THE MASTERS
Australia Day Adam Scott's victory on the second play-off hole against Angel Cabrera at last month's Masters Tournament was a monumental achievement in this proud sporting country's history, writes Paul Prendergast.
T
AFP
Scott, along with caddie Steve Williams, celebrate the moment it all finally went right in a major; with his new, and most favourite, piece of clothing (opposite)
he Holy Grail of Australian golf has at last been conquered, with not one, but three of our Antipodean mates taking it to the best in the world at Augusta. In the end, it was 32-year old Adam Scott who was left standing the tallest of all – winning his first major and becoming the first from his homeland to win the coveted Green Jacket. Oh, how Greg Norman celebrated. With the weight of a nation on his shoulders (and with the rest of us on the edge of our seats), Scott sank a 12-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole of a sublimeplay-off to fend off Argentina’s Angel Cabrera to claim the 77th Masters . Cabrera was a Colossus in defeat. The release of tension and sheer jubilation was obvious in the normally mild-mannered Scott, who had earlier screamed "C’mon Aussie", when his birdie putt on the final green appeared to seal victory. “I don’t know how that happened,” Scott said in the Butler Cabin moments later. “It seems a long way away from a couple of years ago here and even last July (at the Open Championship) when I was trying to win another major. It fell my way today. It was incredible. It’s incredible to be in this position.” “Everything fell my way in the end, I guess. You just never know. I just kept plugging away. I didn’t know if it was going to happen through nine. A good back nine here solves a lot. I’m so proud of myself and everyone who has helped me.” And in the understatement of the year, “I’m a proud Australian and I hope this sits really well back at home" Did it ever? Australia did stand proud but in truth, most of the nation could barely sit still as they watched nervously from afar. When the winning putt fell, the country roared from lounge rooms, golf clubs and moving cars. This was – well and truly – a victory heard across the land.
28
HK Golfer・MAY 2013
HKGOLFER.COM
HKGOLFER.COM
HK Golfer・MAY 2013
29
Australia did stand proud but in truth, most of the nation could barely sit still as they watched nervously from afar. When the winning putt fell, the country roared from lounge rooms, golf clubs and moving cars. This was – well and truly – a victory heard across the land.
approaches at the flag under stifling pressure. Cabrera’s putt from inside 20 feet again looked to be going in but clung to the back edge of the hole, leaving Scott the stage to himself to create history. Scott then seized the moment, relying heavily on a read from caddie Steve Williams, and poured his 12 footer down the slope into the cup to ignite the celebrations. Cabrera, the 2009 winner, was magnanimous in defeat and heaped praised on his former teammate and partner of past Presidents Cup teams. “Adam is a great person, a great player,” said Cabrera. “In a play-off, one-on-one, there’s got to be only one winner. And it was him ... It was just a matter of time.” At his home in Florida, Norman had been pacing the room and even hitting the gym as play unfolded during the final round, so tense was he as the three Australians tried to do what he could not despite his best endeavours. "I can only imagine how everyone else felt when I was playing," Norman quipped. Norman admitted that Scott’s victory had brought a tear to his eye, knowing full well what Scott has endured along the way to this moment. “He probably had more pressure on him today than any other player on the planet because he was playing for not only for himself but the millions of people in Australia,” Norman said. "I was a very proud stepfather in a way.” Scott acknowledged the helping hand that Norman has played throughout his career but
