As the eyes of an entire nation hung on his every shot, Adam Scott achieved what the all-time greats of Australian golf could not deliver before him: a victory at the Masters.

All eyes from Down Under were focused squarely on three of their native sons — Jason Day, Marc Leishman and Adam Scott who were all atop the leader board on the final day. But in the end, one Aussie stood tall and delivered the dreams of an entire nation represented in the form of a Green Jacket.

“We like to think we’re the best at everything,” Scott said after the round. “Golf is a big sport at home, and this is the one thing in golf we hadn’t been able to achieve. It’s amazing that it’s my destiny to be the first Australian to win. It’s incredible.”

One could almost hear the island nation scream right along with Scott twice in the final moments when he first drained a dramatic 30-foot birdie putt on No. 18 in regulation to give him a brief one-stroke lead over Angel Cabrera assuring the Aussie of at least a spot in a playoff. Scott followed that putt with his playoff winner on No. 10 when he sunk a 15-footer dead in the middle of the cup for the victory on the same hole where Bubba Watson had won in improbable fashion last year.

With a 3-under round of 69 in the rain, Scott survived what was a gritty performance by past-Masters champion Angel Cabrera. Cabrera forced the playoff when nearly holed out from the fairway with his dramatic approach on No. 18, leaving him two feet for birdie and his share of the lead. Just before Scott’s winning putt on the second playoff hole, Cabrera had barely missed out on a possible victory of his own when his 20-foot putt missed by the slimmest of margins stopping just above the hole clearing the path for Scott’s winning putt.

Fellow Australian Jason Day seemed to be seizing control of the tournament with birdies on Nos. 13, 14 and 15. But on No. 16, Day’s tee shot went just over the green and he then left an ill-advised putt from off the green short en route to a punishing bogey and ultimately a respectable third-place finish.

Greg Norman’s Reaction

Australians had finished in second place at the Masters eight different times, but no Aussie before had ever walked away with a Green Jacket. Until now, the most famous Australian golfer of all time has always been Greg Norman, who famously finished in second place three times at the Masters (1985, 1986, and 1996) and ended his career having won two majors (British Open in 1986 and 1993), but never the Masters. Scott’s victory, to a certain degree, removes the monkey from Norman’s back and possibly represents the biggest Australian golf win of all-time — and puts Scott in the discussion as far as most-famous Australian athlete alive alongside notables such as Ian Thorpe and the aforementioned Norman.

Norman, for his part, could barely watch this year’s Masters down the stretch. Reached at home, Norman told how he went to the gym unable to watch much of the final round. Eventually, he settled in to watch the final four holes and saw Australia take home its first Masters win.

“I’m over the moon,” Norman told the Associated Press. “Sitting there watching Adam, I had a tear in my eye. That’s what it was all about. It was Adam doing it for himself, and for the country.”

Adam Scott had a golden chance to secure his first major win last summer when he held a four-stroke lead with four holes to play in the British Open. But four consecutive bogeys ended his chances there as he gave way to a one-stroke loss to Ernie Els. Chasing from behind may have suited his game better this time around as he played a solid round throughout the back nine and playoff at Augusta.

No. 13 Giveth; No. 13 Taketh Away: Scott’s Cliffhanger

Every year there is a shot or moment where you can stay that the tournament was won or lost: Bubba’s hook with the wedge on the second playoff hole last year, Mickelson from the pine straw on No. 13 in the final round 2010 and now Adam Scott’s “cliffhanger” on that same dramatic No. 13. This year, many will point to the huge putts sunk by Scott at the end as shots that secured the jacket, but No. 13 played a major part about an hour earlier:

On No. 13, Scott pounded his drive down the right side with a perfect blast to beyond the trees (which had haunted so many competitors before him) leaving Scott with a manageable 190 yards to the front pin. In what may be the most pivotal moment of his dramatic win, Scott’s approach shot landed short of the pin on the downslope feeding a tributary of Rae’s Creek. Scott’s ball popped up and then slowly rolled back into the hazard — or so it seemed. His ball somehow hung on the ledge where so many balls before it had failed to stick. His ball seemed to hang suspended by just a few blades of grass in what may have saved his championship and propelled him to the win. From the precarious position, he calmly chipped the shot close and then slid in a tricky 4-footer for the birdie, just one shot off the lead at the time.

Nothing illustrates the fine line between great fortune and bad breaks quite like the contrast to Scott’s approach on No. 13 compared to what happened to both Brandt Snedecker and Angel Cabrera on the same hole just moments later.

Snedecker’s 220-yard hybrid, immediately followed Angel Cabrera’s 203-yard iron, both found the creek guarding the 13th green that Scott’s ball somehow eluded. Snedecker essentially shot himself out of contention from there while Cabrera had lost his cushion forcing him to make shot after shot in order to eventually force and lose the playoff.

Scott’s great fortune to propelled him forward, from there ultimately to the Green Jacket.