Adam Scott on a golf course is a rare sighting this year. When the Australian tees it up on Thursday at the Masters, it will be only his 10th competitive round of the season.
That is partly because he missed the opening two tournaments in Hawaii while recovering from having his tonsils removed, and partly by design.
Scott is looking for the right formula to produce his best performance in the majors. His plan is to practice more and play less. It certainly worked last year, when Scott was among eight players who had a share of the lead at one point in the final round of the Masters.
He took the lead with a birdie on the 16th hole, stayed strong with a clutch par putt on the 17th and wound up tied for second when Charl Schwartzel made Masters history with birdies on his last four holes to win by two.
Scott, who played a practice round at Augusta National on Sunday, has watched highlights of last year's Masters only once, and that was about three weeks after the tournament.
"It's a huge positive for me," he said. "I should probably watch it more. Everything for me to remember was a good thing."
Even so, there remain questions whether he can repeat that performance, if not do better and win the one major that has eluded the Australians.
Scott is fresh, no doubt. But does he have enough rounds under his belt to be sharp?
"I think if he had played rubbish last year, he might try something else," Geoff Ogilvy, one of Scott's best friends, said.
"But he played so well last year and he really liked it."
Do not get the idea Scott has been sitting at the beach, or in the stands at tennis tournaments watching girlfriend Ana Ivanovic. A big change for him has been settling at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas, giving him an ideal practice facility close to America.
Scott is confident with the amount of time he has put in. He spent most of the week on chipping and putting, an area that is expected to be pivotal in anyone's success at Augusta.
"There's only one guy here this week that I saw work as hard as me," Scott said.
That would be Tiger Woods, but to clarify, Woods is the only other player Scott saw at his new haven in the Bahamas.
So who worked harder? "I think I did," Scott said, grinning. "It was pretty even. I'd just stay on the putting green a little longer."
The difference between Scott and Woods - besides the obvious 14 majors - is the time they have spent inside the ropes. Woods already has played six times this year, his busiest build-up to the Masters in six years. Woods had close calls in the Abu Dhabi Championship (tie for third) and the Honda Classic (tie for second) until breaking through at Bay Hill for his first PGA Tour win in 30 months.
Scott tied for 17th at Riviera, was eliminated in the first round of the Match Play Championship, and was two shots out of the lead at Doral going into the weekend until a 74-71 finish put him in a tie for 13th.
That is three tournaments, nine rounds, going into the first major of the year.
"You don't have to compete to be ready to compete," Scott said. "You have to practice. I feel like I have to do enough that my game will hold up for four days of a major. I think I have to put in more work to do that."
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Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE
Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
