Augusta (US), April 15 (IANS) Adam Scott sank a birdie on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff to win the US Masters becoming the first Australian to win the 77th version of the tournament at the Augusta National.
He and Angel Cabrera finished the final round locked in a 9-under tie Sunday. Cabrera narrowly missed a birdie on the same hole when his putt stopped millimetres from the edge of the cup and had to settle for par.
Scott then sank his putt to win his first Masters title. He finished as co-runner up in 2011 with countryman Jason Day. The 32-year-old in the process has put an end to more than a half-century of misery for Australian golfers at the Masters.
The Queenslander played a great iron approach to three metres right of the pin and slid in a putt that will live in Australian sports’ fans memories forever. The putt ended an agonising run of eight runner-up finishes by generations of Australian challengers who couldn’t do what Scott did Sunday.
With the two biggest putts of his career, Scott holed a 20-footer for birdie on the 18th hole of regulation that put him into a playoff with Cabrera and then won the major with a 12-footer for birdie on the second extra hole.
Scott leaned back and thrust his arms in the air after the putt dropped on the 10th hole, a celebration for all of Australia and personal redemption for himself.
It was only last summer when Scott threw away the British Open by making bogey on his last four holes to lose by one shot to Ernie Els. The Switzerland-resident handled that crushing defeat with dignity and pledged to finish stronger given another chance.
The Masters was the only major an Australian had never won and Scott was among dozens of golfers.
Scott was gracious in victory. He and Cabrera flashed a thumbs-up to each other after their shots into the 10th hole in the playoff and walked off the 10th green with their arms around each other when it was over.
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by authors, news service providers on this page do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Hill Post. Any views or opinions are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual.
Hill Post makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site page.
