Adam Scott is hoping to mark his 20th US PGA Championship in style as he returns to action at the first Major of the rescheduled 2020 season at TPC Harding Park.
The 2013 Master Tournament champion has taken the unorthodox decision to travel to San Francisco without a competitive round under his belt after the coronavirus outbreak caused a reshuffle of the schedule, which will see three Major Championships played in the space of the next four months.
Scott, who was based in his native Australia throughout the lockdown period caused by the global pandemic, is one of three players playing this week who competed at WGC-American Express Championship in 2005, the 2009 Presidents Cup and 2015 WGC-Cadillac Match Play on this course.
Despite the 40-year-old admitting he had previously struggled at TPC Harding Park, Scott is relatively confident of a strong performance when he tees off for the 20th time at the US PGA Championship.
When told this is his 20th appearance at the event, he said: "I think it is a little surprising, but I seem to be getting on these kind of older lists much more often these days!
"But I haven't played particularly well here in any of these occasions. However, I think the setup is a lot different this time around.
"I certainly think the greens have never been such a good surface. They're pure. They've toughened the course up. Hopefully with a bit better focus and execution this week, I can perform a little better than I have here in the past.
I'd love to win a second Major Championship. It's all I focus on, really. This is a big opportunity for me, and so are the next 11 months
"But it's a golf course that I feel very comfortable that I should be able to play well if I get my head down and perform.
"It's just the same as any other week. I mean, it's really just executing. This golf course this week, the way it's set up, is going to demand a little more of everybody and their game and penalties are more harsh.
"You can hit some pretty good tee balls that might just end up in the rough and you're going to draw a lie that you can't get it on the green and you're scrambling. That's going to be the biggest test, how sharp is my scrambling.
"But I think I've tried to prepare like I would for any other event, and I feel like there's no reason why it shouldn't be good enough."
The 11 time European Tour winner is relishing the return of Major Championship golf for the first time since July 2019 when Shane Lowry claimed victory at the The 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush and Scott is keen to add to Masters Tournament crown.
"There's no doubt the Majors are kind of what everyone's careers are defined and measured by at the end of the day," Scott added.
Major Championship Golf is Back.#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/mUbNb4KRni
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) July 20, 2020
"So it's great that we're back here playing for a Major, and it's been over a year, which is a long stretch, but now there's seven in the next 11 months, so that's exciting for me to think about, especially at this point in my career.
"I'd love to win a second Major Championship. It's all I focus on, really. This is a big opportunity for me, and so are the next 11 months."
Scott's family have since based themselves in Switzerland as he returns to action and the World Number Nine believes the enforced break can actually extend his career.
"It took a while to get used to being a full-time dad, but it was great," Scott said.
"I think more so just the break at this point in my career. It had been probably 20 years since I'd been home in Australia at that time of year and for that length of time I hadn't been there, and I certainly enjoyed that very much, given whatever restrictions we were still under.
"It was nice to be there with the family, and I think the break in some ways is going to prolong my career. You don't get that break; the seasons kind of bleed into each other now."
