A fortunate Thursday draw at the Australian PGA could be just what Adam Scott needs to turn around his problematic slow starts.
The world No.7 has been scheduled to tee off at 6.10am (AEST) on the opening day at Royal Pines, where the wind is expected to be much lighter than in the afternoon.
The draw is music to the Queenslander's ears on the Gold Coast, given his recent Thursday woes.
"I've been a slow starter for the past few weeks - it's held me back," Scott said
"I would like to jump out of the gates and be in the mix from round one and then I've got a leg up on the tournament," Scott said.
Scott fired a one-over 73 in the first round of the Australian Open a fortnight ago, before going one worse with a two-over 74 last Thursday at World Cup of Golf.
It's led to a mindset change from the 36-year-old, who finish tied for 14th at Royal Sydney and then ninth with Marc Leishman for Australia at Kingston Heath last weekend.
"Sometimes you've got to take the mindset that Thursday is like Sunday and that's it, there's only one round to try and shoot the lowest round of the day - win the day," he said.
"You want to make a point of getting off to a good start or change the way you've been starting.
"I need to get a little more on the front foot and believe I'm going to hit a few good shots and go for it right from the get-go."
Scott's Thursday round could be more crucial than from just a psychological standpoint as well.
He and playing partners Greg Chalmers and Curtis Luck will revert to the more blustery afternoon draw on Friday, with winds again expected to wreak havoc across the weekend.
"You'd want to be taking an advantage of an early start," Scott said.
"Because it's probably going to blow for your afternoon round and that's going to be a long 18 holes whether you're hitting it good or not.
"It's going to be tough getting it round here in the wind. I know it was really windy last year - it was extreme and makes it very difficult to play."
However Scott said he is far more confident after straightening his game out in Tuesday's practice and Wednesday's Pro-Am following the disappointing showings so far in his Australian tour.
"It's always around fundamentals, whether it's posture or alignment or grip or something like that," he said.
"The challenge is always keeping it in a nice neutral spot and I think I got it back in there yesterday and certainly on the back nine today I thought I hit some nice shots."
"I feel a little more confident with where my striking is and my putting and my chipping in the last couple of weeks."
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