Aussies shine at Augusta during thrilling Masters finale

South African Charl Schwartzel won the 2011 Masters Tournament, but Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club this year was very nearly Australia Day....

Shortly after bogeying his 36^th hole to miss the halfway cut at the 2011 Masters by a single stroke, Aussie Robert Allenby was asked whether playing Augusta National could be deemed as fun. He responded that it was ‘like taking the trip of a lifetime, to DisneyLand, but then getting on the wrong ride.’

Two days later, and as the most exciting Masters in a quarter century concluded, Australian golf fans, both at the course and on their couches back home, knew exactly what Allenby had meant. As the saying goes, the Masters doesn’t begin until the back nine on Sunday, and for much of that pulsating afternoon it seemed likely that one of either Geoff Ogilvy, Jason Day or Adam Scott were destined to break the Aussie curse at Augusta and bring home our first green jacket. For bleary-eyed fans this was Dreamland golf, with our three most accomplished players shining down the stretch and showing both a class and steely resolve so often missing in years past. As overnight leader Rory McIlory imploded on the back nine, the Australian trio surged forward. Ogilvy made the first move, with a stunning run of five birdies in a row from the 12^th and an inward score of just 31 strokes. Day played his final nine holes in 32 and Scott in 33. Each would have been a worthy champion, and indeed Scott and Day would have been in a playoff had South African Charl Schwartzel not birdied his final four holes to steal the tournament from under their noses and give the rainbow nation its 5^th Masters title.

Unlike previous Masters heartbreaks, where our pain was at least partly self-inflicted, this time there can be few disappointments as Schwartzel’s incredible closing run and steady play all week made him a most worthy champion. Day perhaps summed it up best, saying ‘I played great all week, and I'm very happy in my first Masters to finish tied second. So I'm not disappointed, I'm happy where I finished. Hats off to Charl for playing so well.’

Day’s maturity at Augusta was apparent to all who watched him during the tournament, as was an enormous game that drew high praise from all over the golfing world. South African legend Gary Player commented that he hadn’t seen a better golf swing than Jason Day’s. Watching Day, Scott, Ogilvy and our other players during the Masters was an entourage of at least 300 Aussies, mostly made up of hard-core golf fans who travelled to the tournament as part of various tour groups. The Sunday pairing of Scott and Day had what Day described as a ‘massive, massive group of Aussies following.’ He added that ‘me and Adam had a chance to be the first Australians to win the Masters, and unfortunately we came up a couple short. But we did everything we could, and the Aussies were back behind us, which was fantastic.’

What those fortunate golf fans witnessed on Sunday was a young man with a world-class golf game and the confidence to step into the limelight and hit high-risk shots under the most extreme pressure. Let’s remember that Jason Day is just 23-years old, and that this was his Masters debut. Playing with first-round leader Rory McIlory, Day set the tournament alight on Friday when he bested the low round ever (64) by a debutant at the event. His four-round aggregate of 276 (12-under par) was the lowest ever by a Masters rookie, and he also led the field in birdies for the week (23).

For many of those who saw Day play up close during the Masters, it wasn’t the clutch closing birdies on 17 and 18 to catch Scott at 12 under that most impressed, nor the Friday thrill-ride or the four-birdie run on the back nine Thursday to get his opening round back to level par. Rather it was the series of audacious shots he hit to commence the final nine on Sunday, each played with extraordinary skill and daring. First came a scorching drive off the 10^th tee, hit like a bullet on an aggressive line down the dangerous left side of the fairway. This was the shot that McIlroy hoped to hit three groups later. Missing the overhanging pine branches by barely a couple of inches, Day’s drive travelled all of 380 yards and came to rest a few paces from the central fairway bunker that Dr. Alister MacKenzie had designed to protect his original green. Few professionals have hit their second shot into 10 green with a flick wedge. On the very next hole Day leaked his drive right and seemed stymied behind an Augusta pine 176 yards from the pin. Not so, as he played a low cut approach that started out toward the pond and bent back onto the green and a few metres from the hole. This shot was every bit as skilful and courageous as Mickelson’s infamous pine needle 6-iron into the 13^th green last year. Day admitted after the round that ‘if it didn’t cut enough it would have been in the water, and then obviously the tournament would have been finished.’ Needing birdies to get back into contention, he then stepped onto the 12^th tee and took aim at the deadly right hand pin, this time playing a delightful soft cut that finished a couple of feet from the hole for a birdie that kick-started his storming run home. All week the likeable Queenslander displayed a rare gift for shotmaking under extreme pressure, and the ability to continually rescue his ball from difficult predicaments. He seems the most likely to end Australia’s excruciating wait for a green jacket.

Tied with Day in second place at 12-under for the tournament was fellow Queenslander Adam Scott, who is now 30 years old but carried a similar level of expectation at a comparable stage in his career. Scott started his final round a stroke behind Day at 7 under, but was the first to mount a serious challenge to McIlroy, and the others in contention when the Ulsterman faltered. After exquisite approach shots set up birdies on the 7^th and 8^th, Scott became the first Aussie into double digits under par when he dropped a rare and lengthy birdie putt on the 11th. He added another at the 14^th, and when his tee shot on the 16^th finished inches away from the hole he had the lead, briefly, at 12 under. For a guy who opened the tournament with a three-putt double bogey, the performance from Scott was particularly impressive, especially on the greens. He looked solid with the broomstick for most of the week, and his pressure cooker par putt on the 17^thhole to preserve his share of the lead showed just how confident he had become in his new stroke. We’ve come to expect impeccable ball striking from Scott, but finishing 3^rd in putts per hole for the tournament was a huge surprise. If he continues to putt well this season we should expect him to contend strongly in the other majors as well.

As should Victorian Geoff Ogilvy, who left his run a little late but gave us all a thrill by closing his tournament in such dramatic fashion. Ogilvy played beautifully on Thursday and Friday, with a pair of 69s, but appeared to shoot himself out of contention on Saturday when a sloppy start and finish left him at 5 under and 7 shots back of the lead. His good play through those early rounds had gone largely unrewarded, and being even on the par fives would clearly need to be addressed if he hoped to mount a serious challenge. Enter Sunday, and along with birdies on both front nine par fives Ogilvy added two more at the 13^th and 15^th during his electrifying five-hole birdie run. That run ended with a kick-in two at the 16^th, that lifted him to 10-under and briefly in a share of the lead. Ogilvy’s nerveless sand save on the next hole, from the front bunker to a dangerous back pin, and his up and down from the front of the 18^th green finished off the round and left him in a tie with Tiger Woods and Luke Donald at 10 under. It wouldn’t be enough to make a playoff, but showed our only present day major champion was back to his best and ready to contend more regularly in the major championships.

The other Aussie to make the cut during the Masters was Aaron Baddeley, who played well in patches but was oddly inconsistent on the greens and failed to mount any serious challenge to the leaders. Both Allenby and Stuart Appleby had disappointing tournaments and missed the cut.

For Day, Scott and Ogilvy, however, this was a breakout Masters and having three locals in contention so deep into a major tournament should have warmed the hearts of all long-suffering golf fans in this country. Rather than wondering if we will ever win a green jacket, the question now must surely be ‘who will win our first green jacket.’

It can’t be too far away.

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