Has Adam Scott ditched the long putter for good?

Adam Scott’s strong putting performance at Doral has him hoping for a red-hot putter at The Masters.

No matter how reliable they may be, first impressions mean everything and it’s no different with a new golf club in your hands. If you have a good first day out – it’s a keeper and will stay in the bag for some time. No matter how bad you might play with it next week.

So with this in mind, we wonder whether Adam Scott will be ditching the long putter for good after his great performance on the greens at last week’s WGC Cadillac Championship.

With the days of the anchoring technique numbered,and the time on his hands prior to the birth of his baby daughter, Scott thought it was time to start practising with the short putter again.

After a few months of tinkering, he felt comfortable enough with the claw-grip technique to use it at the WGC Cadillac Championship, and in his first tournament start for the year finished in a tie for fourth place.

Let’s rephrase that was emphasis. In his first start for the year, in a field featuring only the world’s best golfers and using a new putting technique, Scott finished in a tie for fourth place.

And best of all Scott’s putting wasn’t just ok, it was very good.

Scott was ranked 12th for the tournament for strokes gained putting, 10th on the field for putts per GIR, and according to Alex Myers at Golf Digest, Scott was a perfect 52 from 52 putts from inside 5-feet and three-putted just the once over the 72-holes at Doral.

“Obviously you need a few more shots on TOUR than you do back at home with the boys, so a few things to work on,” Scott said after the WGC Cadillac Championship.

“But I was really happy with the way I took my game out of a break and back into play and certainly made my share of putts this week, which felt good switching back to a shorter putter.”

Trying to make birdies down the stretch Scott racked up a couple of bogeys and ultimately finished five shots behind winner Dustin Johnson.

If anything it was a rusty driver that left Scott chasing final round birdies and the former Masters champion will test the putting further when he tees it up at the next two PGA Tour events in Florida, but with his eyes set firmly on winning another green jacket at Augusta National in April.

“I think I putted very well overall and feel very comfortable with where I’m at with it,” Scott said.

“I’ve got to test it the next couple weeks again, and hopefully it keeps improving and I’ll be a red‑hot putter by the Masters.”

“A red-hot putter by the Masters” is music to the ears of Australian golf fans.

Obviously putting at Augusta isn’t the same as putting anywhere else on the PGA Tour, but with The Masters Tournament just 30 days away and Scott offering up such a superb putting performance on the weekend, we can’t see Scott going back to the long putter any time again soon.

And with the ban on the anchoring technique arriving on January 1, 2016, we may have seen the last of Adam Scott putting with the long putter for good.

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