BY BRENDAN JAMES at ROYAL SYDNEY

On February 18, 1990, World No.1 Greg Norman teed up in the final round of the Australian Masters against archrival and World No.2 Nick Faldo.

The Englishman held a two-stroke advantage over the Shark but there was a sense of excitement that the final day would produce something special and the gallery stood 10-deep along each side of the fairway hoping to catch a glimpse of the heavyweight match-up.

Norman put on a great show as he clawed his way into the lead and won a record sixth gold jacket. It was a high water mark for the popularity of the game in Australia.

There was a similar air of anticipation heading into the third round of the Emirates Australian Open with World No.2 and Masters Champion Adam Scott paired with dual Major Champion Rory McIlroy in what some billed as a ‘Super Saturday Showdown’ between two of the game’s best.

The crowds were drawn to Royal Sydney like moths to a flame hoping to witness Scott advance his cause in pursuit of the ‘Triple Crown’ and his second Stonehaven Cup. They also wanted to see if the seemingly rejuvenated game of McIlory, on the back of his second round 65, would offer any resistance to Scott.

Huge galleries were treated to a wonderful arm wrestle between Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

The duo, particularly Scott, didn’t disappoint.

Both players showed their hand early … this was going to be an afternoon of attacking golf, and they blasted driver toward the green on the short par-4 1st hole. McIlroy finished just short of the putting surface and left a straight-forward chip, while Scott flew into a deep bunker left of the huge green. The pair both got up and down for birdie. They had exchanged jabs, but nothing had landed … yet.

Playing the 2nd, 3rd and 4th holes into the increasingly stronger southerly wind, Scott and McIlory made continued to square off, at first with pars and then with a bogey each on the long par-4 4th.

Then, seemingly within a heartbeat, McIlroy was doing his best to play his way out of contention. With Scott safely on the 5th green and putting for a birdie from 12 feet, McIlroy made a poor club selection and hit his approach well over the back of the green. Faced with a shot offering little green to work with, the dual-major champion duffed two consecutive chip shots that would be only too familiar to the game’s of club golfers everywhere. He two-putted from the fringe for a double bogey six and slipped to eight under and four shots back of Scott.

McIlroy pitches out of the rough early in his third round. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

While the Queenslander was clearly winning the duel over McIlroy, the penultimate group of Victorian Richard Green and Sydney’s Matt Jones was still hotly pursuing Scott.

The left-handed Green, buoyed by a change of equipment for this week’s championship, birdied two of his first six holes and seriously threatened to muscle in on the main event action being provided by the final group.

Jones wasn’t going away either. Shots gained by birdies at the first two holes were wiped from the slate by bogies at the 4th and 5th holes but he bounced back with a fantastic eagle at the par-5 7th after his second shot approach nestled just three feet from the hole and he moved to 10 under. He then joined Green in a share of second place at 11 under with a birdie at the short par-4 8th.

McIlroy stemmed the flow of crooked shots with a solid birdie at the par-5 7th, which was matched by Scott, which blasted his second shot through the back of the green and got up and down for his birdie to move to 13 under.

McIlroy could have picked up another birdie at the 8th but his attempt from about six feet was always on a low line and he missed. Seconds later, Scott picked up another shot on the field and moved to 14 under for the first time in the championship.

The Scott juggernaut picked up another birdie at the 9th but he handed that stroke back immediately at the par-4 10th when a rare loose drive into trees forced him to punch a shot short of the green and he couldn’t get up and down for his par.

With eight holes to play in the third round Scott was four shots clear of the trio of Jones, Green and McIlroy with a further two strokes back to the trio of Victorian Nathan Holman, Scott Arnold, of NSW, and South Australian Max McCardle.

Scott punches the air after making his birdie at the 18th hole to lead the championship by four shots after 54 holes. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

But by mid-afternoon the Australian Open had become a race in two as the likes of Green, Jones and McCardle could not keep up the scoring pace set by the final group. When Scott rolled in a close range birdie at the par-3 14th, and was quickly followed by McIlroy, the stars of the show had scooted clear of the peloton at 15 and 12 under respectively.

The three-stroke status quo between Scott and McIlroy remained through the 15th, 16th and 17th holes but was broken on the dogleg left par-4 18th when the local hero speared his approach into six feet from the cup on the treacherous final green.

McIlroy nailed his approach too, getting inside Scott’s mark. But it was Scott who converted while his closest pursuer burned the left edge of the cup to leave the Aussie with a four-shot lead heading into the final day.

Scott said it was important heading into the final day to make the birdie putt on the 18th green.

“Well I had to make mine because I believed he would make his,” Scott said. “If it went the other way and I missed and he made, it's two shots and that's nothing.  That can be gone on the 1st green tomorrow.

“Four shots is a slightly better buffer. It doesn't mean that it can't disappear quickly but it means they've got to do something to eat into the lead. So for me to make it was huge and then obviously a little bit of extra buffer by him missing and maybe I'll sleep a little easier tonight because of it.”

