Soltau: Scott's Hand Broken, Not His Pinkie

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- Contrary to early-week rumors, Adam Scott did not play in Thursday's first round of the U.S. Open with a broken right pinkie. He has a broken right hand.

That's why Scott used his left hand to shake hands with playing partners Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson on the first tee.

"It doesn't really affect my golf swing, so I'm pretty lucky to be playing," said Scott, who shot 73.

The Australian was in London last month with a friend, who accidentally shut a car door on his hand. "Right across the edge," he said. "It was the night of the Champions League [soccer] final in Russia."

With rest and strengthening exercises, the hand healed sufficiently enough for the third-ranked Scott to compete this week. "It's strong enough to where I can play and it's improved a lot in the last five days since I got here," said Scott. "So it's been no problem."

It also helps that Scott uses an an overlap grip. "I wouldn't have been able to play with an interlocking grip, it would have put too much stress on it," he said.

Scott will play with Woods and Mickelson again Friday and is looking forward to it.

"There's a lot of hoopla about it, but I've played with Phil a lot in majors," Scott said. "I enjoy playing with Tiger as well. I find it a lot easier to focus because I think I've got to be a little more disciplined. I felt like I played really well out there today and I really didn't make any putts."

-- Mark Soltau