Adam Scott has made every Presidents Cup team since 2003, when the Internationals and Americans tied. Since then, the Internationals have lost every one—a streak that extended this past week as Team USA dominated Sunday singles to secure victory.
For Scott, now 44, the loss represents another missed opportunity to achieve what he calls a version of unfinished business. The Masters champion and former World No. 1 has been open about viewing himself as an underachiever despite his accomplishments. "Always being a 'Nearly Great' of the game is spurring us on in our later years," Scott said at the 2024 Open Championship.
Scott's pursuit of what would fulfill his career extends beyond another major championship. While he has won 14 times on the PGA Tour and claimed the Masters, he continues searching for the achievements that would make him feel his golf journey is complete. The Presidents Cup title has become central to that quest, with Scott describing his desire to finally win it as desperate.
With Scott having told The Athletic's Brendan Quinn at the U.S. Open that he could "push on for another 18 months" before reassessing at age 46, the window for that final piece of unfinished business continues to narrow.