Adam Scott's birthday falls around the time of the British Open and each year it gets just that bit more difficult for him to win -- and just that bit more painful to recall the Claret Jug that so cruelly got away back in 2012.
Yet as he celebrated his 44th birthday at Royal Troon on Tuesday, two days before launching his 24th successive bid to lift the trophy he most covets, there seems a fresh spring in the step of Australia's old Master.
That's because evergreen 'Scotty' is coming off one of his best performances for years, an agonising near-miss while finishing runner-up in the Scottish Open at North Berwick on Sunday when he may well have won if not for an outrageous stroke of luck for the eventual champ, Robert MacIntyre.
"Yeah, I feel good, I really do. It's funny, it doesn't get any easier but I'm working at everything all the time, and trying not to get frustrated, and use that experience," said Scott.
"It feels good to play in contention and, hopefully, I get another crack at it at The Open now."
Indeed, the veteran Queenslander is in such good form, he's arguably up there with 2022 winner Cameron Smith and last year's runner-up Jason Day as Australia's best hope among the six-strong contingent who tee off at the grand old Ayrshire links on Thursday.
Smith, naturally, is the man most likely to shine, as he demonstrated with his tied-sixth place finish in the Masters in April. He's also riding in off three top-10 finishes in his last four LIV events.
Yet Scott, who spent his birthday practising with his mulleted pal Smith and Australian amateur Jasper Stubbs, has impressed with his eight top-10 finishes since November. Up to 35, he's just behind Day (30th) and Min Woo Lee (31st) among Aussies in the world rankings.
And he might even have picked up his first PGA Tour win in four years if MacIntyre hadn't got a free drop from a terrible lie on the 16th at the Renaissance Club because of a sprinkler head affecting his stance.
Indeed, the Scot he was still laughing about his fortune on Wednesday as he suggested the club should have that sprinkler gold-plated.
“There was a lot of good stuff for me,” said Scott, reflecting on his near-miss.
"It’s hard to complain about anything. It’s the first time I’ve been in contention this year. I like where my game is headed and feel like I’m playing at a high level."
He's about as experienced as it gets in the majors these days. Remarkably, a streak that began in his second Open at Lytham in 2001 now brings him to a 93rd consecutive major championship.
Scott's enjoyed three top-five and five top-10 finishes at the British Open but never came closer than in 2012 at Lytham, when he led by four shots with four holes left to play only to lose out to Ernie Els by a single shot after a succession of bogeys. "It hurts more today than it did at the time," he sighs every year.
But every year, the hope remains, and Scott is the eternal optimist. "I know if I find myself with the heat on in Troon, hopefully I can lean into this good stuff that's been happening with my game," he says.
