Scott wins for himself and for Australia

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Greg Norman saw three Australians on the leaderboard at the Masters and had reason to believe more heartache was on the way.

Adam Scott couldn't make anything but pars and Jason Day was losing ground, both three shots out of the lead going to the back nine at Augusta National. Marc Leishman was another shot behind, and that's when Norman decided to step away.

"I went to the gym at the turn because I was nervous," Norman said Sunday night, euphoric over Scott's playoff win in the Masters. "I got out of the gym in time for the last four holes. My son was with me, and my wife. The three of us were so into it. The mood swings, the conversations we were having, my texting, it was off the charts. I can only imagine how everyone else felt when I was playing."

Those times always ended with the wrong kind of tears.

Each loss was another reminder that an Australian had never won the Masters, making it the holy grail of golf Down Under. Some of it was his own doing, such as the six-shot lead Norman famously lost to Nick Faldo in 1996. Some of it was cruel, no greater example than Larry Mize chipping in to beat him in a playoff in 1987.

Norman finally made it to Butler Cabin, at least in spirit.

"Australia is a proud sporting nation, and this was one notch in the belt that we never got," Scott said before slipping on the green jacket. "Amazing that it came down to me, Marc and Jason Day. It could have been any of us. But there was one guy who inspired a nation of golfers, and that's Greg Norman. He's been incredible to me and all the young golfers in Australia. And part of this definitely belongs to him."

In most countries, a trophy is cherished because of the many tales of victory that go with it. The Masters became a big deal in Australia because of a string of defeats.

"Look, I was a small part of it because I loved the Masters," Norman said. "This is about Adam. Because of what I did, it created interest in the Masters, just as other players before me. I couldn't get it across the line, and that increased the intensity. 'Why couldn't you win the Masters as the No. 1 player in the world?' Adam deserved this. He's been there. He served his penance in a lot of ways."

It was only nine months ago that Scott lost a four-shot lead with four holes to play in the British Open, closing with four bogeys to fall by one shot to Ernie Els. He vowed he would finish the job the next time he had a chance, and that he did.

"Show everyone how much you want it," Scott told himself before his 20-foot birdie putt swirled around the left side of the cup and disappeared for a 3-under 69 and a one-shot lead. Angel Cabrera answered with one of the greatest shots on the 18th under the circumstances, firing a 7-iron to 3 feet to force the playoff.

Two holes later, Scott called in caddie Steve Williams to help him read the putt in gathering darkness. Williams has caddied for Norman, Raymond Floyd and Tiger Woods at the Masters, and he knew it was faster and broke more than it looked. He told him to aim "two cups out," and Scott drilled it.

And that it happened at the Masters made all the sweeter.

"Sitting there watching Adam, I had a tear in my eye," Norman said. "That's what it was all about. It was Adam doing it for himself, and for the country."

Geoff Ogilvy was driving from San Diego to Phoenix during the final round. Seven years ago, Scott was about to board a plane home from the U.S. Open until he realized one of his best friends had a chance to win. He got off the plane and made it to Winged Foot in time for the celebration.

With no TV in the car, Ogilvy followed the final round on Twitter.

"For Australians, it's absolutely enormous on so many levels," Ogilvy said. "My whole generation — anyone from my age and older — are still scarred from all the great victories that got snatched away, from '87 onwards. The scars were there. People are going to be pretty excited this morning."

The Masters is such a big deal in Australia that nobody wanted to go to work on this most magnificent Monday, when it ended just after 9:30 a.m. along the eastern coast. The prime minister had a speech interrupted to hear updates from the playoffs.

"Because of Greg, through all his incredible play and heartache, Australians have always thought they were owed one," Williams said.

Scott was as gracious in victory as he was in a wrenching loss last summer at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, which surprised no one. He has impeccable manners and treats everyone around him with respect.

Norman noticed that when he first met Scott at age 15 and gave him a ride on his plane to a tournament.

