at Moonah Links in 2005<\/a> and at Royal Sydney in 2006 \u2013 with his first appearance coming after winning a seven-way playoff for the fourth alternate spot as a 16-year-old. <\/p>\nAfter playing with relative anonymity in his first ventures in Australia, the crowds were coming to watch not only their Masters hero in Scott, but the new global superstar who began the year as the world No.1. <\/p>\n
It was a heavyweight showdown befitting of Las Vegas\u2019 MGM Grand, and it delivered for Australian golf fans. <\/p>\n
Scott and McIlroy played their way into the final group on Sunday, so that the two big names of the field could properly duke it out. <\/p>\n
The Australian began the day with a four-shot buffer and had broken the course record with a dazzling 62 in the opening round. <\/p>\n
The stars were aligning once again for a fairytale finish for what had been one of the most remarkable years in Australian golf history. <\/p>\n
The only problem was that McIlroy did not read the script. <\/p>\n
McIlroy kisses the Stonehaven Cup.Source: AAP<\/p>\n
Then, already a two-time major champion, McIlroy wasted little time in wiping away Scott\u2019s advantage \u2013 they were level after eight holes with the Northern Irishman\u2019s eagle at the seventh flipping the momentum his way. <\/p>\n
That made it a ten-hole match play contest between two of the world\u2019s best at the time \u2013 Scott was world No.2 and McIlroy No.6 – and there was no shortage of drama. <\/p>\n
Scott birdied the ninth to reach the turn with a one-shot lead. <\/p>\n
Both had a good chance at eagle at the 13th, but Scott\u2019s putt shaved the edge of the hole \u2013 it would become a theme in the closing stages. <\/p>\n
He three-putted from the front of the green at the 16th after McIlroy opened the door for Scott to extend his lead by dumping his approach shot into a bunker. <\/p>\n
At the penultimate hole, Scott struck a tee shot but his birdie putt at the par 3 lipped out, while his rival drained a crucial 10-foot par putt to ensure the Australian\u2019s lead remained at only a shot. <\/p>\n
Heartbreak then struck Scott at the last. <\/p>\n
His approach into the 18th green bounced hard, past the flag and off the back of the green, down a steep slope. <\/p>\n
\u201cLeaving that 18th tee, I felt like it was all in my control,\u201d Scott recalled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was an 8-iron. I just pushed it a couple yards and it caught the edge of the green and rolled off into not the best spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scott leaning on experience at Aus Open | 14:23<\/p>\n
Scott\u2019s chip was overcooked, and he was unable to salvage a par, leaving McIlroy another 10-foot putt, but this was one for birdie and the win. <\/p>\n
It never looked like it was missing, and Scott\u2019s shot at the elusive triple crown was done. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an amazing game how it can just turn like that and Rory holes the putt,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut that\u2019s what great champions do when they get given an open door. They kind of walk right through it.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the Australian Masters becoming defunct two years later, it would be the last time someone would have a shot at achieving the rare feat of the triple crown. <\/p>\n
For McIlroy, it was a big sigh of relief after a challenging year that included struggling with a change of equipment after signing a monster deal with Nike and a bitter legal battle with his former management company. <\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to get a win by the end of the season and finally I have been able to get one,\u201d McIlroy said at the time. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut more satisfying than that is being able to take one of the best players in the world down the stretch and come out on top. <\/p>\n
Adam Scott after missing a putt on the 18th.Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
\u201cAdam is a phenomenal golfer and a great competitor, and probably even a better guy. I feel a bit sorry I was the one to ruin the triple crown for him. Adam should be very proud of himself. He is a credit to the game and a credit to this country. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a very prestigious tournament. Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, it seems like most of the greats of the game have won this tournament, and I am honoured to put my name on that trophy.\u201d <\/p>\n
The win served as a launching pad for a year where McIlroy lifted the Claret Jug at Royal Liverpool and won a second PGA Championship.<\/p>\n
At 45 years old, Scott, who won the Australian Open at New South Wales Golf Club in 2009, sees no reason why victory this week could not be a springboard for a Father Time defying season in 2026 – when he is set to play his 100th consecutive major and push for an astonishing 12th Presidents Cup appearance.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt spurred him on for a great 2014, so, you know, it\u2019d be fun if I could turn the tables and make amends for that one this week,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n
Puig outguns Aussies to win AUS title | 02:41<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Rory McIlroy tees off at Royal Melbourne on Thursday, he will receive a far warmer reception than…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":321971,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[5487,2095,64,11537,63,689,29976,6946,181274,61527,181282,43486,181271,181266,48044,181278,14604,2485,755,181277,181272,181279,795,181276,24415,2623,13499,181273,181265,2789,181275,2627,673,29989,54961,2041,2067,677,163614,181280,181268,701,181269,175643,756,130305,181281,180231,85,670,181270,6098,2614,181267],"class_list":["post-321970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-adam-scott","tag-america","tag-au","tag-augusta-national-inc","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-golf","tag-australian-golf-fans","tag-australian-golf-history","tag-australian-soil","tag-australian-triple-crown","tag-birdie-putt","tag-elusive-triple-crown","tag-european-tour-championship","tag-fairytale-finish","tag-four-shot-buffer","tag-gary-player","tag-gold-coast","tag-golf","tag-golfing-duels","tag-green-jacket-winner","tag-heavyweight-showdown","tag-inc","tag-incredible-triple-crown","tag-jack-nicklaus","tag-las-vegas","tag-launching-pad","tag-management-company","tag-match-play-contest","tag-mgm-grand-inc","tag-much-anticipated-australian","tag-nevada","tag-new-south-wales","tag-new-south-wales-golf-club","tag-nike","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-oceania","tag-party-pooper","tag-penultimate-hole","tag-prestigious-tournament","tag-queensland","tag-relative-anonymity","tag-robert-allenby","tag-rory-mcilroy","tag-royal-liverpool","tag-royal-pines","tag-seven-way-playoff","tag-sports","tag-sydney","tag-ten-hole-match","tag-triple-crown","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-year-end-trip-home"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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