When Adam Scott, then a young college golfer at UNLV, decided to turn professional, the first person he called was his coach, Butch Harmon.
Harmon had long championed the then-21-year-old Australian and was so delighted to hear the news that, in celebration, he had Scott drive to Harmon's headquarters at Rio Secco golf course where a surprise awaited.
He arrived to find Tiger Woods ready to play.
By the time they finished their round — Woods would set the course record despite howling winds and a penalty drop on the last hole — the few dollars in Scott's wallet were gone, as was his confidence about turning professional.
The next week, Woods would go on to win the US Open at Pebble Beach by 15 strokes and Scott forged ahead with his pro career.
Almost from the outset, he was inextricably linked to Woods. Their swings were similar — at least to the naked eye — and they shared the same coach. But that's where the similarities ended.
Where Woods was hard-working, driven and cold-blooded, Scott was amiable, laid back and preferred surfing to spending hours on the driving range. On the greens, Woods was money and Scott was streaky.
The Aussie's never quite been able to escape the shadow of Woods, or the (unfair) expectations of being "the next Tiger."
As he spoke Tuesday at his pre-tournament news conference at the PGA Championship, the most animated Scott got — even when discussing the controversy surrounding his caddie, Steve Williams — came when he was asked how he felt about turning 30 last year.
"To be honest, it felt quite good to turn 30, because I kind of took myself out of (the category of) 'young guns,' in my mind," he said. "I don't want to see 'young gun' written next to my name anymore."
Beginning at this year's Masters, where he finished as the runner-up — shockingly, it was the first time in his career he'd contended at a major — and extending to last week's win at the Bridgestone Invitational, it seems Scott is finally finding his way in golf.
When they discussed working together last month, the always-blunt Williams told Scott a few home truths about what he saw as deficiencies.
And the Kiwi told Scott that, with only eight wins on the PGA Tour, he'd underachieved throughout this career.
"He did say that," Scott acknowledged. "And I guess I take that as a compliment — that he thinks I've got ability to do better."
"He thinks I've got the game to win majors.
"Look, I mean, yeah, if I was being a harsh critic of myself, I could say I've underachieved. I feel like sometimes I play as good as anyone, and it's never been at the biggest tournaments."
This year, he said, he's worked hard to change that.
"It's maybe more of a maturity of my game or my outlook even," he said.
That maturity was obvious when Scott calmly fielded waves of questions about Williams, who ignited a storm of controversy on Sunday by launching a thinly veiled attack on his former boss, Woods.
Scott said Williams spoke bluntly, but honestly, and didn't intend to "steal my moment" after the win in Akron.
"He was asked these questions and he gave his honest answer, I assume. And with a lot of things to do with anything related to Tiger Woods, it's all scrutinized and blown out of proportion a lot of the time," Scott said.
But, tellingly, Scott said, "Hopefully we'll just go and let our clubs do the talking for the rest of the week now."
They're certainly doing a lot of talking for him, and none more so than his putter. Earlier this year, Scott went to the broomstick putter. He knows what that means to a golfer.
"I guess it is considered kind of a last resort," he said. "I'm not too sure where I go from here if this doesn't pan out for me. Someone will have to invent something."
Traditionalists might frown upon the long putter — though it falls within the rules of the game — and Scott was once upon a time one of them, but he couldn't be happier now that it's resurrected his career.
"This has absolutely freed up the rest of my game," said Scott, who's always been renowned as one of the best ball strikers in the game. "It's certainly a different kind of confidence I have now when I walk onto a golf course. I feel like, oh, I can fall back on my putting if the long game is not there that day."
The other weapon Scott believes he has on his side now is Williams, who stood next to Woods when he won 13 of his 14 majors.
"I think, obviously, he's one of the best caddies out there," Scott said. "And I think he's a great motivator for me so far.
"He's out here to win. He loves winning. And, you know, I think that's good for me to keep my motivation going; he can certainly push me.
"I am a laid-back guy, but I do have the fire in my belly. But, you know, maybe he's going to help keep it burning all the time."
Now that he's turned 31, Scott might finally be ready for the starring role many saw in his future all those years ago.
"I believe this has got to be the best 10 years of my career coming up, and if I can build on what I have achieved already, then I think it's going to be a great 10 years."
