DUBLIN, Ohio — Adam Scott has won all around the world, but he has never quite solved the puzzle Jack Nicklaus designed at Muirfield Village.
With a runner-up finish to Patrick Cantlay in 2019, the 45-year-old Australian has earned five top-10 finishes here, balanced against only a single missed cut back in 2009. But this year’s Memorial Tournament may be the toughest iteration yet, with its fangs out and the course playing more like a grueling U.S. Open than a traditional PGA Tour stop.
"There's been a few years now recently where it feels like it's almost a U.S. Open,” Scott said. “It makes you think a lot. I was out there wondering how I've actually shot good scores around here.”
Shooting an even-par 72 in Thursday’s first round puts Scott squarely in the middle of the pack. For the Australian, however, his focus may already be shifting two weeks down the road, when the golf world arrives at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.
Back in 2013, Scott shot a blistering 63 during a casual non-tournament round at Shinnecock, the historic home of the 1896 U.S. Open. Unfortunately, his competitive visits to the venue haven't yielded that same success. While Scott calls Shinnecock probably his favorite course on the east coast, his missed cuts there in 2004 and 2018 tell a vastly different story.
Having experienced those two previous Opens at Shinnecock — both of which were widely criticized for the USGA's lack of foresight and overly punishing setups — Scott believes officials may have finally learned their lesson for the 2026 return. According to Rory McIlroy, this year’s setup features significantly wider fairways than players saw in 2018.
“I remember when I was scouting before the last one, and I heard the term 'wet transplanting fescue,'” Scott joked, recalling a preparation trip before the 2018 Open. “Can't be good. I've never heard of it.”
With a layout that can change on a dime due to shifting winds, heavy rough, and rock-hard greens, Shinnecock can quickly transform into an absolute monster. Because the last two visits to the venue turned into minor disasters due to the USGA ignoring reason and using ego to set up the course, most players expect the governing body to exercise more discretion this time around.
Even so, Scott is still stinging from last year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont, where sudden weather conditions forced him and Sam Burns to play through unfair elements that heavily impacted the leaderboard.
“It sounds bad for me to complain about the situation,” Scott reflected, speaking on the Oakmont incident where both players watched their balls hydroplane on the course during the final round. “I hit a shot on 11, and I just don't know how that can happen, other than hydroplaning.”
Scott, who was paired with Burns during that rainy final round, recalled hitting a few shots that were just terrible.
“It obviously wasn't playing like that normally,” Scott said. “They just came out like fat and left, full of water.”
Scott confirmed the course was completely soaked and visibly unplayable. Though he stayed silent in the moment, he now wishes he had taken a stand.
“In the moment I was like, 'I'm not going to be the guy complaining,' but looking back on it, of course, I wish I was,” Scott admitted. “I think I should have spoken up right after my shot on 11.”
The shot in question was a 170-yard pitching wedge that seemingly defied physics — flying a distance Scott insisted he couldn’t replicate normally if he tried.
“I was trying to think in my head, 'Is no one else dealing with this?' There was a ton of other groups on the course. Is everyone okay?” Scott said of his back-nine mindset. “I was kind of thinking someone might speak up, but I wish it had been me. Looking back on it, yeah—I mean, Sam did, and it didn't get him very far, actually.”
Scott never spoke directly with the USGA after that round, though he did receive a message from officials that he ultimately chose not to answer.
Now, he heads to Shinnecock to play in his 100th consecutive major championship — an extraordinary feat Jack Nicklaus has achieved.
“I take a lot of pride in trying to maintain my game at that high level to do that for this long,” Scott said of the upcoming milestone. “I'm proud of that achievement. I would love my record to be a little better, but there's still a little time.”