"He sat on my plane and talked and asked a lot of questions about me and about life," Norman said. "I always had a lot of belief in Adam. I love this kid to death. He's such a classy kid. He has a classic swing. I always knew destiny was going to be on his side."

It was Norman who gave Scott a short-game lesson in 2004 at The Players Championship, and Scott put that lesson to use with a pitch to 10 feet to win on the last hole. Scott leaned on Norman again at the British Open, holding his head high after a monumental collapse, because that's how the Shark always handled failure.

"He was the best player in the world and he was an icon in Australia," Scott said. "Everything about the way he handled himself was incredible to have as a role model. And just that was enough, but he's devoted so much time to myself and other young Australian players who came after him. Incredibly generous. Most of us would feel that he could have slipped a green jacket on, for sure.

"I said, 'Part of this is for him' because he's given me so much time and inspiration and belief."

Norman was No. 1 for longer than anyone until Tiger Woods came along. Australia golf was booming when he was on top and while the circuit is a shell of what it was, Ogilvy couldn't help but notice Norman's impact even today.

"We had three of the top four in the Masters today," Ogilvy said. "That's directly because we had the No. 1 player in the world and he was contending in the Masters. With Adam, there's the potential for that effect."

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Great Scott: Aussie finally dons green at Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Adam Scott strolled into the room, looking quite dapper in green.

He let out a deep sigh and struggled to contain his emotions — the thoughts of Greg Norman, the folks Down Under, the dad he hugged so tight alongside the 10th green.

It sure felt a lot different than the last time Scott was summoned to the media room at the end of a major championship.

That was Lytham, where he had to answer for throwing away a seemingly sure victory in the British Open with bogeys on the last four holes.

This was Augusta, where he reveled in the biggest win of his career Sunday evening.

Less than eight months apart, everything changed.

Now, he's Adam Scott, major champion.

"What an incredible day," he said. "Everything fell my way in the end. You just never know."

Using one of those big putters, Scott became the first Australian to win the Masters, beating Angel Cabrera on the second hole of a stirring playoff played in a steady rain and dwindling light, finally settling down in the hollow that is the 10th green, amid the towering Georgia pines.

Cabrera's 15-foot putt rolled up right next to the hole and stopped. When Scott's 12-footer dropped in the cup, he pumped his arms furiously and screamed toward the gray, darkening sky — quite a celebration for a guy who's always been accused of being a little too laid-back.

No one would've said that on this day.

"I was pumped," he said.

For Scott, this victory was sweet on so many levels.

Certainly, there was a measure of payback for what happened last July at the British Open, where Scott played beautifully for three days and 14 holes and seemed to have a stranglehold on the claret jug. Then he bogeyed the 15th hole. And the 16th. And the 17th. And, stunningly, the 18th, surrendering the title to Ernie Els.

Scott handled the staggering defeat with amazing grace, vowing to somehow "look back and take the positives from it." But no one knew if he might go the way of Ed Sneed or Jean Van de Velde, golfers who threw away majors and never came close to winning another.

For Scott, there are no such worries.

Lytham is redeemed.

"Golf gives," Cabrera said, "and golf takes."

No one knows that more than Norman, a runner-up three times at Augusta National, a third-place finisher three other times, but never a winner. This one was for him, too.

"He inspired a nation of golfers," Scott said. "Part of this is for him because he's given me so much time and inspiration and belief. I drew on that a lot."

In a grander scheme, this victory was for an entire continent. Australia has produced some greats of the game over the last half-century but never a Masters champion. Until now.

They're on top of the world Down Under.

"We are a proud sporting nation and like to think we are the best at everything," Scott said with a mischievous grin. "This is the one thing in golf that we had not been able to achieve. It's amazing that it's my destiny to be the first Aussie to win."

Norman was so nervous watching TV at his home in south Florida that he went to the gym when the final group made the turn. He returned for the last four holes and was texting with friends as his emotions shifted with every putt. Coming down the stretch, three Aussies — Scott, Jason Day and Marc Leishman — actually had a chance to win.

