President's Cup team that lost to the United States in Australia. Scott ended with a 2–3–0 record. 2012 Scott started the year at the Northern Trust Open, where he finished in a tie for 17th. In April, Scott enjoyed his second consecutive top-10 at the Masters Tournament when he finished T8th. He shot a final round 66, which included a hole-in-one at the 16th hole, to advance up the leaderboard on the final day. In the years second major championship, Scott had his best result at the U.S. Open with a tie for 15th at the Olympic Club. He shot three consecutive rounds of 70 in rounds two, three and four. Then in the build-up to The Open Championship, Scott finished in third at the AT&T National. Near-miss at the 2012 Open Championship At the 2012 Open Championship, Scott equalled the course record for Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club at an Open Championship when he shot a six-under-par round of 64 to lead by one stroke after the first round. This was then matched by American Brandt Snedeker in the second round, to lead Scott by one stroke going into the weekend after Scott had recorded a round of 67. In the third round, Scott shot a 68 to take a four stroke lead into the final round, ahead of Brandt Snedeker and Graeme McDowell. In the final round, Scott's birdie on the 14th gave him a cushion of four shots with four holes to play. On the 15th, Scott made bogey after he pulled his approach shot into a greenside bunker. At the 16th he overhit his approach shot onto the back of the green to leave a lengthy putt for birdie. He missed the putt by about five feet and could not convert the par putt. As Scott was playing the 17th, Ernie Els had birdied the final hole to become the leader in the clubhouse at seven under, one shot behind Scott. On the 17th, from the middle of the fairway, Scott overhit his approach shot and landed in some thick rough at the back of the green. He could only pitch out to 20 feet away and missed the resulting putt to record his third bogey and drop into a tie for the lead with Els. At the final hole, needing a birdie to win or a par to get into a playoff with