Adam Scott has set up his greatest ever opportunity to win Australian Golf’s ‘Triple Crown’ in a single season after his resounding four-stroke victory at the Australian PGA Championship.

The 33-year-old now owns career victories in all three of Australia’s long time major championships – the PGA, Masters and Open. Scott now joins an elite band of players to complete the treble including Peter Senior, Craig Parry, Peter Lonard, Robert Allenby and his, mentor Greg Norman.

Scott chips out of trouble beside the 9th fairway during the final round. PHOTO: PGA OF AUSTRALIA

But with his confidence at an all-time high and his game in great shape, there are few who would be brave enough to back against the Queenslander successfully defending his Talisker Masters this week and then winning the Australian Open at Royal Sydney at the end of the month. In between, he might just bank the biggest pay cheque ever offered on Australian soil if he can win individual honours at the World Cup of Golf and team with Jason Day to win it for Australia.

Scott’s form in claiming the Joe Kirkwood Trophy at RACV Royal Pines these past four days was outstanding. When you consider the huge demands placed on him off the course by the media, sponsors and the large autograph-hunting galleries this week, Scott remained in great touch on the course. This was a triumphant homecoming that kept the scriptwriters in a job and the organisers smiling, as they were fully aware that the only TV ratings grab they had was Scott in the mix Sunday afternoon.

And he didn’t disappoint.

Despite shooting an even par 71 in the third round, Scott stayed at 10 under and headed into the final day with a three shot lead over American Rickie Fowler and Victorian David McKenzie.

Fowler drew first blood in the final round, opening his round with a birdie to narrow the margin between him and playing partner, Scott, to two strokes.

The attention turned to Victorian trainee professional Jack Wilson, who made three early birdies to jump into outright second and within two shots of Scott. Wilson got a start in the tournament by winning the WA PGA last month and he put himself in contention with a third round 69 to start the final day five shots adrift of Scott.

Scott didn’t snare his first birdie until the 8th hole, where he showed complete disregard for the narrow fairway in front of him and smashed his drive to within chipping distance of the putting surface on the 344-metre par-4. He moved to 11 under and Fowler’s matching birdie had him still two strokes back at nine under. When Scott missed the 9th fairway with his drive and was forced to chip sideways leading to just his third bogey of the tournament, Fowler was within one shot of the lead. That was as close as the American would get.

Scott with the Joe Kirkwood Trophy after winning the PGA by four shots. PHOTO: PGA OF AUSTRALIA

The Masters champion was still cruising at the top of the leaderboard when the bad weather siren sounded 35 minutes later as the ultimate group was playing the par-5 12th hole. Play was suspended for more than 90 minutes as rain fell heavily across the course.

When players were allowed to return, Scott put his foot on the pedal – he hit a pure second shot 4-iron approach into the par-5 that momentarily looked like it would roll into the hole for an albatross. It set up an eagle three and pushed Scott’s lead to four strokes with six holes to play.

Three holes later – on the 515-metre par-5 15th – he used a 7-iron for his second shot and, again, went perilously close to making an albatross but settled for a tap-in birdie moments later. Fowler also birdied but all the momentum was with the local hero, who parred in to secure his first win in the Australian PGA.

“This is the one I desperately wanted. It’s the icing on an incredible year,” he told fans surrounding Royal Pines’ 18th green for the trophy presentation.

“To come home and play in front of my Queensland family meant a lot. I’ve had a great week. This one is for my family, especially my dad (Phil), who is a PGA member.

“The whole week has really been very special for me. Even out on the course seeing a lot of my mates out there and now their kids out there watching some golf. I didn’t see my parents out there but I knew they would be around, and obviously I said the PGA has been so involved in my family for a really long time, and it being the one I hadn’t won down here I really wanted it bad. It’s a special win to me.

“I felt an incredible support from the crowd, it was nice seeing them getting so excited for me to get a win, but also I could feel them getting nervous as it was close out there on the first ten or twelve holes and them cheering me on to get the win a good feeling as well.”

Rickie Fowler drives from the 10th tee, just one shot behind Scott with nine holes to play. PHOTO: PGA OF AUSTRALIA

Fowler, who led the tournament after 18 holes after setting a course record 63, finished four shots behind Scott at 10 under. He said the rain delay snatched some of the momentum out of his round but admitted there were no excuses, Scott just played better.

“I had some good momentum going up until we had the rain delay, I got to within one and then he came out swinging,” Fowler said. “He came out and first hole he made eagle and all I could do was make birdie there so I think I made two bad swings that cost me after that but he made some great swings coming down that last stretch.

“It’s a little tough to catch a guy when he’s making an eagle and a couple of birdies.

“We had a lot of delays this year (in the US) so you just rest when you get to rest and play when you get to play. There’s no real secret to it, it’s just be ready to play when you play. It can work in your favour or against.”

Momentum was also sucked from Wilson’s run at the title. He returned to the course after the weather delay and was faced with a difficult bunker shot from wet sand on the 14th and finished up with a double bogey.

He managed to contain his emotions over the closing stretch and he collected the biggest pay cheque of his career ($84,375) for his outright third place finish. The Woodlands GC trainee also collected the Kel Nagle Plate for being the leading Rookie of the tournament.

Victorian trainee pro Jack Wilson finished outright third an collected the Kel Nagle Plate for best finish by a rookie. PHOTO: PGA OF AUSTRALIA

“If someone had said coming into the week you’re going to finish third behind Adam Scott and Rickie Fowler it’s a pretty hard thing to knock back,” Wilson said.

“It was disappointing, I guess after playing 14 the way I did. It was hard to compose myself after that break.

“It’s weird going out there and the first shot you hit, after more than an hour or more break, being a bunker shot is very hard. But I’m really happy with the week, it has been good.”

The PGA Tour of Australasia now heads to Melbourne for two weeks with the Talisker Australian Masters and the ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf to be played at Royal Melbourne Golf Club over the next fortnight.

Scott will start the overwhelming favourite to win this week’s Masters, which boasts the likes of World No.8 Matt Kuchar, three-time major champion Vijay Singh and a host of top Australians including Geoff Ogilvy. If Scott he can successfully defend his Australian Masters title he will be just one step way from emulating Allenby’s fantastic 2005 feat of winning the ‘Triple Crown’ in consecutive weeks. But, Scott says, he’ll start thinking about whether he can equal Allenby if he wins the Masters.

“Maybe I should answer that after next week, it’s a long way off and a lot of golf to play next week,” he said. “I would love to (win the triple crown in one season), absolutely. That would be an incredible way to end the year, but I think I am going to enjoy this for a couple of days before I think about playing next week and trying to win that and then maybe an Australian Open.

“I mean that would be an incredible win. I think what Robert did was remarkable, but he made it possible so I will be going for it, for sure.”

AUSTRALIAN PGA LEADERBOARD

RACV Royal Pines Resort

1. Adam Scott (Qld) 65-67-71-67–270

2. Rickie Fowler (US) 63-72-71-68–274

3. Jack Wilson (Vic) 68-71-69-68–276

4. Cameron Percy (Vic) 69-73-67-68–277

5. Michael Wright (Qld) 69-70-68-71–278

T6. Jason Norris (Vic) 67-74-71-67–279

T6. Ji-man Kang (S.Kor) 72-68-70-69–279

T6. Gareth Paddison (NZ)68-67- 73-71-279

T6. Nathan Green (NSW) 66-69-73-71–279

T6. Ashley Hall (Vic) 68-69-71-71–279