Scott brought it home.

"I'm over the moon," Norman told The Associated Press. "Sitting there watching Adam, I had a tear in my eye. That's what it was all about. It was Adam doing it for himself, and for the country."

For Cabrera, a burly, 43-year-old from Argentina, the majors have been a big giver. His last victory on the PGA or European tours before Sunday? The 2009 Masters. Before that? The 2007 U.S. Open.

In other words, Cabrera doesn't win often, but when he does, it's usually a pretty significant victory.

He almost got another one, trying with Scott in regulation at 9-under 279.

"I had a lot of peace of mind and I was very confident," said Cabrera, who closed with a 2-under 70. "I knew that it depended on me. I knew that (the other contenders) can make some birdies, but I still was thinking that it depended on me."

Cabrera made the turn with a two-stroke lead but stumbled on the back nine, knocking his drive behind the pine trees at the 10th and then sending his ball into Rae's Creek on the 13th, leading to bogeys at both. But a birdie at the 16th gave him a shot, and he struck what might've been the best — well, certainly the most clutch — shot of the day at the 72nd hole after Scott, playing just ahead in the penultimate group, rolled in a 20-footer for birdie and a one-stroke lead.

"For a split-second, I let myself think I could have won," said Scott, who certainly celebrated like his 69 was good enough.

Not so fast.

Cabrera stuck a 7-iron from 163 yards to 3 feet, leaving a gimme of a putt to force the playoff. Scott was watching a television in the scoring area.

"I got to see Angel hit an incredible shot," Scott said. "Then it was try to get myself ready to play some more holes."

They went back to the 18th tee box for the first playoff hole. After matching drives and approach shots, both rolling off the front of the green, Cabrera chipped over Scott's ball and nearly put it in the cup. Scott pitched to 3 feet, both made their putts and the playoff moved on to No. 10.

Again, two more booming drives and two more nifty approaches, leaving them both with a good shot at birdie.

If Cabrera's ball had turned one more time, they might've been returning to the course Monday to finish up.

When it didn't, Scott was determined to end things before nightfall.

"Had to finish it," he said.

Scott got a big assist on the winning putt from his caddie, who knows a thing or two about winning at Augusta. Steve Williams was on the bag for 13 of Tiger Woods' 14 major titles, a close friend to the world's top-ranked golfer before Woods' personal life fell apart. Williams was among those cut loose in the aftermath, a bitter split that made this victory about as satisfying to him as it was Scott.

Especially after Scott turned to Williams to get a read on the putt.

"I could hardly see the green in the darkness," the golfer said. "He was my eyes on that putt."

Scott told Williams he thought the right-to-left break would be about the width of a cup. Williams set him straight.

"It's at least two cups," the caddie said. "It's going to break more than you think."

Scott took the advice.

A short time later, he was trying on a green jacket.

"The winning putt was the highlight putt of my career," Williams said, "because he asked me to read it."

For his former boss, there was more major misery. Woods was at the center of a firestorm for an improper drop during the second round, which led to a two-stroke penalty and complaints that Woods had actually gotten off easy, because he could've been disqualified for signing an improper scorecard.

Four strokes behind going to the final round, Woods struggled with the speed of the greens on the first eight holes — they weren't nearly as quick because of the rain — and was too far behind by the time he got something going. He finished with a 70 and tied for fourth, four shots out of the playoff.

"I played well," he said. "Unfortunately, I just didn't make enough putts."

Day seized the lead with three straight birdies through the middle of the back side, but he couldn't hold on. A curious decision to putt through 12 feet of fringe behind the 16th green led to a bogey, and he surrendered another stroke after failing to get up-and-down from the bunker at the 17th. He finished with a 70 and two shots back at 281.

"I think the pressure got to me little bit," Day said.

Scott didn't let it get to him, even when he couldn't get any putts to fall early in the round with that big stick of his, which have become all the rage in the majors. He finally caught a break at the 13th, when his approach rolled back off the green, but stopped short of the creek. He wound up making a birdie, which gave him the spark he needed.

