Picture a promising 15-year-old Australian golfer in tears after Greg Norman threw away a six-shot lead at the 1996 Masters. He had been allowed a day off school to watch his idol supposedly bring Australia’s Augusta jinx to a close.
Instead it turned into a day so difficult to watch that even the motor racing driver Damon Hill, who lived life on the edge every day of his sporting career, had to turn away. Imagine what it was like for 15-year-old Scott, who had met Norman and was in awe of him.
‘I want to play in that event one day,’ he vowed. ‘I want to win it.’
Pure joy: Adam Scott celebrates his memorable Masters triumph at Augusta on Sunday night Scott stated at school 13 years ago that he wanted to be the world's best golferNo wonder Scott came into the media centre on Sunday, proud as punch in his splendid green jacket, and spoke about fate.
‘It is amazing that it is my destiny to be the first Aussie to win the Masters,’ he said.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK ‘Adam is a great player and I amconfident this victory will catapult him to win more majors. He has incredible fire within his system and it would not surprise me if he wins more majors than any Australian golfer in history.’Greg Norman makes a bold prediction about the new Masterschampion, given Peter Thomson won five Open titles. It would certainly surprise me to see Scott win so many if the governing bodies go ahead and ban long-handled putters.
A tournament that almost died of shame on Saturday got back on its feet on Sunday thanks to Scott’s rousing, old-fashioned tale of resolve and redemption. It rose again thanks to golf of breathtaking quality at the finish and sportsmanship of a rare kind from Angel Cabrera following his play-off defeat.
The Argentinian birdied the 16th and 18th holes and saw birdie efforts at the 17th, and both play-off holes, miss by the slenderest of margins. Each time the birdie tries didn’t fall he dropped to his haunches in frustration, unable to quite believe what had happened. But he forgot it all to wrap those huge arms around Scott.
The winner, of course, had shown class himself in defeat at Royal Lytham last summer. There were no desperate tears of self-pity after he bogeyed the last four holes to hand The Open to Ernie Els. He was already looking ahead to the day when he would make amends.
‘I didn’t finish the tournament well today but next time — and I am sure there will be a next time — I can do a better job of it,’ said Scott.
It didn’t take long to deliver on that promise, did it? Birdieing the final hole in regulation play was quite something by itself, but birdieing the second extra hole, the 10th as well — two of the hardest par fours on the course — combined with Cabrera’s sterling play to make this one of the great Masters finishes.
‘C’mon Aussie!’ he screamed, his face an expression of pure rapture, and what a boost this will give sport Down Under, struggling under the weight of the farce surrounding its cricketers in India, and the fall-out from Project Aperio, a year-long government investigation that uncovered systematic drug use across the major sports.
Nice one: Adam Scott celebrates with caddie Steve WilliamsThe joy that greeted Scott’s victory was unconfined, with the nation coming to a standstill in a way that recalled reaction in New Zealand when Michael Campbell beat Tiger Woods to win the 2005 US Open.
Sitting next to Scott on Sunday night was Craig Heatley, a New Zealander who is the chairman of Augusta’s media committee. ‘When I heard the roar on the 10th, I heard about 30 million people cheering in Australia and New Zealand as well,’ he said.
Great sportsman: Angel Cabrera contributed to a memorable MastersPrior to the start of this 77th edition, putting the ages of every winner of the Masters into a computer revealed an average age of 32. It is the age when talent and experience most effectively meet, and so it was for 32-year-old Scott, who finally got there because he also added a hard edge to his naturally friendly, unassuming personality.
He learned to wield the long- handled putter to devastating effect, and never mind what people thought. He stuck by his caddie Steve Williams, even following the furore that engulfed the latter in November 2011 after he stood up at an awards ceremony and issued a racist remark about his former employer, Tiger Woods.
Green keeper: Adam Scott is Australia¿s first Masters winnerWilliams deserves credit for Scott acquiring that necessary intensity to close the deal at majors. ‘It’s time for me to show how badly I want this,' Scott said to himself as he came to the closing holes.
On the 18th in regulation play, all those 13 majors Williams won with Tiger came into play as Scott looked over his birdie putt. Asking Williams what he thought the line was, Scott received a surprising answer.
'I asked him if it was more than a cup outside the hole and he said it was at least two cups,’ said Scott. ‘It was an unbelievable read.'
When he was 19, Scott wrote on a school report that he wanted to be the best player in the world. He added what would prove, 13 years later, to be a prophetic addendum: 'If all else fails, birdie the last.'
Destiny, they call it.
Controversial: Adam Scott putts during the final round Let's putt this issue to bed...Some time over the next month we can expect a final decision on the future of the long-handled and belly putters — and Adam Scott’s victory using one of the former has certainly brought the subject back into sharp focus.
All four majors have now been won over the last 20 months by players using one or the other, which will only harden opinion among those who believe they offer an unfair advantage when the greens are slippery and the pressure at its most intense.
Against that, Scott’s victory will do wonders for the popularity of the game in Australia and beyond, so why would you want to instigate a ban now and hurt a model ambassador, when players have been using such putters for 30 years?
Aren’t the authorities charged with growing the game, not stifling it?
Two honestly held opinions, with the likelihood remaining the governing bodies — rightly, in my view — will instigate the ban.
Either way, Scott’s victory has only served to heighten emotions on the matter.
Barren run for Europe goes onThe Australian jinx might be over but the European hoodoo remains in full swing. About the only real bright spot came from the exciting 23-year-old Dane Thorbjorn Olesen, and his heartening recovery from an opening 78 on his Masters debut to finish inside the top 10.
Like Adam Scott with Greg Norman this year, Olesen grew up watching Thomas Bjorn get so close on so many occasions to becoming the first Dane to win a major championship.
Don’t be surprised if this parallel continues all the way to Olesen winning a major in the not too distant future.
Looking good: Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen after his tee shot on the second hole Tiger should have disqualified himselfThere appears to be a lot of confusion regarding new Rule 33-7. It was introduced last year for things like players inadvertently sweeping grains of sand on their backswing in a bunker, something that came to light thanks to the marvels of HD television.
The new rule means retrospective penalties can be applied for such actions without a player being disqualified for signing for an incorrect scorecard.
However, it wasn’t the intention to cover up flagrant ignorance, as was the case with Tiger Woods and his incorrect drop on Friday. That’s why Tiger should have disqualified himself. What would Bobby Jones, the founder of the Masters, have done? I would place everything I own on the conviction he would have sat on the verandah and watched the weekend’s play.
More... Great Scott! Adam becomes the first Australian to put on the famous Green Jacket after nail biting finish at Augusta Did 18-year-old Scott predict moment of Masters glory in his high school yearbook? Westwood rues missed opportunities as search for major success goes on Norman backs Scott to win more majors... but only after they've had a beer together
