BY STEVE KEIPERT at ROYAL SYDNEY

Rory McIlroy ended a 12-month winless drought in dramatic style to claim the Emirates Australian Open after an absorbing final-round duel with Adam Scott at Royal Sydney. McIlroy carded a bogey-free 66 to steal the title by a stroke on the final green and quash Scott's Triple Crown aspirations.

Yet, as well as McIlroy played, it was Scott who squandered multiple opportunities to seal the championship on a day when his long putter was ice cold. The leader for 71 holes made a crucial bogey on the final green that allowed McIlroy a single chance to hit the front at the point when it matters most. The Northern Irishman put a tumultuous year behind him with one swing of his blade, raising his putter to the cheers of the huge gallery as the winning stroke found the cup.

Shining Light: Rory McIlroy hoists the Stonehaven Cup after a dramatic end to the Australian Open at Royal Sydney. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

"I just stayed patient. I knew that anything can happen on this golf course," said McIlroy, whose six-under effort equalled the lowest round of the day. "If you just hit it into a tricky spot, like Adam did on 18, these things can happen and luckily I was able to make that putt at the end when I needed it.

"Since the end of September, I've just felt in a better place - mentally, with some things off the course and definitely felt better with where my swing is. I just felt everything was coming together the way I wanted it to. It's been a frustrating year but I've worked hard and it's been a process trying to get back to winning golf tournaments and it was nice to do be able to do it today."

Rory McIlroy raises his arms in triumph after sinking the winning putt. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Fairytale endings don't always put the characters in the expected order, and if we've learned anything about championship golf in recent years it's that no lead is ever safe. Scott made only two bogeys on Sunday – at the 1st and 18th holes – but couldn't convert the countless birdie chances his superb iron play set up. Routinely he set up excellent birdie chances in the six- to ten-foot range, only to see the putt lip out or sneak wide. He missed eight putts of that length on a day which added up 35 putts, significantly more than in any round he has played since arriving home a month ago.

A sea of people follow Adam Scott up to the final green at Royal Sydney. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES.

"Nothing was going my way on the greens today," Scott said. "I could have put this thing away early on if the putter was behaving how it should have, like it did the rest of the week. I just misjudged [my shot] into the last and a player as good as Rory is going to take that opportunity.

"It's been a great year. If I didn't play any good the first three days and played great today and finished second, I'd be pretty chuffed going into Christmas, so that's how I should look at it. I'll get over this tonight and look forward to a few weeks' rest and get ready to go next year."

Scott shows his disappointment after missing a putt on the final green. He did not have a happy day with the putter. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

This particular duel in the sun moved inevitably into a matchplay situation as the ebb and flow of the final pair grew more compelling with every hole. Scott's four-shot overnight lead never grew larger as McIlroy made inroads on the front nine.

Things began in sloppy fashion when McIlroy lost his first drive left then found sand but saved a canny par, while Scott bogeyed the short par-4 1st after his too-strong bunker shot trickled over the green. A birdie at the 2nd rectified Scott's four-shot cushion. A birdie at the 5th preceded a telling eagle at the 7th as the Northern Irishman cut the deficit to one when Scott missed another short putt to record just a par. A hole later his lead was gone after yet another short miss as McIlroy birdied the 8th to complete a four-hole stretch in four-under-par.

With the championship in the balance and momentum squarely in McIlroy's favour, Scott regained some ascendency with a birdie at the 9th to return to the outright lead. A chance for back-to-back birdies slipped by at the 10th as Scott missed his fifth short putt in the first ten holes. A carbon-copy moment occurred at the 11th as the Masters champion's ball-striking remained peerless but his putting painful.

The key moment took place on the devilish 17th green. Scott lasered a perfect long iron to within ten feet of the difficult back-right hole location while McIlroy put his tee shot on the distant left fringe. A weak first putt left him outside Scott's tee shot as a championship-ending two-shot swing loomed. McIlroy cooly holed his par putt as another Scott birdie try slid wide, sending the pair to the 18th tee with Scott still cradling the one-stroke edge he crafted on the 9th green.

