Fed up with losing, a fired-up Adam Scott intends to use this week’s PGA TOUR Zurich Classic to prove to Internationals captain Ernie Els that he and fellow Queenslander Jason Day must be partnered together in order to overturn the US dominance at the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in December.

Currently 11th in the Presidents Cup selection standings for the Internationals team, Scott knows he has to first play his way into the team but given the success he and Day shared at the 2013 World Cup of Golf at Royal Melbourne it’s hard to imagine Els going into battle without him.

Not noted for emotional outbursts, Scott has featured on the Internationals team in each of the past eight matches yet has never won, a famous tie in South Africa in his Presidents Cup debut in 2003 the only time he has not walked away a loser.

Scott and Day are considered one of the favourites in this week’s two-man teams event at TPC Louisiana and the 2013 Masters champion intends to make a statement.

Given the various backgrounds of the golfers chosen to represent the Internationals, getting the balance right of the pairings is crucial and having played with Day in just one match in Korea in 2015, Scott wants to make one decision simple for Els.

“I think we’re a hell of a team,” Scott said in a joint press conference with Day on Tuesday.

“You can’t tell a lot from one match but I believe Jason and I are a really formidable pairing.

“I don’t care who else is on the team and what team we’re playing, who we play has to take notice of us.

“I’ve tried to push for it to happen more often but there’s a lot of different opinions and things to happen.

“You have to play as a team member and do what’s best for the team but I would definitely push for this pairing certainly in Australia. I think it’s very formidable.”

A resurgence that really took hold at last year’s US PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club, Scott has finished in the top 20 in six of his nine appearances this PGA TOUR season to move up to 28th in the Official World Golf Rankings.

He has all the makings of a future Internationals captain but is desperate to first taste victory in a Presidents Cup.

“I’ve sat through a lot of Presidents Cup beat-downs over the years and I’ve kind of had enough of it,” said Scott.

“I’m prepared to do whatever it takes, whatever Ernie thinks it takes to kind of change the culture in our team.

“It’s about starting to grow a culture amongst the international players and showing everyone who’s coming up the importance of this tournament.

“When you’re going up against the Americans, which it seems like their team gets stronger every two years, you can’t just be blasé and think you’re going to show up and compete.”

Along with the all-Aussie pairing of Scott and Day, potential International pairings in action this week include Koreans Whee Kim and Sungjae Im, Kiwi Danny Lee and Korea’s Sung Kang, Canadians Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes, Venezuela’s Johnattan Vegas and Argentinian Abraham Ancer, Indian duo of Shubhankar Sharma and Anirban Lahiri and two South African pairings of Branden Grace and Justin Harding and Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel.

Dinners throughout the week will help to foster team camaraderie but for Day what matters most is how everyone performs this week.

“It’s a good opportunity to see where we’re at with regards to the potential guys that are playing on the Presidents Cup and seeing how they play this week in tournament-like conditions like we’re going to see down in Melbourne,” Day explained.

“Obviously we’ve got to focus this week on trying to win this tournament, but this is something for Ernie to look back on, to be able to see potential match-ups or teams.

“Some guys aren’t going to gel well together, some guys are going to do really well.

“That’s the learning curve.

“But right now we’re just trying to focus on winning the Zurich Classic.”

Another with the Presidents Cup in their sights is Cameron Smith who has reunited with Jonas Blixt for the third straight year having won the 2017 tournament.

Aussie veterans Rod Pampling and John Senden have teamed up this week while Aaron Baddeley will play alongside Canadian Adam Hadwin in a format that sees fourballs on day one and three and foursomes on day two and four.

His first Masters victory in 1997 inspired Jason Day to devote his life to golf; 22 years later the Queenslander has shared in one of the most extraordinary days in sporting history.

Tiger Woods completed one of the most remarkable comebacks sport has ever witnessed by capturing a fifth green jacket at Augusta National Golf Club by a single stroke in the early hours of Monday morning and he had to get past Day to do it.

