. They were my dreams as a kid, watching Norman be No.1 and wanting to aspire to that myself.”
However, by the time Scott had made his first appearance in the world's top 10, in 2004, Tiger Woods was firmly established as the standout player of the era, and his dominance is something Scott feels could have scuppered his chances of reaching the top.
He continued: “The reality of turning pro a couple years after Tiger Woods really felt like for a decade that dream was gone and not even possible. You know, timing ended up working out for me and I played my best golf a little later into my career and managed to find myself at No.1.”
The biggest win of Scott’s career came a year before he made it to the top of the world rankings, with victory in The Masters at Augusta National. That was enough to take him to third in the world, and after a strong run, he entered 2014 in second.
A finish of 38th in The Players Championship finally saw him take the top spot from Woods on 18 May for the spell that included a win in the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, and he admitted it had been the culmination of plenty of hard work.
He continued: “I won a tournament as No.1 in the world. You know, it’s a really fun time to look back on and also to see like a few years of good play that it took to get there, it wasn’t just overnight."
Scott, who heads into this week’s tournament as World No.39, also insisted his game’s not too far off what it was back then. He said: “I think top level professional sport and golf, everything is a very fine line between being a top-10 player in the world, which is very close to No.1, I think, and also being a Top-150 player in the world, it’s very fine margins."
Such are those margins that Scott faces a battle – along with several other big names – to reach the FedEx Cup Playoffs. The 43-year-old is 11 places beneath the cut off, in 81st, and he admitted it could have been different. He said: “One better round of golf this year and I’d find myself well inside the FedExCup line at the moment at the right time, that’s how small a margin it is over a season, just one round that is a few shots better.
“I think overall though the difference between me then and now is I’m better in some areas and a little less consistent in other areas, and that’s with maybe just life coming into play as well.”
'I Applaud Tiger For Volunteering To Go Up On The Board'
Scott, who is chairman of the PGA Tour’s Player Advisory Committee, also offered his thoughts on Woods’ new role as a Player Director the Policy Board, welcoming the appointment, and explaining it’s part of a wider initiative to give players more say in the direction of the PGA Tour.
He explained: “I think it's just to get that balance right. This is a players organization and off the back of some of the events this year and maybe in years past, it had felt like maybe that voice wasn't heard enough. I think the players have generally tried to get a bit organized recently and act responsible as members of this Tour and get that balance right going forward.
"I certainly don't think the players want to be running the Tour, that's for sure. We need a lot of help with that. But I think getting that balance right so that the membership is heard accurately is kind of what this is.
“And I applaud Tiger for volunteering to go up on the board. I think it's fantastic for the Tour moving forward and I think he also kind of has earned the right to have an opinion about how the Tour looks moving forward, to be honest.”
