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UPDATE: AS recently as a month ago, Adam Scott did not dare predict the final chapter of the fairytale would unfold like this. A capacity gallery sweating on his every stroke. A clean sweep of all three Australian majors at his mercy. His place in local golfing folklore sealed.
A former world No.1 in Rory McIlroy is the only menace realistically capable of destroying the dream. A perfect climax for a perfect season.
This is how Scott will sign-off on 2013, the year where his popularity has risen beyond the fairways and pro shops and into the imaginations of all Australian sports fans.
He will stand on the elevated first tee at Royal Sydney today with a four-stroke advantage, just 18 holes separating him and membership of the uber elite Triple Crown club alongside Robert Allenby. Standing opposite him will be McIlroy, the lone threat on a third day leaderboard that finished more strung out than the Flemington straight on Melbourne Cup day. "To have this opportunity is unreal," Scott said.
"I've talked about the possibility because Robert (Allenby) has done it. It's a lot of golf to play well.
"To finish it off would be an incredible way to finish the year. It would be sad if I didn't finish it off tomorrow."
The traditional moving day saw precious little change at the summit of the leaderboard as Scott survived some wayward driving to complete a tenacious 68, doubling his overnight lead against the Northern Irishman. For McIlroy, the difference weighed heavily back to a disastrous bogey, double-bogey brace at the fourth and fifth holes, which saw him momentarily plummet back to fifth.
Adam Scott has the chance to cap a tremendous golfing year with victory in the Australian Open at Royal Sydney on Sunday. Picture: Getty Images Source: Getty Images
A flawless display from there on booked a sequel of yesterday's dream final pairing, putting tournament organisers on course to smash recent Australian Open attendance records. McIlroy could have been even closer had he drained a simple four-foot putt on the last hole. "It was big," McIlroy lamented.
"I hit a good putt, but I just misread the green." Thanks to that lapse, Scott will wake this morning more relaxed, his destiny in no one else's hands with the next closest rivals - Max McCardle, Matthew Jones and Richard Green - eight shots adrift. "Four shots (over McIlroy) is a slightly better buffer," Scott said.
"It doesn't mean that it can't disappear quickly, but it does mean they have to do something to eat away.
Crowds strained at the ropes on just about every hole, with younger fans taking advantage of their nimble limbs to watch the prize fight from tree branches. What they witnessed was more akin to a slugfest for survival, rather than a memorable showcase of clean striking. Apart from a run of three straight birdies, the testing conditions kept Scott within sight on the back nine after he surged to a five-shot lead at the turn.
"I missed a lot of fairways with the driver and that was a bit uncharacteristic," he said. "For (today) to go smoothly I'm going to have take some pressure off from chipping and pitching out from under trees. That's not how you win golf tournaments on Sundays."
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