Adam Scott is playing in his 12th straight Presidents Cup and desperate to be on a winning team

MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) — Adam Scott was a fresh face at age 23 and getting feisty under the darkening sky in South Africa. The Presidents Cup was tied. Ernie Els and Tiger Woods were in a tense playoff when the captains agreed to a tie, meaning the Americans would keep the cup as defending champions.

“Keep playing,” Scott shouted. They ultimately agreed to share the cup.

Asked for his recollections from his 2003 debut, the 46-year-old Australian smiled and said: “I think I strongly suggested that Ernie get to the 18th tee because we're playing. I was confident they could tee off. I don't know that they could have finished the hole.”

Scott never could have imagined then that it would be the closest he ever came to playing on a winning International team in the Presidents Cup. This week at Medinah marks his 12th consecutive appearance, tying the record held by Phil Mickelson.

It's another testament to a career built around a swing so pure it has kept Scott free of injury as he became only the second player to compete in at least 100 consecutive majors, and it has kept him relevant enough to be part of yet another Presidents Cup.

It's also one more chance, and Scott doesn't take it for granted.

“I feel like it's a huge opportunity for me,” Scott said. "There was probably a period 10 years ago, in the middle of my career, where it was, ‘Oh, this (winning) is going to happen.’ But now there's not many more, that's for sure. I've been given another chance. It might be the last one.”

The Internationals gathered for the team photo Wednesday morning, and it was only fitting that Scott had a place next to the gold trophy, with lifelong friend and International captain Geoff Ogilvy on the other side.

One is the captain who has been the model of quiet confidence. The other is the inspiration for a team that wants to win as badly as Scott does.

“He's part of the International furniture now,” Christiaan Bezuidenhout said. “All of us would love to win the cup, but it would be so much more special if we can do it while Adam is still in the team.”

Scott, coming off a runner-up finish in the BMW PGA Championship last week in England, still can find plenty of happy memories from his two-plus decades being on losing teams.

He partnered with Els for a pair of foursomes victories in South Africa — "He's a bit of a god down there. That was awesome," Scott said — and he was with K.J. Choi at Royal Melbourne in 2011 when they handed Woods and Steve Stricker their worst loss (7 and 6) in team competition.

But the beer-drinking celebrations with the cup in hand? Foreign territory.

“It's a quarter of a century. It's his whole career,” Ogilvy said. “Certainly the last two or three times he's been super motivated. Like: ‘This is something I have to do before I’m done. I have to be on a winning team.”

Scott's two closest friends in golf, Ogilvy and Trevor Immelman, have been or are captains. He surely is next in line, unless there's another Presidents Cup for Scott to play. In some respects, he already is one, given his presence — his experience — in the team room and on the bus.

“He's like a playing captain,” Ogilvy said. “You can hear in his voice his desire to win this tournament. He's the leader of the players, clearly, and he's embracing that role now.”

Scott started his Presidents Cup career playing alongside Els and Retief Goosen, Nick Price and Vijay Singh, all of them in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Now he's with Ryo Hisatsune and Tom Kim, who weren't even born when Scott turned pro.

South Africa wasn't the only close call. It went down to the final match in 2005 in Virginia and in 2015 in South Korea. The Internationals had the lead going into Sunday singles at Royal Melbourne in 2019 until the Americans rallied behind Woods, a playing captain, and finally secured victory in the 11th of 12 matches.

But it was another loss, and two more followed after that.

“It's come down to the last hole several times, and they can go any way. And it hasn't gone our way,” Scott said. “For me, of course, I want to win one desperately and I don't know how many more I can possibly play in. But it's a team effort to do it. We all have to want it so badly. I think it would be an amazing experience for us all to win this cup.”

