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Tuesday, 3 April 2012

G'Day for the Masters


Adam Scott and Jason Day believe it is only a matter of time before an Australian golfer finally manages to win The Masters.

The Aussie duo finished tied for second place at Augusta National last year, finishing two shots behind South African winner Charl Schwartzel.

Scott had a one-shot lead with two holes remaining but had the green jacket taken from his grasp when Schwartzel birdied the final four holes.

Fellow Australians Bruce Crampton in 1972, Jack Newton in 1980 and Greg Norman three times have finished as runners-up Masters, but no-one from the country has ever managed to win the event.

"It's one of those sporting hurdles that no Australian has gotten over, and it may be one of the last ones for the sports that we play in our country, after Cadel Evans winning Tour de France last year," Scott said.

"Now the Masters has really gone beyond just golfers in Australia, too. I think, thanks to Greg Norman and the years he played and the icon he is in Australia, he took golf beyond just the golfers and made it recognized by the whole Australian public.

"It's going to happen, for sure. We have a lot of great players and we always have and it has just not happened. I think it's just coincidence that it has not happened.

"One year someone is going to get across the line."

Scott parred the 17th and 18th holes last year while Schwartzel was firing his way to victory, but he insists he has no regrets about the way he played.

He added: "I think it was the first time late on a Sunday that I had a chance. I walked to the 17th tee with a one shot lead and parred the last two holes, which I thought was pretty good on those holes. And normally, that is pretty good.

"But what happened last year was extraordinary by Charl. I'm not disappointed with anything I did that day.

"I think under the pressure, I played some really good golf coming in, and that's what I learned about myself and where my game is at and where my head is at as a player."

Day, who also finished second in the US Open last year, thinks an Australian will win The Masters sooner rather than later.

"I would love to win this tournament one day. I do believe that an Australian will win it soon," the 24-year-old said.

"In Australian sports, we have conquered a lot of different sporting events around the world. This is probably one of the last few that we would like to get to.

"But I would be very, very happy if one of the Australians this week won. Obviously I think that will kind of ease the pressure off our shoulders, and we can just go and play instead of worrying about being the first person to win."