SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – When Adam Scott and Jack Nicklaus posed for a picture together recently at The Memorial Tournament, Scott couldn’t resist bringing up their latest bond.
Not only are they both Masters champions, but this week the 45-year-old Aussie will join Nicklaus as the only players to reach 100 consecutive starts at major championships. It’s a streak that began for Scott at the 2001 Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes, the second-longest streak in men’s professional golf history. Nicklaus played in 146 consecutive majors from 1962 to 1998. As the two men smiled for the camera, Scott said, “A hundred, it feels like an eternity, and you got 46 more.”
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Recounting the story, Nicklaus delivered the kicker: “He says, ‘I don’t think I’ll make that.’ ”
Reaching triple digits is a remarkable achievement in its own right. The next highest active total? Jordan Spieth with 53. The last time Scott missed a major, Apple debuted the first iPod and Tiger Woods held all four of golf’s biggest trophies. Still, Scott both recognizes the magnitude of his accomplishment but isn’t the type to celebrate participation trophies.
“Part of me doesn’t want to be the guy yet who just has all these other things that aren’t based around winning events,” said Scott, whose lone major victory came in the 2013 Masters, one of his 20 top-10 finishes. “I’m proud of that achievement. I would love for my record to be a little better than it is. There’s still a little time…I would rather win some stuff, and let’s celebrate winning the U.S. Open than just playing in it. I feel like that, but, you know, I can give myself a pat on the back for hanging in there and playing all these events. I think there’s some luck in it, but I think I’ve had generally great advice around me from a physical and training standpoint that’s kept me healthy and pretty much injury-free. I don’t really have niggles and things that are concerning.”
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There have been a few close calls along the way. He jammed his right hand in the door of his car before the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines but played hurt, finishing in a tie for 26th. In 2024, he was ranked 61st in the world at the cutoff and needed to play in U.S. Open Final Qualifying. He lost in a playoff and was relegated to first alternate, but snuck in the field when the USGA removed Grayson Murray, who had died a month earlier, from the top 60.
While Scott, a former world No. 1, may downplay his longevity near the top of the game, his fellow competitors gushed at the achievement.
“It’s absolutely incredible,” said Rory McIlroy, whose current streak is at 43 due to missing his title defense at the 2015 British Open after injuring his ankle playing a friendly game of soccer. “I think to even just play 100 majors throughout your career is an amazing achievement, but to play 100 in a row is – I just think about the level that you need to be at and no injuries, no – you know, just there’s a lot of things that need to sort of fall in line. No, you know, births of children that fall on those weeks, all that sort of stuff.”
Added Nicklaus: “I think to be prepared and be able to play and stay healthy so you can play is quite an achievement.”
The British Open next month will be Scott’s 101st major in a row. Scott finished fifth in the Crown Australian Open at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia, in December, to be one of three golfers to qualify for Royal Birkdale. It will mark his 26th consecutive appearance at the Open. He’s also set for the 2027 Masters, which is guaranteed from winning the Green Jacket in 2013, and would bring his streak to at least 102.
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Color Justin Thomas impressed. “Staying healthy is huge. But how about the fact that he’s been really good for 25 years? It’s extremely impressive. It’s nuts,” he said. “I think it deserves more credit than he’s probably getting.”
Adam Schupak is a senior writer for Golfweek, covering the PGA Tour.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Adam Scott hits 100 straight major golf starts