"I had no momentum on the day at that point," Scott said. "That was a great break. And everyone who wins gets those kind of breaks."

After Lytham, he sure had it coming.

___

Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

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Scott will win more majors than any Australian: Norman

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Newly-crowned Masters champion Adam Scott will win more majors than any other Australian, according to compatriot Greg Norman, who famously missed out on the famed green jacket three times.

Scott ended Australia's long wait for an Augusta winner on Sunday when he nervelessly sunk a 15-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole to beat Argentine Angel Cabrera in a playoff and capture his first major championship.

"Everybody questioned whether he could do it. We all knew it. The players know it," former world number one Norman said in comments posted on the PGA Tour's Twitter feed.

"I think he'll go on and win more majors than any other Australian golfer."

Norman's bullish forecast sets a huge challenge for 32-year-old Scott, who would have to clinch another seven to surpass Karrie Webb, a seven-time major winner on the women's tour.

The leading Australian men's major winner is Peter Thomson, who captured five British Open titles from 1954-65.

The 58-year-old Norman, dubbed the "Great White Shark", clinched two British Open trophies in a sparkling career but tasted only disappointment in the American majors.

Norman's near-misses at the Masters were particularly gruelling. He finished runner-up in 1986, bogeying the last hole to miss out on a playoff with a 46-year-old Jack Nicklaus and a year later was beaten in a playoff by Larry Mize, who chipped in to win.

Norman's third chance in 1996 became etched in Australian folklore as one of the greatest sporting 'chokes' of all time when he blew a six-shot lead heading into the final round to crumble to a 78 and finish second again.

GREEN JACKET

Scott, Australia's first major winner since Geoff Ogilvy won the 2006 U.S. Open, watched Norman's triumphs and heartaches with fascination as a junior and enjoyed huge backing from his hero throughout the highs and lows of his own career.

"(Norman) was the best player in the world and he was an icon in Australia," Scott told reporters in Augusta, paying tribute to his long-time mentor. "Everything about the way he handled himself was incredible to have as a role model.

"Most of us would feel that he could have slipped a green jacket on, for sure, and I said part of this is for him because he's given me so much time and inspiration and belief.

"I drew on that a lot today.

"Hopefully at some point I'll get to sit down with Greg and have a chat and go through it all ... A phone conversation isn't going to do it for us. We are really close, and I'd love to share a beer with him over this one."

Since turning professional as a teenager and winning his first title in South Africa in 2001, Scott had long been seen in his home country as heir to Norman, but raised less flattering comparisons at last year's British Open.

Australians relived grim memories of Norman's 1996 Augusta nightmare when they saw Scott blow a four-stroke lead at Lytham with bogeys on his last four holes to gift Ernie Els the Claret Jug.

The nation held its breath early on Monday morning Down Under as news filtered through that Scott had been taken into a playoff by Cabrera.

The out-pouring of joy and relief after the winning putt was overwhelming.

Dale Durant, chief executive of Scott's home golf course at Sanctuary Cove, in Australia's tropical Queensland state, told Australian media that the streets of the resort town had been deserted during the run-up to Scott's win, with everyone inside watching the drama unfold.

"It is just unbelievable. It is just the greatest three holes of his life," Durant said of Scott's nerveless finish.

Ogilvy, who won his 2006 U.S. Open when his nearest challengers stumbled on their last hole, captured the national mood in a post on his Twitter account.

"I reckon it's time for a beer," he tweeted.

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Scott wins Masters to end Australian heartache

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) - Adam Scott ended decades of Australian disappointment when he became the first player from his country to win the Masters with a gripping playoff victory over Angel Cabrera at a rain-soaked Augusta National on Sunday.

Scott sealed the win with a 15-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole, the par-four 10th, moments after burly Argentine Cabrera had narrowly missed his attempt from 18 feet.

"It's incredible to be in this position," Scott said in the Butler Cabin before being helped into the revered green jacket by 2012 champion, Bubba Watson. "It's an honor.

