By Julian Linden
AUGUSTA, Georgia, April 2 (Reuters) – Jason Day calls the
Masters ‘the Holy Grail’ of Australian sport. Adam Scott says it
is a rare sporting hurdle that no-one in Australia has managed
to get over.
But both men agree it is only a matter of time before an
Australian is presented with the winner’s green jacket, and
believe it could come as early as this week with six Australians
in the field.
The pair almost ended the drought themselves last year when
they finished tied for second at Augusta National but were
denied by an extraordinary finish from South African Charl
Schwartzel, who birdied the last four holes to win by two shots.
“It’s going to happen, for sure,” said Scott. “We have a lot
of great players and I think it’s just coincidence that it has
not happened. One year someone is going to get across the line.
“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 won the Tour de
France last year.”
Scott, who is playing in his 11th Masters this week, has
adopted an unconventional approach to the tournament in the
belief he may have unlocked the key to winning through his
performance last year.
Instead of playing a lot of tournaments, Scott took an
extended break before last year’s Masters in the hope that he
would play better fresh. It worked.
“If you look at the best players in history, Jack Nicklaus
and Tiger (Woods) certainly have done that and were very
successful at it,” Scott said.
Continued…