For the first time in the history of The Masters the threat of an afternoon thunderstorm caused officials to send players out in threesomes off both tees from 7.30am, the final group teeing off some six hours earlier than the traditional 3pm Sunday start time.

A birdie at the par-5 2nd for the third time this week got Day moving in the right direction early in the final round, a bogey at the 4th and two birdies at 7 and 8 moving him inside the top-10 and five shots off the lead as he began the back-9.

He picked up another shot at 13 when his eagle putt just stayed out on the right side and he converted his birdie chance from close range, a further birdie at 15 moving him into a tie for fourth and just three shots off the lead.

A birdie chance that burned the right edge at 16 would have brought Day level with the leaders, a par save at 17 keeping him two shots back as the leaderboard underwent a dramatic Sunday reshuffle.

Round 4 winning highlights from @TigerWoods #TheMasterspic.twitter.com/5hJoENpMGZ

— PGA of Australia #TheMasters (@PGAofAustralia) April 14, 2019

A murderous drive down the left side of the 18th fairway put Day in position to attack the final green with a wedge, his approach to six feet setting up a birdie for a final round of 67 and the clubhouse lead at 11-under par.

It would ultimately prove to be two shots adrift of the winning number in a tie for fifth but it was an extraordinary performance for its own reasons.

When he paused for treatment on the second tee after a bogey at the par-4 first in round one, Day’s prospects of getting through four rounds – never mind contending for the green jacket – looked slim.

Aggravating the back injury that has plagued him all year as he bent down to kiss his daughter Lucy when leaving the practice putting green, Day could barely walk as he opened with a 2-under par 70, a pep talk from wife Ellie on Thursday night inspiring him to shoot 67 on Friday and take a share of the lead.

Day and fellow Queenslander Adam Scott were part of a five-way tie for the lead at the halfway mark but rounds of 73 and 72 respectively in the third pushed them both outside the top-10, Day lamenting a late bogey at 15 after hitting his second shot into the water that saw him play the par-5s in 2-over.

Two birdies, a bogey and a double bogey at the par-3 fourth dropped Scott seven places to a tie for 19th as he made the turn at 6-under par, a back-9 of 36 good enough to secure a seventh top-20 finish at The Masters.

With their two countrymen in contention at the top of the leaderboard, Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith also qualified for the weekend, the pair at even par and tied for 36th at the halfway mark.

A round of 3-under 69 moved Smith into a tie for 25th through three rounds but he endured a difficult final day, bogeys at 4, 5, 7 and 11 and a double-bogey at the famous par-3 12th – a hole that caused carnage amongst the final groups on Sunday – contributing to a 5-over 77 and a tie for 51st.

Leishman’s wild ride on Sunday at Augusta consisted of eight bogeys, five birdies and just five pars as he finished tied for 49th, birdies at 12 and 16 the highlights of a final round of 75.

#TheMasters pic.twitter.com/qAGzJNTPQU

— PGA of Australia #TheMasters (@PGAofAustralia) April 14, 2019

The Masters
Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia
T5           Jason Day            70-67-73-67—277
T18        Adam Scott            69-68-72-73—282
T49        Marc Leishman      72-72-70-75—289
T51        Cameron Smith      70-74-69-77—290

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The roars were never louder. Tiger Woods won his fifth Masters on Sunday in dramatic fashion, taking the lead on the 15th hole and sending the patrons at Augusta National into a frenzy as they witnessed one of the game’s greatest players of all time claim his 15th major championship.

Woods had never come from behind to win a major. Until Sunday. It was also Woods’ 81st PGA TOUR victory and his first since winning the TOUR Championship to end last season.Here’s a hole-by-hole look at Woods’ final round.

Australians Jason Day and Adam Scott have starred in round two of The Masters where they sit tied for the lead at 7-under the card alongside a further three players.

