Adam Scott

Scott surely isn't burning out, rather he's fading away. To his credit, he's fading at a very slow pace, so it's likely that we'll see his name on the leaderboard occasionally for the next fews seasons, but not nearly as often as we used to. Scott still makes cuts at a high rate, but he does play much and his access to the big tournaments is waning due to his sliding world ranking. Scott will have a few moments this season, but odds are his earnings will continue to fall over the next few seasons.

Scott has had a tremendous career with 14 wins and roughly $60 million in earnings. The Aussie still has probably the most aesthetically pleasing swing on Tour, and while it is still fairly effective, his biggest weapon the last couple seasons has actually been his putter. It's impressive considering how much of an issue it was in his prime. Scott will turn 43 this season and while he's rarely shown signs of slowing down, it has to be coming soon. Scott won't fall off a cliff, but it's hard to imagine he can do much better than he did this past season. As such, he's not an ideal salary cap selection this season.

Scott only had two top-10 finishes in the 2020-21 campaign, but also only missed two cuts in 19 starts. We know that putting is what has held the Aussie back throughout his career, but last season he was top-20 in SG: putting. Scott is still plenty long enough, he just was not quite as accurate as usual off of th tees and into the greens. Expect a bounce back campaign from the 41-year-old in 2021-22.

Scott has been all over the map over the past six seasons on the PGA Tour, but it looked like he was hitting his stride early this past season and then the pandemic hit and Scott lost all momentum. Scott won the Genesis Invitational in February and he was already near $2 million in earnings for the season at this point. Then the pandemic, the break and when the PGA Tour returned, Scott was nowhere to be found. Scott found his way back to the PGA Tour in August, but it was too late. His number is in a nice place for the upcoming season however and he's among a bunch of guys that should be considered for salary cap purposes.

Scott has been one of the better golfers on the planet for nearly the past 20 years, but that's not to say that he's been consistent the entire time. Scott has sprinkled-in some real duds in that time, specifically over the past five seasons and you never really know what you are going to get from him. He was a solid salary cap selection prior to this past season, but after nearly doubling his earnings number this past season, he's now in the range where it's hard to consider him for salary cap purposes.

After a subpar 2017 season and a slow start to the 2018 season, Scott was all but left for dead...and then he regained his putting stroke. A resurgent putter lead to a solo-third at the PGA Championship and a T5 at the NTO, which essentially saved his season. Whereas Scott was once one of the more reliable guys on tour, now he's as tough to peg as anyone out there. Scott earned over $6 million in 2016, but he earned less than $2 million in the seasons prior to and after that season. His upside remains, if he can putt and it looks like he figured something out late last season, which makes Scott an interesting salary cap option this season. He's certainly not a safe pick, but he has tremendous upside.

After a season in which Scott earned more than $6 million, a lot was expected of Scott entering last season, but what he delivered was a very uneventful season. There's no reason to hit the panic button just yet though as Scott fell flat after a big season just a few years earlier. It's too early to call it a pattern, but for whatever reason, Scott has faltered after his two most recent big seasons. The good news is, the last time he fell flat, he rebounded with that aforementioned $6 million season. While a season like that is likely out of the question, a strong rebound is not and as such, he's a must have in salary cap formats this season.

When a golfer does most of his damage early in the season, it's easy to forget just how well he played after the season ends. This is certainly the case for Scott as he somehow topped $6 million in earnings last season, though he failed to win or capture a top-3 after the calendar turned to April. That shouldn't take away from his season though as his run in late-February through early March was amazing. In the span of three events, two earned two wins and a runner-up showing. As good as he looked at times last season, it's going to be difficult to replicate the numbers he put up. As such, he's not a good salary cap option this year. In drafts, he should go in the middle of the first round.

Is Scott destined to be that guy who's always projected to be one of the best two or three players in the world every year, but never quite able to get there? He's had his moments over the years, like 2013 when he captured his first major, but he was unable to build upon that win last season. The talent is there, the mental game appears to be there, yet there's just something missing. He's always a factor, just hanging around the lead, but too often in 2014 he failed to find that extra gear. It would be unwise to doubt Scott however, so he appears to be a solid salary cap pick this year. As for draft leagues, he's a first-rounder, even if he doesn't live all the way up to his potential.

With the major-monkey off his back, Scott may finally peak in 2014. There's no doubting Scott's talent, but for years it seemed like his mental game wasn't quite there. That doesn't seem to be an issue anymore and the sky is the limit. Scott has the game to reach number one in the world and he's also good enough to win multiple majors in the same season. The only problem concerning Scott is his limited schedule. He only played 16 times last season, so he needs to make the most of each and every event. He's a top-5 pick in draft formats and a decent pick in salary cap formats -- even at the hefty price.