The Masters Champion said leading the field by four shots and being so close to winning the Triple Crown and a second Australian Open in four years was “exciting” and “unreal”.

“Obviously it’s a great chance to win my national championship tomorrow and then also win the three events down here; which is an unbelievable spot to be in,” he said. “If you'd told me a month ago, I wouldn't have believed you.

“Before this month started I hadn't won two tournaments in a row, ever. So there were no facts to back up that it would be a certainty that I would be sitting here in this position (to win the triple crown). To have this opportunity is a bit unreal.

“I talked about the possibility of it because Robert has done it. But it's a lot of golf to play well. It's great to see. It's just a confidence thing for me, just keep building the confidence and to be putting myself in this position week after week, keeps confirming to me I'm on the right track with what I'm doing with my game and to finish it off tomorrow would be an incredible way to end the year.”

"See you tomorrow mate" ... Scott and McIlroy shake hands after their third round. They will play in the last group together again tomorrow. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

He added that he still has to be wary of McIlroy.

“It’s one round away but a lot can happen,” he said. “There’s a phenomenon (McIlroy) behind me playing as well, so I'm sure he's going to throw plenty at me tomorrow. It's going to be an exciting day.

“I'm going to have to do a couple of things better than I did today I think but as long as the eye stays in with the putter I think I should be able to hang on.”

Earlier in the day, light 15km/h winds provided good scoring conditions for the early groups with several players – including World No.11 Jason Day as well as the two youngest players in the field – taking full advantage.

Day, who seemed to be on track to miss the cut two thirds of the way into his second round, recaptured some of the form that saw him win individual honours at the World Cup of Golf last week in shooting a six under 66 to climb into the top-10. The Queenslander, who struggled to hole any putts on Friday, was far more deadly with the blade in round three and rolled in good length putts for birdie at the 7th, 8th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 18th. His two-putt par for birdie on the par-5 16th was icing on the cake of a great closing run to his round.

South Australian amateur Anthony Murdaca, who birdied three of his last four holes on Friday just to make the cut at one over, came out firing in the third round to post a bogey-free 66 that included five birdies and an eagle on the par-5 7th.

Earlier this year the 17-year-old became just the third player ever to win multiple Australian Boys’ Amateur titles behind Kiwi Grant Waite and his hero Adam Scott, who achieved the feat in 1997 and 1998.

Murdaca, a Golf Australia Junior National Squad member, jumped nearly 50 spots on the leaderboard to sit just inside the top-10 at the completion of his round.

Fellow squad member, 15-year-old Ryan Ruffels, also leapt a host of players on the leaderboard to be in serious contention for the leading amateur title in this championship.

After starting the championship with a disastrous bogey, double bogey, triple bogey, double bogey run to be seven over in his fist six holes, Ruffels has shown composure well beyond his teen years to play his way back into the tournament. Since that horror run he has blotted his scorecard with a bogey three times and a double once as he has accrued 13 birdies and an eagle in his favour. He followed up his second round 67, which saw him become one of the youngest ever players to make the cut at an Australian Open, with a superb 68 that could have been even better for the young Victorian who threw a double bogey into the mix late in his round.

A loose tee shot on the long par-3 17th saw him miss the green well right and his ball finished deep under a shrub. He was forced to chip out and he compounded his problems by hitting his pitch shot through the green. Ruffels was still able to get up and down for a double bogey five, which saw him tumble more than 15 spots down the leaderboard. He parred the last to be tied for 19th at four under.

He will fight it out with Murdaca (-5) and Watt (-5) for the amateur medal.

But all eyes will be on the final grouping of Scott and McIlroy once again with the Northern Irishman seemingly the only player who can spoil a Scott victory.

There are records, as well as the treasured Triple Crown, on offer tomorrow. If Scott shots 68 or better he will break Mark Calcavecchia’s winning 19 under total at Royal Sydney in the 1988 Australian Open. If he shoots 63 he will claim the lowest 72-hole aggregate scoring record for the championship, which was set at 264 by Gary Player in the 1965 Open at Kooyonga Golf Club.

Records aside, Scott in his current vain of form should win his second Stonehaven Cup on Sunday afternoon and the popularity for the game in this country will get another shot in the arm.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN LEADERBOARD

1. Adam Scott (Qld)   62-70-68–200

2. Rory McIlroy (N.Ire)   69-65-70–204

T3. Matt Jones (NSW)   68-68-72–208

T3. Richard Green (Vic)   69-66-73–208

T3. Max McCardle (SA)   68-71-69–208

T6. Stuart Appleby (Vic)   75-67-67–209

T6. Nathan Holman (Vic)   69-72-68–209

T6. Scott Arnold (NSW)   70-70-69–209

T6. Leigh McKechnie (NSW)   73-65-71–209

T10. Jason Day (Qld)   70-74-66–210

T10. Ashley Hall (Vic)   71-71-68–210

T10. Rhein Gibson (NSW)   71-70-69–210

T10. Bryden MacPherson (Vic)   71-70-69–210

For a full leaderboard and final round tee times visit www.australianopengolf.com.au