On the course early, Jason Day tied Italy’s Francesco Molinari for the clubhouse lead before being joined at the top by Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen later in the round.

An eagle at the 15^th briefly put Scott into the outright lead of The Masters however a bogey on the following hole saw him join the logjam in first place where he leads at the conclusion of a mid-tournament Masters round for the first time in his career.

Both Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith endured rollercoaster days on course with inclement weather halting play mid-way through the second round.

Further rain following the weather delay saw temperatures drop dramatically but did little to dampen spirits on course with Tiger Woods putting on a stunning display of form to sit one shot behind the leaders.

Here is how each of our four players fared in round two…

Adam Scott – 4-under 68, 7-under 137 total – tied 1^st

How:  A consistent start of seven straight pars in round two was improved with a birdie at the par-5 8^th, taking Scott to the turn with a flawless front-9. Back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13 moved him closer to the leaders before an eagle at the par-5 15^th pushed the Queenslander straight into the outright lead. As rain started to fall at Augusta a near miss on the 16^th resulted in a bogey, moving Scott back down to 7-under the card. Further near misses for birdie at 17 and 18 cemented his place alongside four others in a share of the lead.

What he said: “I struck it well today, better than yesterday. That front-9 is hard to get. I was hitting good shots but it’s hard to get it close. I hung in there and finally got a birdie at 8, and then played a nice solid back-9. I was very pleased I could stay patient because I was hitting it well and waited for the opportunities. It’s a bunched leaderboard and keeping pace was the main thing today. You never know, someone might separate over the weekend so I’m in a good spot to run with it.”

Round 2 tee time: 2:35 PM EDT / 4:35 AM AEST

Jason Day – 5-under 67, 7-under 137 total – tied 1^st

How: Jason Day almost seemed to be a new man as he stepped onto the first tee at Augusta National for round two of The Masters. After throwing his back out before the start of round one overnight treatment had Day moving better across the course, evident by a birdie at the 2^nd to start the day. A further two birdies on the front-9 at 5 and 8 were followed by a bogey at 12, a blemish that was quickly forgotten as he moved to the next hole. Adding three birdies on 13, 14 and 16 across the back-9, taking his wife’s advice to ‘suck it up’ in round one proved beneficial as he arrived at the clubhouse tied for the lead.

What he said: “I was able to take advantage of the par-5’s out there and made a lot of birdies which was nice. It was a good day of golf with regards to the temperature and how hot it was but also how true the greens were. Being able to get myself into a good frame of mind going into it and also having the right momentum on my side was key.”

Round 3 tee time: 2:25 PM EDT / 4:45 AM AEST

Marc Leishman – even par 72 – even par 144 total – tied 36^th

How: Starting round two on even par, consistency became key for Marc Leishman as few opportunities came knocking. A bogey on the par-5 2^nd was quickly followed by a birdie on the par-3 4^th to see out the front-9 at even par. Par-3’s, however, continued to be kind to Leishman where he posted yet another birdie at the 12^th. Sitting under the card for the first time in round two, a bogey at the 18^th once again saw Leishman all squared up on the scoreboard at the conclusion of the round.

Round 3 tee time: 10:05 AM EDT / 1:05 AM AEST

Cameron Smith – 2-over 74 – even par 144 total – tied 36^th

How: Replicating his start to round one, Cameron Smith opened his second round at the 2019 Masters with a bogey on the 1^st before quickly redeeming himself with a birdie on the par-5 2^nd. It was, however, a run of four bogeys on the 5^th, 10^th, 11^th and 13^th holes among a string of pars that moved Smith above the card after starting the day at 2-under. Improving across the final five holes, Smith made the most of rain and cooler conditions to make birdies on the par-5 15^th and par-4 17^th, completing is round in 74 to be even par for the tournament.

Round 3 tee time: 10:45 AM EDT / 12:45 AM AEST

All four Australians will progress to the weekend with the top 50 and ties and those players within 10 strokes of the lead qualifying for the final two rounds.