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Adam Scott knows you can't fake that winning feeling.
The champion Australian golfer hopes he can stop pretending on his return to familiar grounds for the Australian PGA Championship from Thursday.
The former world No.1 and Masters champion 10 years ago has been a member at Brisbane's Royal Queensland since he was 11.
Now 43, he hasn't lifted a trophy since winning a 14th PGA Tour title at the 2020 Genesis International.
![Adrian Meronk](https://syndicates.s3.amazonaws.com/aap/assets/2023112216118/11fd7d9f-d5ad-4cd2-a5e3-2fe16d33a8d1.jpg)
That win followed his triumph at this tournament when it was held at Gold Coast's Royal Pines in 2019 that broke a similar drought, but was quickly followed by the COVID-19 pandemic that stalled his progress.
Scott's historic Masters win also came amid a flurry of trophies that was kick-started by his 2013 Australian PGA Championship success.
"It's hard to fake that confidence of closing out a tournament, beating the entire field," he told reporters on Wednesday.
"If I were to win this week or next (at the Australian Open in Sydney) it could be a springboard.
"It's happened before, not just with me."
Scott finished tied fifth at the Bermuda Open earlier this month and has remained inside the world's top-50 in a testament to his consistency.
But he's craving more than that.
"I'm not going to get the same confidence from just contending and playing well," he said.
"It's nice to play well; I played well in Bermuda. But it's not a win.
"So it'd be a really nice feeling to win this championship at my home track."
Scott is experimenting with his equipment in an effort to improve his typically robust iron play that he believes has let him down this season.
He'll partner Adrian Meronk - the Polish talent relegated him to second at last year's Australian Open - and Cameron Davis in a 6am (AEST) feature group that's sure to attract a swollen gallery despite the threat of rain.
They will be followed by defending champion and tournament favourite Cameron Smith, Min Woo Lee and Scotland's Ryder Cup representative Robert MacIntyre.
"I usually get up three hours before I start, so it's going to be a crazy alarm tomorrow," a jet-lagged Meronk said.
"I was quite in shock when I saw that tee time ... I'll just do my best to prepare and fall asleep, maybe, hopefully, around 8pm today just to try and be ready."