See AP’s full golf coverage here

International teams' Adam Scott, of Australia, speaks prior to the start of the Presidents Cup golf tournament against the USA team at Medinah Country Club, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

A Presidents Cup logo lines the practice green prior to the golf tournament between the International and USA teams, Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

International teams' Adam Scott, of Australia, walks up the 14th hole prior to the start of the Presidents Cup golf tournament against the USA team at Medinah Country Club, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

International players pose for a team portrait prior to the start of the Presidents Cup golf tournament against the USA team at Medinah Country Club, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

International team captain Geoff Ogilvy, of Australia, left, and player Adam Scott, of Australia, look at the Presidents Cup trophy during a team portrait prior to the start of the Presidents Cup golf tournament against the USA team at Medinah Country Club, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Southwestern Mexico braced for coastal flooding and mudslides Wednesday after Polo, a powerful Pacific cyclone, became a major hurricane. Forecasters also warned that Hawaii could face another onslaught of harsh weather later in the week.

Hurricane Polo, an “extremely dangerous” storm, is expected to skirt Mexico’s Guerrero state, submerging coastal areas with 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) of rain through Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

At its peak, Polo was a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph (290 kph). It was a Category 4 by Wednesday afternoon, but still packing sustained winds of up to 145 mph (230 kph).

“Fluctuations in intensity are expected, but Polo is expected to remain a very powerful major hurricane during the next few days,” the NHC said.

Hurricane Polo was not expected to make landfall, meteorologists and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said, but tropical storm conditions including torrential rain and extraordinary wind were expected along the Pacific coast in Guerrero, Michoacan and Colima states through Thursday. Guerrero has been repeatedly pummeled by hurricanes in recent years.

Concepción López Villegas was busily bolstering her seaside restaurant in Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, against the expected onslaught of rain. Strong waves were already hitting some beaches and López Villegas said she feared the storm could destroy the small business she worked decades to build.

“We’re worried and trying to protect our businesses,” López Villegas said. “And of course, we’re sad because it’s our heritage, our legacy that from one moment to another could be destroyed.”

The region most under threat from the hurricane is rural and mountainous, scattered with a few small tourist towns and ports. Much of the area is market by poverty and residents routinely complain authorities abandon them to fend for themselves during natural disasters.

Mexico’s government has called for evacuations in some areas and set up shelters for those impacted. Thousands of Navy, Security and Red Cross personnel have been deployed to the region as a preventative measure.

Polo was named the third Category 5 hurricane of the Pacific season on Tuesday, following Genevieve and Lowell earlier this year. Although the hurricane weakened somewhat on Wednesday, its force still presented significant risks.

Polo was 150 miles (240 kilometers) south-southwest of Zihuatanejo and 275 miles (445 kilometers) south-southeast of Manzanillo on Wednesday afternoon, the hurricane center reported. Hurricane-force winds can extend up to 40 miles (65 kilometers) from the storm’s center while areas up to 105 miles (170 kilometers) from the eye will be hit by tropical storm-force winds, meteorologists said.

The rapid intensification of Hurricane Polo this week stunned scientists and authorities alike.

Philip Klotzbach, research scientist in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University, attributed the intensification to the weather phenomenon known as El Nino, which has fueled crippling droughts in Mexico and Central America and floods elsewhere.

In the Pacific, it has resulted in warmer waters and wind patterns that act as fodder for hurricanes, he said.

“There are all the ingredients that hurricanes need to get really strong really fast,” Klotzbach said.

Hurricane Odalys, also in the Pacific, strengthened on Wednesday, carrying maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph). It churned about 1,265 miles (2,040 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula and was not at risk of making landfall, according to the hurricane center.

An advisory said Odalys could increase in strength over the next couple of days but would likely weaken by the end of the week.

A tropical depression about 525 miles (845 kilometers) south-southeast of Hawaii's capital, Honolulu, could be a tropical storm by the end of the day and a hurricane by Thursday.

The hurricane center advised the island chain to monitor the progress of the system, which was projected to drop 15 to 20 inches (38 to 51 centimeters) of rain on the Big Island. Forecasters said this could cause “catastrophic life-threatening flooding and mudslides.”

The center of the cyclone was expected to approach the islands by Friday or Saturday.

Brooks reported from Atlanta.

This satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Hurricane Odalys in the Pacific Ocean, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (NOAA via AP)

This photo provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Polo strengthening in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (NOAA via AP)

This photo provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Polo intensifying in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. (NOAA via AP)