Their approach shots to the closing par-4 provided a significant contrast as Scott's second shot hit hard and trickled over a slope off the back of the green while McIlroy's pitching wedge dug in to leave him 15 feet below the cup. Scott's thinned pitch scuttled past the cup, 50 feet away, and McIlroy's eyes widened considerably. Scott's brave two-putt for bogey left the Northern Irishman with a chance to take the Stonehaven Cup, and his birdie putt never looked like missing.

It's a script we've seen play out at Royal Sydney before. Brett Ogle and Robert Allenby stumbled to the line 19 years ago with the former taking one more trip than the latter; Geoff Ogilvy was undone by two pure final approaches by John Senden in 2006, while South African Tim Clark snuck under Mathew Goggin's guard in a play-off two years later.

West Australian Brady Watt finished as the leading amateur in the championship. PHOTO: BRENDAN JAMES

The punching and counter-punching on the inward nine was mesmeric. One hole Scott would respond to a McIlroy iron shot speared at the flag with a stellar iron of his own; a hole later the roles would reverse with booming drives settling side by side in the fairway. Their battle was reminiscent of the Greg Norman/Nick Faldo duels of the 1990s or even Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson in their prime. All this stage lacked was major-championship status and a cast of extras to match.

And if McIlroy goes on to carry this positive momentum into 2014, it will be some consolation to know that Australia and our national championship played a significant role in his comeback. "I always believed I could win," he said. "I came here playing really well. I had a couple of really solid performances in China and Dubai and Korea, and I knew that if I just kept that going and just tried to get myself into contention ... The really pleasing thing about my golf at the minute and about my golf even all year is that any time I've got into contention and had a chance to win a tournament, I've always played well; I've always played the best golf of the week. And that's something that's really pleasing, to play your best golf when you need to, when you're under pressure. You can't really ask for any more than that."

John Senden's final round 66 assured him of a start in the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in July. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

This Australian Open heralded the first of the restructured qualifying events for the Open Championship, which were awarded to the leading three players not otherwise qualified. A closing 66 from Senden lifted him to 11-under and snared one place. The other two spots went to US-based Australian Rhein Gibson along with former British Amateur champion Bryden Macpherson. Gibson, who sees his immediate future on the OneAsia Tour, shot to global prominence in May 2012 by shooting a world-record 16-under 55 at his local course in Oklahoma and will now head to Hoylake next July. Matt Jones had a chance to bump Macpherson out of a spot but he bogeyed the 17th and missed a makeable birdie try at the last.

The amateur race was a see-sawing contest between West Australian Brady Watt, South Australian Anthony Murdaca and 15-year-old Victorian Ryan Ruffels. A steady last round by former World No.1 amateur Watt earned him low-amateur honours as he finished five-under, tied for 14th.

For Adam Scott fans lamenting what could have and arguably should have been, simply recall that magical day last April. If we had a choice between Scott wearing the Green Jacket or juggling the PGA, Masters and Open trophies of Australia at one time, the choice would have been obvious. The lustre may have come off the closing chapter of 2013, but it remains the year all of Australian golf craved. These are indeed great times to be an Aussie golf fan.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN LEADERBOARD

1. Rory McIlroy (N.Ire) 69-65-70-66–270

2. Adam Scott (Qld) 62-70-68-71–271

3. John Senden (Qld) 73-68-70-66–277

T4. Bryden Macpherson (Vic) 71-70-69-69–279

T4. Rhein Gibson (NSW) 71-70-69-69–279

T6. Mark Brown (NZ) 75-70-66-69–280

T6. Jason Day (Qld) 70-74-66-70–280

T6. Matt Jones (NSW) 68-68-72-72–280

9. Nathan Holman (Vic) 69-72-68-72–281

T10. Adam Bland (SA) 69-72-70-71–282

T10. Ashley Hall (Vic) 71-71-68-72–282

T10. Leigh McKechnie (NSW) 73-65-71-73–282

T10. Max McCardle (SA) 68-71-69-74–282

*For full scores visit www.australianopengolf.com.au