To be sporting, the host Australian side spotted the field six strokes on day one and added a seventh blow on day two. Pundits from around the globe questioned what was wrong with Adam Scott and people from all corners of the Earth grieved with Jason Day, whose family was devastated by the loss of eight members in Typhoon Yolanda (the Filipino name for Haiyan.)

Then came the weekend and the rise of the Aussies. When Sunday’s dusk arrived, Jason Day had earned a two-stroke victory over Thomas Bjorn in the individual portion of the event. It tournament marked the return of the individual competition to what had been a team-only event since 2000. The resurgent Adam Scott closed with 68-68-66 after an opening 75, and the host country had claimed the team portion of the 2013 ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf by a convincing 10-stroke margin over the runners-up, the United States of America. The victory was Australia’s fifth in 38 playings of the event. South Africa also counts five triumphs, with both countries in second place behind the impressive 24 victories by the U.S.

Thursday saw Bjorn strike with a 66, matched by Kevin Streelman of the U.S.. Bjorn’s Denmark pair and the U.S. found themselves tied for the lead after day one, two strokes clear of Portugal and six strokes in front of the host Australian team. The United States moved in front on Friday as Streelman followed his opening 5-under effort with a solid 69, exceeded in the individual portion only by Bjorn.

Streelman might have attributed his early success to a chance meeting with a Royal Melbourne local. During Tuesday’s practice round, the American professional invited a young club member to walk with him. By Wednesday, 19-year-old Darcy Brereton was on the bag. Unfortunately for the U.S. side, Streelman was unable to equal his weekday scores on the weekend, closing with 74-74. Teammate Matt Kuchar found his game on Saturday and Sunday, returning scores of 68-71 to tie for third individually and bring the Americans to the runner-up block on the team podium.

Denmark’s team hopes were doomed on Saturday when young gun Thorbjorn Olesen stumbled to a 5-over 76. Bjorn’s heroic, second-place finish to Day was not enough to threaten the Day-Scott tandem, although the Danes did finish in a tie for third-place with Japan at 5-under.

Adam Scott finished in third place in the individual competition at the 2013 World Cup.

Jason Day was in the individual race from day one. He opened with a 3-under 68, in a round that included five birdies and two bogies. He soldiered through an uneventful day two, countering one bogey with two birdies and 15 pars, to remain in the thick of things.

Saturday saw Day surge into the individual lead with a 5-under 66. He birdied his first two holes of the day, stumbled with a bogey on No. 5, then recovered with four birdies and no bogies the rest of the way. He made up five strokes on Bjorn, whose 71 was eerily similar to Day’s previous effort: two birdies, two bogies, 14 pars. The stage was set for exciting finishes to both the individual and team events.

Jason Day began the fourth day as inconsistently as possible. Bogies on Nos. 1 and 5 were erased by birdies on Nos. 3 and 4 along with a ho-hum, gap-wedge hole-out for eagle on No. 6. He entered the back nine with a four-stroke cushion and stumbled briefly on ten with a sloppy double-bogey, then played solidly in with six pars and one birdie for the win, two clear of Bjorn.

Adam Scott, certainly a bit weary after claiming his second Masters title of 2013, signed for a wretched quintuple-bogey nine on Thursday. His mess of the No. 12 undid an otherwise-solid, 1-under effort on the other 17 holes. Undaunted, Scott showed his pluck with class-of-the-field scores over the remaining three days. He matched Day’s hole-out eagle with one of his own, dunking his approach on the first hole. Scott followed the deuce with consecutive birdies on two and three and the rout was on.

Many of the competitors familiarized themselves with Royal Melbourne the previous week at the Talisker Australian Masters. This year marked the fourth playing of the event at the storied Alister MacKenzie composite course. Previous team champions were USA (1988), Chinese Taipei (1972) and Australia (1959).

As the professional golfers return to individual competition, Scott will go for his third consecutive win on the Australian PGA Tour this week at the Australian Open, hosted at Royal Sydney Golf Club in Sydney, Australia.