"I tried not to think about anything today along those lines," Scott added, referring to the lengthy Australian title drought in the year's opening major. "The thing I did well out there was to stay right where I was, stayed in that one shot."

The duo finished the regulation 72 holes on nine-under-par 279, Scott sinking a 25-foot birdie putt at the last for a three-under-par 69 before Cabrera matched him after hitting a brilliant approach shot to just three feet on 18 for a 70.

It was the fifth playoff at Augusta National in the last 11 years, and the second in a row with American Watson having edged out South African Louis Oosthuizen 12 months ago.

There had previously been eight runner-up finishes by Australians at the Masters, three of them achieved by Greg Norman.

"Australia is a proud sporting nation and this is one notch in the belt that we never got," added Scott, who led by one shot with two holes to play at the 2011 Masters before South African Charl Schwartzel birdied the last four holes to win by two.

"It's amazing that it came down to me today. There was one guy who inspired a nation of golfers and that's Greg Norman. He's been incredible to me and all the young golfers in Australia. Part of this definitely belongs to him."

Scott's victory at Augusta National earned him welcome major redemption after he squandered a four-shot lead with four holes to play in last year's British Open at Royal Lytham for South African veteran Ernie Els to land the title.

DESPERATELY CLOSE

Cabrera and Scott were both in perfect position off the tee on the first playoff hole but the Australian narrowly failed to hold the green with his approach, his ball spinning backwards before settling just off the fringe.

Cabrera followed suit, venting his frustration after squandering a possible advantage when his second shot rolled back off the front of the green to end up a couple of yards below Scott's ball.

The Argentine came desperately close to holing his chip shot, his ball sliding past the right edge of the cup. Scott's chip came up three feet short but both players safely parred to keep the playoff alive.

At the par-four 10th, both players found the middle of the fairway off the tee. Cabrera, playing first, hit his wedge approach to 18 feet below the hole before Scott fired his to 15 feet.

The Argentine narrowly missed sinking his birdie attempt, his ball tantalisingly ending up on the edge of the cup after curling from right to left.

Scott and his caddie Steve Williams spent a long time lining up the Australian's putt before he settled and stroked the ball toward the hole, loud roars erupting around the green when it disappeared into the cup.

"That how golf is," 2009 Masters champion Cabrera, who had been seeking a third major title, graciously said greenside. "I had that chip on 18 ... I could have won it. But Adam is a great winner.

"Obviously I would have been happier if I would have won but he is a great person, a great player. I get along with him. We've been together on Presidents Cups. I'm happy for him."

HUGE ROARS

Australian Jason Day, who made an explosive birdie-eagle start before surging two ahead with three consecutive birdies from the 13th, fell back into third place at seven under after making two bogeys in the last three holes to close with a 70.

Four-times champion and pre-tournament favourite Tiger Woods signed off with a 70 to share fourth place at five under with Australian Marc Leishman (72).

Woods' bid for a 15th major title, and his first since 2008, effectively ended when he made bogeys at the fifth and seventh, though he rebounded with three birdies after the turn to claim 11th top-five finish at the Masters.

"I had my opportunities to finish with some good numbers this week and I felt like I really played well," said Woods. "I played this week the way I've been playing all year, and that's a good sign.

"I thought 65 would win it outright today. I thought that was going to be the number. So who knows? If I would have shot my number, it might have been a different story."

Northern Irish world number two Rory McIlroy, whose Masters title bid was derailed by his third-round 79, signed off with a 69 for a two over total of 290.

Huge roars echoed around the 18th green well before the leaders teed off after China's 14-year-old Guan Tianlang, the feel-good story of the tournament, two-putted for par to sign off with a 75.

The youngest competitor ever at the Masters, Asia-Pacific Amateur champion Guan had already clinched the silver cup awarded to the low amateur at the Masters after becoming the youngest player to make the cut at a major championship.

(Editing by Frank Pingue)

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