Sports

Aussies charging up Masters leaderboard

AUGUSTA, Ga. — An Australian player is lurking on the Masters leaderboard entering today’s final round, which is overdue in these parts.

No Australian has won the Masters — surprising considering how many great chances Greg Norman had over the years and how many top players have come from the country.

Not out of contention behind Rory McIlroy’s four-shot lead are Jason Day, who is 8-under par, Adam Scott, who is 7-under, and even Geoff Ogilvy, who is 5-under.

MASTERS LEADERBOARD

Day, who played the first three rounds with McIlroy, seems to have the best chance considering the way he has been playing. He has the low round of the week at 64 on Friday.

Scott, 30, had a funny response when asked if he gave the 23-year-old any advice, the way Norman used to advise him.

“I don’t know,” Scott said. “It’s hard to mentor a guy who is beating me. Maybe he’s got some advice for me.

“I don’t really think I’m at that point [to be a mentor], but Jason and I know each other for a fair while now,” he said. “He’s already achieved so much. I think I should stay out of his way really and let him do what he’s doing, because he’s doing everything right it seems. I don’t need to tell him too much.”

As for the Australian drought at Augusta National, Scott said he has lived through the pain of watching Norman’s near-misses in 1987 when Larry Mize chipped in t beat him in a playoff and 1996 when Norman choked it away to Nick Faldo.

“I spent my whole childhood watching Greg play here and contend here, a lot,” Scott said. “Greg was bigger than just golf in Australia. He was an icon down there and we all grew up watching him play here and compete.

“So the dream of coming here and just playing is huge, and you know, to win even bigger, probably indescribable,” he said. “It’s something, one of the things that we haven’t accomplished in Australian sport I guess. One day it’s going to happen.

“But I don’t think the guys here carry a burden,” Scott added. “I think no one here is thinking there’s a voodoo on us from Australia. It just hasn’t happened. We are not a huge country, but we certainly get our fair share of guys in this tournament every year it seems. But no one’s got over the line yet. But it’s going to happen. [It’s] Jason’s first time here, and he’s making a really great run at it.

“For some reason it has not happened, but it’s nice to see a few of us up there this year,” he said. “One good round is all it is for Jason or maybe myself or Geoff. One good round and an Aussie can earn this championship.”