Australian golfing great Adam Scott says early starts and limited sleep are impacting his form on the course.
Scott, 42, shot 1-under par on day one of the Australian Open to be tied for 22nd after the first 18 holes of the tournament in Melbourne.
David Micheluzzi is the runaway clubhouse leader after blitzing the Victorian Golf Club circuit to shoot 7-under, leading by three shots from Josh Geary and Matthew Griffin.
The Australian Open is live on Nine and 9Now from Thursday.
Grace Kim, 21, also shot 7-under to lead the women’s draw.
Scott was playing at Kingston Heath, with the Open split across two courses and also featuring men and women playing concurrently for the first time.
The 2013 Masters winner hit seven birdies for the round but began it with a bogey, and a double bogey before the turn only made things tougher.
“I played really poorly and I putted really well. I mean, it kind of makes up for it but when you hit it as bad as that in bad spots, it’s hard to have a good score,” Scott said afterwards.
“It’s hard to put a finger on it right now. Sometimes it’s easier to just say that’s golf and move on to tomorrow.
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“I really didn’t have good rhythm or control over the golf club and therefore the ball, but I did putt well.
“If I can start swinging it good tomorrow and the putts keep going in, there are good scores out here.”
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Scott has been sleep-deprived since arriving in Australia ahead of last week’s PGA Championship in Brisbane.
He has a three-hour pre-tee routine during tournaments, meaning a 6am tee time gets him out of bed by 3am.
“Yeah, I don’t know, too many early mornings for me, I think,” he said after his Australian Open round.
“It’s because we tee off early every day here in Australia. Last week it was 6am three days in a row in Queensland and 8am means you’re up at five as well, so there hasn’t been much sleep with the jetlag coming back last week.
“And I’m not 25 anymore.”
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