Now, that’s more like it.
After nine holes Thursday in the first round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, Adam Scott certainly didn’t play like the No. 1 golfer in the world.
He began the week with a four-bogey 39 on his first nine holes before completing an opening 71 at Colonial CC. As if he sensed his stay at the top of the Official World Golf Ranking was going to be a short one if he didn’t kick into high gear, Scott followed with rounds of 68-66-66 to become the sixth player in the last three years to begin a PGA Tour event with an over-par round and win.
He also came from farthest behind after 18 holes – Scott was T-64 Thursday night – to win in 2013-14, and he became the fifth player in the last 25 years to win Colonial despite shooting at least one round over par.
Players who shot over par in round one and went on to win: 2012-14
| Year | Player | First-round score | Par |
| 2014 Crowne Plaza Colonial | Adam Scott | 71 | 70 |
| 2014 Valspar Championship | John Senden | 72 | 71 |
| 2013 U.S. Open | Justin Rose | 71 | 70 |
| 2013 Tampa Bay Championship | Kevin Streelman | 73 | 71 |
| 2012 U.S. Open | Webb Simpson | 72 | 70 |
| 2012 Northern Trust Open | Bill Haas | 72 | 71 |
PGA Tour winners in 2013-14 who were in the highest position on the leader board after day one
| Player | Tournament | Position after round one |
| Adam Scott | Crowne Plaza Colonial | T-64 |
| Scott Stallings | Farmers Insurance Open | T-63 |
| John Senden | Valspar Championship | T-45 |
| Bubba Watson | Northern Trust Open | T-35 |
| Jimmy Walker | Frys.com Open | T-34 |
Colonial winners with at least one over-par round: 1990-2014
| Year | Winner | Over-par score |
| 2014 | Adam Scott | 71 in round one |
| 2012 | Zach Johnson | 72 in round four |
| 2011 | David Toms | 74 in round three |
| 1999 | Olin Browne | 73 in round one |
| 1990 | Ben Crenshaw | 72 in round three |
Scott wasn’t the only player who rebounded with a strong week. Five players who were over par on Thursday finished in the top 10 at Colonial. Crowne Plaza, the Valspar Championship and the WGC-Cadillac Championship are the only tournaments this season with five or more players finishing in the top 10 who were over par on day one.
Colonial top-10 finishers who were over par on Thursday
| Finish | Player | Round one | Rest of week |
| 1 | Adam Scott | 71 | 68-66-66 |
| T-5 | David Lingmerth | 72 | 69-66-66 |
| T-5 | John Senden | 71 | 68-66-68 |
| T-5 | David Toms | 72 | 66-65-70 |
| T-10 | Michael Thompson | 73 | 66-69-66 |
As first mentioned in the Colonial Stat Attack preview, Scott was one of 13 players who had won three of the four current Texas events on the PGA Tour. Now he stands alone, becoming the only player to win the Tour stops in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Fort Worth.
Adam Scott’s Texas Grand Slam
| Tournament | Scores | Result |
| 2014 Crowne Plaza Colonial | 71-68-66-66—271 | Beat Jason Dufner in a playoff |
| 2010 Valero Texas Open | 71-70-66-67—274 | Beat Freddie Jacobson by one |
| 2008 Byron Nelson Championship | 68-67-67-71—273 | Beat Ryan Moore in a playoff |
| 2007 Shell Houston Open | 69-71-65-66—271 | Beat Bubba Watson by three |
Adam Scott in Texas events
| Tournament | Starts | Top 10s | Cuts made | Best |
| Colonial | 3 | 1 | 3 | Won in 2014 |
| Nelson | 4 | 2 | 2 | Won in 2008 |
| Houston | 6 | 2 | 5 | Won in 2007 |
| Texas | 2 | 1 | 2 | Won in 2010 |
| Totals | 15 | 6 | 12 | Four wins |
We also mentioned in the preview how important ball striking was at Colonial. Hitting fairways and greens played an important role in Scott’s victory. He was T-8 in driving accuracy and T-10 in greens in regulation to become the fourth Colonial winner in the last five years to finish in the top-10 in both statistics.
Accuracy and GIR rank of Colonial winner: 2008-2013
| Year | Player | Accuracy rank | GIR rank |
| 2014 | Adam Scott | T-8 | T-10 |
| 2013 | Boo Weekley | T-6 | T-5 |
| 2012 | Zach Johnson | T-26 | T-37 |
| 2011 | David Toms | T-4 | T-4 |
| 2010 | Zach Johnson | T-10 | 1 |
| 2009 | Steve Stricker | T-15 | T-6 |
| 2008 | Phil Mickelson | T-33 | T-5 |
Finally, it’s worth noticing the performance of HP Byron Nelson Championship winner Brendon Todd. With his T-5 at Colonial, Todd became the third player in 2013-14 to follow a victory with another top-10 finish a week later.
PGA Tour winners in 2013-14 with a top-10 finish the following week
| Player | Win | Following week |
| Zach Johnson | Hyundai T of C | T-8, Sony Open |
| Bubba Watson | Northern Trust Open | T-9, WGC-Match Play |
| Brendon Todd | HP Byron Nelson | T-5, Colonial |
