Adam Scott says his plummet down the world rankings is appropriate given a lack of practice during the past year but has vowed to graft his way back to top form.
The Queenslander was ranked world No.7 at this point last year but has since dropped to No.58 ahead of this week's Honda Classic.
He hasn't helped his plight with a missed cut at the Pebble Beach Pro Am, his first event of 2018, and a share of 53rd at last week's LA Open at Riviera Country Club.
Former world No.1 Scott endured a winless 2017 campaign as he moved between his Bahamas, Switzerland and Gold Coast bases while wife Marie was pregnant with the couple's second child.
Scott played in blocks of two or three tournaments around the four major championships but admits he didn't practise during his weeks off.
The 2013 Masters winner is not concerned about his rankings freefall.
"I practised for three weeks before coming (to the US) but pretty much you can write the 12 months off before that; I didn't practise at all last year," Scott told AAP.
"(These results) are the hangover effect and are a part of the process of getting sharp again.
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"I'm playing against the best in the world, who are dialled in, in but I haven't been for a while so I need to get back up to that level but feel comfortable with where things are at."
Although he is guaranteed to play the Masters at Augusta and the British Open, Scott's starts at the US Open and US PGA Championship are under threat.
"I think that stuff just takes care of itself … the results the last two weeks were not good, but I've essentially had three or four months off since the PGA Tour playoffs and it's catching up a little bit," Scott said.
Scott is confident of a strong showing at Florida's PGA National at Palm Beach Gardens, having won the Honda Classic in 2016.
"Out of the seven rounds I've played this year, only one has been really poor and the rest have been OK but not Tour sharp," Scott said.
"I've seen some good signs in my ball-striking and my putting.
"I'm looking forward to this week, it's going to be a hard course and require a lot of focus because errors can happen easily around here."
Scott will be joined by fellow Australian Greg Chalmers, while big guns Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Justin Thomas and defending champion Rickie Fowler headline the field.
AAP
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