Angel Cabrera, otherwise known as “El Pato” (The Duck) with his son and caddie, Angel Cabrera, Jr (opposite). The twotime major champion might only be 43 but had he defeated Scott he would have become the first grandfather to win a major in the modern era; he only has one PGA Tour win to his credit but Jason Day is quickly becoming something of a Masters expert, with his second topthree result in three years
AFP
Standing with arms outstretched in triumph, shaking with emotion after his embrace with caddie Steve Williams, Scott mirrored exactly what success-starved fans back home were feeling at that very same moment. Fellow Queenslander Ian Baker-Finch, in commentary for host broadcaster CBS was almost too choked to say anything when it was thrown to him for comment: a mixture of pride, ecstasy and relief that fate had at last dealt Scott and Australia a kind hand at Augusta. With Scott, Jason Day and Marc Leishman all in the top five at the beginning of Sunday’s final round, anticipation of a victory was high, but Australians have been down this path too many times to have anything more than conservative optimism. Like Scott and the other Aussies in the field, the nation grew up on a diet of early morning vigils supporting
Greg Norman’s unfulfilled quest for a Green Jacket year after year – and they know better than to get ahead of themselves. Scott and Day, with Geoff Ogilvy, had been down this path themselves only two years ago and been cruelly pipped at the post by Charl Schwartzel. Norman had burst on the scene with a tie for 4th in his first Masters in 1981, too long ago for Scott, Day et al to remember, but they were certainly around when Norman endured the ignominy of squandering a six-stroke lead to Nick Faldo in 1996, his third runner-up finish at Augusta following tragic near-misses in 1986 and 1987. “Greg Norman inspired a nation of golfers,” said Scott, “He was an icon in Australia, everything about the way he handled himself. He’s devoted so much time to myself and other young Australian golfers who came after him. “Most of us would feel that he could have slipped a Green Jacket on for sure.” Fate was certainly on Scott’s side when his second shot at the par-5 13th hit short of the green and rolled back before clinging precariously on the bank of Rae’s Creek. He got up-and-down for the birdie that sparked his push for victory over the final six holes. “I had no momentum on the day at that
point,” Scott said. “That was a great break. Even going down the 15th, I thought it was far away still. At 18, for a split second, let myself think I could have won. Then Angel hit an incredible shot.” Scott and Cabrera finished at nine-under-par 279, with Scott holing from 18 feet on the 72nd hole to take the lead and, seemingly, the win he had been craving his whole life. Cabrera had watched all of this unfold from the middle of the home hole fairway and responded with the mark of a champion, hitting a nerveless 8-iron approach to within three feet and holing the putt to force extra time. This was the first time either had birdied the last hole of regulation hole in their Masters’ careers and with that, the Sunday spectacle at Augusta was truly alive after drizzling rain had put a bit of a dampener on proceedings in the early part of the day. Both players then parred the first play-off hole, the 18th, after hitting their approaches short of the green and chipping to close range. Cabrera nearly ended it when his chippitch for birdie breathed over the right edge of the hole. “My heart was about to stop, thinking 'is this it?”' Scott said. Fortunately for him, he was able to compose himself to chip close enough and hole out to move on to the 10th, where Bubba Watson had won so memorably a year earlier. Both players continued to play brilliantly, lacing tee shots down the fairway and hitting bold
30
HK Golfer・MAY 2013
HKGOLFER.COM
HKGOLFER.COM
HK Golfer・MAY 2013
31
Fate was certainly on Scott’s side when his second shot at the par-5 13th hit short of the green and rolled back before clinging precariously on the bank of Rae’s Creek. He got up-and-down for the birdie that sparked his push for victory over the final six holes.
