Scott Taking Extended Break


After finishing up in last week's Sony Open, where he ended tied for eighth at 10-under 270 - seven strokes behind winner Jimmy Walker, Adam Scott is taking six weeks off from competition.

The 2013 Masters champion wrapped up last year by winning two of his native Australia's three major championships. His focus now is off the course, including a visit with his friend, pro surfer Kelly Slater, at Waikiki Beach in Hawaii, with future trips planned for Australia and the Bahamas.

Scott's next tournament will be the Honda Classic, which will be played February 27-March 2 at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

"There's heaps of work to do, but there's got to be a break somewhere," Scott told The Associated Press. "I could keep playing. I feel like I'm playing well. But you can't continue to perform at the level you want if you play all the time. I'm forcing myself to take a break, and I can see it's coming. My brain didn't completely switch on these two weeks."

Scott added that the thrill of his first major victory didn't last long; such is life as a top-tier touring golf professional. "What I experienced looking back is that elation of achievement is so short-lived," said the No. 2-ranked player in the world. "But it's longer if you enjoy the whole process. That moment of sheer joy is very short. It didn't carry on for days and days. It's numbed by formalities and all those other things.

"You've got to enjoy getting there as much as what happened. It was only a few hours, and then Hilton Head started, and there's another tournament. The Masters is in the past and you're looking forward. It's incredible that a lifelong dream can be achieved, and it's so short."

He also recognized that he might never top his sudden-death win over Angel Cabrera last year at Augusta National. "It will be the biggest of my career," he said. "I don't know how anything could surpass that as a big moment. But it will be a lot of fun to try. Maybe winning the Slam, all four in a career. Hopefully, it's not all downhill."