Scott back in the major mix

• By Jay Coffin
• Aug 11, 2012 7:01 PM ET

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Adam Scott is trying to pull a Rory McIlroy. In order to do it, he’ll have to defeat Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy had a complete meltdown on the 10th hole of the final round of the 2011 Masters for the whole world to see. Two months later he wasthe king of golf when he smoked the field at Congressional to win the U.S. Open in record fashion for his first major championship.

Scott is trying to accomplish a similar feat. The Aussie’s collapse over the last four holes last month at the British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes has been well documented. He bogeyed each of those four closing holes and handed the claret jug to Ernie Els.

“Even with the last four holes, taking it as a whole, I played spectacular golf for such a long period of time in a major championship,” Scott said earlier this week about the British Open hiccup. “That's something I've been working to do for my whole career and finally that's happened.

“I feel great about that and I feel very motivated to do that again. That great play wasn't that long ago.  So it won't be that hard for me to find again I think.”

He was correct. Scott is back on the horse here at the Ocean Course and is one shot off the lead heading into the final day of the year’s final major championship. He made four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the front nine and turned in 4-under 32 to quickly vault from 1 under for the championship to 5 under, a shot behind Rory McIlroy and Vijay Singh.

Play was suspended just as Scott made the turn. He’ll have 27 holes remaining Sunday to see if he can collect his first major championship and with it vindication from the disaster last month in England.