AFP
Marc Leishman, Scott’s playing partner and fellow Aussie , couldn’t have been happier after his compatriot holed that fantastic 25-footer on the final hole of regulation play; the moment it all turned sour for Tiger Woods (opposite) as he takes an incorrect drop on the 15th hole during the second round 32
HK Golfer・MAY 2013
especially after selecting him as a captain’s pick for the 2009 Presidents Cup matches, when his form was at his lowest ebb. That show of faith reignited Scott’s career and instilled a confidence that his game was up to world class again In his typically Australian way, Scott said that he hoped to sit down for a beer with the Shark soon to share this crowning achievement with him. A phone call would not be enough, Scott said – part of this is for him. Back home on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Scott’s childhood mates got a head start on the celebrations with a few drinks after the Masters was won at around 10am Monday morning on the Australian East Coast. Still shaking their heads in disbelief, the group reminisced about their time growing up with Scott and of the putting contests they all played for hours , where the next putt ‘was to win the Masters’. One of those mates, Dylan Campbell, remembers that it was always about the Masters
with Adam.”It was never any other tournament," he said. "That’s the one he had always played golf for, to line up that putt to win it and the Masters was always the one he wanted to win.” Ironically, Campbell and friends opted not to watch the telecast closely despite the chance for history. They had learned their lesson from last year, as Scott has, after getting together for a big party to watch what was supposed to be a memorable march to victory in the Open Championship at Lytham. This year, they all went their separate ways to work and only kept loose tabs on the score – until the result was in. “It’s a much different emotion sitting here today, that’s for sure,” another mate, Adam King said with a beer in hand. With Scott’s father Phil at Augusta sharing the moment with his son, mother Pam and sister Casie also had to endure the tension from an early hour on the Gold Coast and later, shared celebrations with friends and members at Scott’s home club at Sanctuary Cove. When the final putt dropped, their leap for joy was perhaps just that little bit higher than the rest of their countrymen. "We were sitting on the bed all morning from four o'clock and couldn't contain ourselves. It was just such a relief." she said. The headline of local newspaper, the Gold HKGOLFER.COM
Coast Bulletin, screamed ‘That’s our Boy’ in giant spreads replicated in every major publication across the country. Mayor Tom Tate immediately announced that the Coast will welcome home their Masters champion with the ‘Keys to the City’, in a ceremony that is likely to attract tens of thousands to the city streets. The headline of local newspaper, the Gold Coast Bulletin, screamed ‘That’s our Boy’ in giant spreads replicated in every major publication across the country. Mayor Tom Tate immediately announced that the Gold Coast will welcome home their Masters champion with the keys to the city’, in a ceremony that is likely to attract tens of thousands to the streets. It is a fitting reward for perseverance and the dignity in which Scott dealt with the loss to Ernie Els in last year’s Open Championship. And there can be no doubting that just as others reached out to him in support last year, one of Scott’s first actions will be to call both Day and Leishman with some kinds words and to offer his commiserations, particularly for Day who has now had two Green Jackets slip from his grasp in the past three years. In winning his first major, the circumstances for Scott were not unlike those for Phil Mickelson who had knocked on the door for an eternity before breaking through for his first major in equally exciting fashion HKGOLFER.COM
Tiger had his own issues at Augusta – one felt that if he had gone on to win that there would be many more majors to come; but even Woods – the width of a flag stick notwithstanding – can't beat an entire nation. at the Masters in 2004. Both he and Scott had made the identical number of Masters’ appearances before winning their first green jackets and with a significant monkey off his back, there is no denying Scott has the game to win multiple majors. Norman, for one, thinks he now has all the tools at his disposal to go on to become Australia’s most successful player in history. Tiger Woods’ tilt at Jack Nicklaus’s major haul of 18 might have just gotten a little harder too, with a player like Scott now having the ‘belief’ card firmly in his back pocket. Tiger had his own issues at Augusta – one felt that if he had gone on to win that there were many more majors to come; but even Woods – the width of a flag stick notwithstanding – can't beat an entire nation. It was , of course, inevitable that an Australian would win the Masters one day but who it might have been and when it might happen was the greatest mystery. Adam Scott – and a fabulous support cast that included the highly underrated John Senden – provided Australians golf fans with perhaps their best Monday of all time when they were bemoaning the lack of numbers in the field before the tournament. For the first time, Australians and this tournament will not be referred to only in terms of Greek tragedies; they now have a chapter written showcasing a tale of supreme triumph. There is always a first time for everything and Adam Scott - Masters Champion - will, now and forever, be regarded as the ultimate. HK Golfer・MAY 2013
33