JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- An admired figure in the game, Adam Scott is the envy of so many, whether it be for the smooth golf swing, the good looks, the stylish attire or just the overall vibe he emits, in good times and bad.
Scott is a mild-mannered soul who would prefer to go about his business more quietly. Such is the respect for him among his peers that when he got married a few years ago, none of those who attended -- what they thought was to be a party, not a wedding -- leaked the news.
Easily among Australia's biggest sportsman, he is the most famous golfer to emerge from Down Under since Greg Norman, and Scott was the first to win the Masters.
So why is his ability to succeed at the Presidents Cup compromised?
Scott, 37, is playing in the competition for the eighth time and has never been on a winning side against the Americans. He showed up in South Africa as a 23-year-old, wide-eyed star-in-the making in 2003 and was part of an epic tie. He has then been on teams that have mostly underachieved -- himself included.
When he teed off on Thursday, he did so with his 12th different partner in eight Presidents Cups, Jhonattan Vegas -- a rookie. At least Scott got to play with Vegas again on Friday, establishing some continuity. But the Americans ran over the International team again on Friday, jumping out to an 8-2 lead.
Not that it did him any good.
Scott and Vegas dropped their four-ball match to Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, 3 and 2. They also lost to Johnson and Matt Kuchar in foursomes, 1-up, on Thursday.
It's no stretch to say that a lack of cohesiveness has contributed to Scott's 13-19-5 overall record in the competition. And for all its intended good purposes, the various captain's usage of Scott has not helped the team, either.
One of the International team's leaders, Scott has often been put in the role of nurturing a young player or taken on the role of cheerleader.
"I've played so much, and it seems a bit of my role, as well, the last couple Cups has been to be a bit of a team-room player for the guys and just make sure everyone is feeling comfortable,'' Scott said. "I know how important a role it is. I'm naturally not going to force myself on guys and tell them how I think they should play. I don't know their games well enough.
"I think it's important that someone take a bit of a vocal position, not just the captains, and voice the opinion of the team or even myself and what's important. I've seen a lot of this stuff, and someone has to be able to speak up to these very respected captains who might not be seeing exactly what the players are feeling sometimes, too.''
That sounds fine but doesn't seem to have helped Scott's golf.
He was better at the Presidents Cup in the early years, before he had truly established himself, than he has been recently when regarded as among the game's elite players.
Scott went 3-2 in 2003 and 3-1-1 in 2005. Since then, he's had a losing record every Cup but one, 2013, when he went 2-2-1 in the Presidents Cup that was played several months after he won the Masters.
Along the way, Scott has never been afforded the comfort of developing a good partner. In 2003, he played twice with Ernie Els, won them both, then got paired with K.J. Choi and Stuart Appleby the rest of the way.
In 2005, he played all four team matches with Retief Goosen, then two years later had he had four different partners.
Four years ago, he was grouped with Hideki Matsuyama for all four matches, clearly put in that position to mentor the Japanese star who was just starting to find his way as a professional golfer.
Two years ago, he played with fellow Aussie Jason Day and they halved their match with Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson. He, again, never had the same partner twice during the entire competition, although he at least got to play with Matsuyama again.
"Adam is a very quiet guy, but when he speaks, it is with such conviction and passion,'' said International team captain Nick Price, who undoubtedly has struggled with how best to utilize Scott in his three years of captaincy.
This year, Price is dealing with players from eight different countries. In addition to Australia, there is South Africa, Japan, Canada, India, Venezuela, Argentina and South Korea.
In some instances, there is a barrier in that English is not the first language of Matsuyama, Vegas, Emiliano Grillo and Si Woo Kim.
Vegas speaks perfect English but does not exactly run in Scott's circle on the PGA Tour. They would not have played many practice rounds together, nor developed any kind of a great bond.
That is not to say they couldn't jell or haven't. Scott is so likeable that it is hard to envision anyone not getting along with him. And a younger player undoubtedly would relish Scott's mentoring skills.
"Playing with Adam has been a lot of fun,'' Vegas said. "Playing next to a guy, a guy who plays as good as Adam, and not only that with a lot of confidence. He might look like a quiet guy; he's a guy who has a lot of fire inside him. I've been able to feed off of him.''
All of which brings us back to Scott and his seemingly average play in this event. Some of that is on him; maybe some of it is based on his having to hold everybody's hand instead of steadying his own.
Scott is too nice to ever say it, and too respectful to ever suggest that his own play might be tied to helping others.
But it might be nice to see a juggernaut pairing with Day. Or even Leishman. Or perhaps along with veterans such as Oosthuizen and Grace -- although the two South Africans have been a formidable team in their own right.
On Saturday morning in foursomes, he'll play with this 13th teammate in a long Presidents Cup career -- Canadian Adam Hadwin.
For Scott, it has been an uneven year, as he has dropped out of the top 10 in the world to No. 22. His wife gave birth to the couple's second child last month, and he has been home to Australia twice since the PGA Championship, failing to qualify for the final two FedEx Cup playoff events.
This week, so far, is not making him feel any better, another disappointing Presidents Cup headed toward another International defeat.