Palm Beach Gardens, FL …

After an illness cloud hung over Adam Scott’s defence of the Honda Classic he’s hoping it will be all clear air more than two kilometres high later this week in Mexico City.

Scott is heading to the world’s eighth highest capital city for Thursday’s start to the $US 9.75m WGC – Mexico Championship and having been renamed from the WGC – Cadillac Championship that Scott captured last year at Trump Doral in suburban Miami.

It is first time a WGC will be staged in Mexico and with the tree-lined Club de Chapultepec course to host all but one of the world’s top-50 after World No. 2 Jason Day withdrew suffering from a double ear infection.

Scott is no stranger to competing at elevation given he’s played plenty of social rounds on the 1,700 metre Crans-sur-Sierre course in Switerland, and one of the Australian’s global abodes.

But then he’s not teed-up on a course lying two-and-a-quarter kilometres above sea level.

Adam Scott delights his younger fans following the final round of the 2017 Honda Classic.

“It’s going to be very interesting going from competing sea level here in Florida to teeing-up well over 7,000 feet, so it will be a challenge for everyone to adjust to the different conditions,” said Scott.

“It’s going to be really high in Mexico City and while we played in Denver and I know Joburg is pretty high up, plus there’s Reno and Crans, it’s tricky playing at altitude.

“But I am sure we can work out pretty early in the week where the ball is going.”

Having picked a ‘bug’ from his young son, Scott struggled all week with a head cold and a sore throat and that reduced him to a murmur on Saturday but after birding the last hole in a final round of a two under par 70 for a four under tally the Queeslander said he felt back to some 80% fitness.

“I’m still feeling a little off-colour and I’m still fighting off the illness so much I’m feeling about 80% good”, he said.

“Today was the best I felt all week and my head is feeling a little clearer but then it’s not been a great couple of weeks for me but then there has been some good signs in different areas of my game out on the course.

“However, I did feel a bit better today as it was pretty hard out there so I feel like I have something to work with next week as I needed that round today given I have stalled the past few weeks.

“I’ve played okay but haven’t really contended and that’s boring for me.

“So, I would like to hit the ball a little better and my short game where it is, I think I can contend next week.”