A caddie change and a torrid finish to the 2011 season gave everyone the impression that Adam Scott was about to take off into the stratosphere, but a sluggish start to the 2012 season put an end to that speculation. It wasn't until early July that Scott again resembled the player that won the WGC Bridgestone Invitational the previous August. He resembled that player, but he never quite matched that player. Though he came close a couple times, most notably at the US Open, Scott was unable to find a victory last season. Odds are he'll find at least one this season, but is the extremely high upside still there? I think so, which makes his selection at this price fairly easy. In draft leagues, Scott should probably go in the 2nd round.

The expectations for Scott may be a little higher entering this season than normal thanks to the addition of a well-known caddie, but let's get real. A caddie does not take a really good player to the next level, the player needs to have it in him already. Can a caddie help? Sure, but don't let Scott's first outing with "Stevie" fool you, there is no guarantee that he will improve. That said, Scott had already made some positive strides before the late-year pairing. He made a serious run at the Masters in April, something he hadn't done at any major prior. Scott will continue to be an enigma, though. He has all the talent in the world and certainly looks the part, but for some reason, he can't seem to find the next gear. Don't expect that gear to be found this year, but he'll still produce at a high level.

After two rough seasons, we were beginning to wonder who the real Adam Scott was. Was it the golfer who looked like the second best player in the world at one point? Or the golfer who couldn't make a cut for two years? OK, well that's a bit of a stretch. Although he struggled by his own standards in 2008 and 2009, he was still making cuts. The question remained, though, would we ever see the kid from 2006 again? Scott answered that question with a resounding "yes" at the Valero Texas Open in mid-May last year. He followed that up with a nice run through the Fed-Ex Cup and appears back on track for 2011. When Scott is on, like we expect him to be this season, he does everything well with the exception of hitting the fairways.

Scott struggled mightily in 2009, but the majority of his issues can be attributed to injuries. It remains to be seen if Scott will ever fulfill his potential, but he's certainly not as poor a golfer as he showed in 2009. Scott should find his way back into top-30 territory with just a slight improvement, but he still has the talent to reach the top 10 if he can put it all together. Scott moved from 17th to 34th in the 2009 final Official World Golf Rankings.

Scott dealt with an injury last year, which limited his production, but there is also talk of his inability to play when the stakes are at their highest. However, even with a mediocre 2009, he has the ability to top his 2008 number.

Is this the year? That seems to be the question everyone asks of Scott before each season. Can he finally tap into that enormous potential and dominate this tour? To this point he's played well on the PGA Tour, but he's yet to really leave his mark. He has yet to win a major, or even contend on a regular basis. With that said, the smart money is on a break through season and soon. This should be the year, and his salary from 2007 is not too much of a burden on your cap number. Late in 2008 Scott dislocated his right kneecap and injured some ligaments as well.

Scott had several chances to win on the PGA Tour last year, but waited until the very end of the year to step into the winner's circle. Scott played well most of the year, but for some reason he couldn't close out an event. He had a four-event stretch from mid-May through June in which he finished no lower than fourth. In all four events he had a chance to win on Sunday, but could not finish. That he finally captured the win he was so close to all year at the season-ending Tour Championship means his 2007 outlook looks bright. Scott earned nearly $5 million last year while winning just once. Imagine what those numbers could turn into when he wins multiple times on Tour, as he should in 2007.

Adam Scott played in only 19 events last year, so why is he rated so much higher going into 2006? Six top-10s in 19 events for starters, not bad. He also earned plenty of money outside of his one victory at the Nissan Open. I like players who make a lot of money when not winning. The theory is, if the player is in contention frequently, the wins will come, and when the wins come it just adds to the already solid base the player has earned by being a consistently sound, which leads to a very big year. Scott is ready to have a huge year as long as he plays enough. That shouldn't be much of a worry as Scott had demonstrated a high level of commitment to the PGA Tour.

Scott is still very young and could turn out to be the best player in the world some day. This may be the year he joins the elite. His only negative is that he doesn't play as many tournaments in the U.S. as one would like (16 events last season).

Scott turned professional only three years ago, but is already ranked No. 23 in the world. He has his sights set on joining fellow Australians Stuart Appleby and Robert Allenby in the top 15. Appleby, who won this year's Mercedes Championship, is at No. 11, overtaking Allenby, ranked No. 15.