The Open: Adam Scott recalls Open Championship meltdown in 2012
Adam Scott should have won The Open in 2012. He knows it and the thousands of fans at Royal Lytham and St Annes that week know it.
rs ago, the Australian led by four shots with four holes to play but bogeyed each one to lose by one to Ernie Els.
week's Radio 5 Live Sport podcast, building up to July's 150th Open, looks at the nearly men - players such as Scott, and France's Jean van de Velde, who famously blew a three-shot lead on the 18th at Carnoustie in 1999 and then lost a play-off.
Australian Scott says "it hurts more today than it did at the time". 
"There is no tournament I want to win more," he added. "It felt closer to me than any of the American majors when I was young, so there was a strong connection there."
He equalled the course record by shooting a six-under-par 64 in the opening round and maintained his form to take a four-shot lead into the final round.
And when he holed a birdie on the 14th hole, his lead was four and the coveted Claret Jug was in touching distance.
"I'm not one to get ahead of myself on the golf course in those situations," he said. "Everything is going well when you're four in front with four to go but there are specific times in tournaments when you really need to up your intensity and up your focus.
"It might just be that one shot, or two shots, that are so crucial and I think I played those last four holes a little too casually.
"It was too comfortable, four-shot lead, of course it's lovely, but as you can see, it can evaporate. 
"I don't think I did anything really horrible in those four holes but I didn't make any of my par putts from inside 10 feet, apart from on the 17th hole, and to win a tournament you're going to have to make a putt somewhere.
"I've learned from that and it was very different then at the Masters eight months later."
At the 2013 Masters, Scott beat Angel Cabrera in a play-off to become the first Australian winner of that major.
"It's funny how these things work out," Scott said. "I'm always going to be the first Aussie to win the Masters and that's something that I'm incredibly proud of."
Now 41, Scott is gearing up for the 150th Open at St Andrews and drawing on his previous good form at the Old Course.
"In 2015 I was tied for the lead with six to go and stumbled my way in," he said. 
"I know I can do it around there and it really would so make up for what happened in 2012
"I think [The Open] is the pinnacle of the game. Bobby Jones said it first and [Jack] Nicklaus backed it up. He said the greatest players win at St Andrews and I'm not going to put myself straight in that calibre but I would love to be in that discussion."