Adam Scott brilliantly birdied four of closing five holes in a sizzling seven-under par 64 and move well into contention at six-under par on day two of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera club in suburban LA.

Scott did not put a foot wrong in his first event of the New Year, and teeing-up also for a first occasion since capturing the 2019 Australian PGA Championship just days prior to Christmas, to end his round near lunch just a shot behind Ameican and fellow Australian PGA champion, Harold Varner 111 who added a 68 to his opening 67.

Scott’s second round Genesis effort is his lowest on the PGA Tour since a closing round 63 to finish T10 in the October 2018 CJ Cup @Nine Bridges.

Scott had shown a little ‘rust’ in shooting a first round one-over par 72 but on day two of the $9.3m event it was very much a display that has earned the now 39-year old 30 victories around the golfing globe.

The Queenslander birdied his first and seventh hole to make the turn in two-over before cutting a swath through the field over his inward nine, and with Scott grabbing birdies at the 10th, 13th, 14th, 16th and 17th holes.

If there was a pick of those five closing birdies it was a the par-3 16th where Scott landed his 8-iron tee-shot to just four feet shy of the flag before sending the ball to the bottom of the cup.

At the very next hole, Scott absolutely drilled a 289-yard 3-wood second shot into the green at the par-5 17th and for his ball to come to rest 13-foot left of the flag from where he only just missed his ‘eagle’ putt.

The current World No. 14 had hit 13 of 18 greens in regulation and then produced just 26 putts.

Scott then proudly climbed the 52 stairs at the back of the 18th leading to the awe-inspiring Riviera clubhouse very pleased with his morning’s work on what Scott said after his round is his favourite course on the PGA schedule.

“The conditions out there were just pure, so it was a beautiful day with the wind down and as soon as the sun came up and it warmed up and it was very nice for scoring,” he said.

“I played well, scrambled well and made a few putts and it was just what I wanted to do.”

Scott has not competed since 22nd December last year since capturing a second Australian PGA title.  He spent the Christmas/New Year along with his wife and two children relaxing at his parents Sanctuary Cove abode before making his way to the Californian West Coast.

“This is my first event of the year, so I haven’t played for quite a while but then I have been working very hard and I felt confident enough at the back end of last year while my practice and preparation felt good,” he said.

“So, it’s been nice to get a good result early.

“Though I really didn’t go out this morning thinking there was a 64 on the cards but the round just kind of unfolded while a couple of putts dropped at the right time.

“So, you should never rarely limit yourself what you can shoot but then I am a little surprised I shot 64.”