Two down … two to go and Adam Scott’s victorious homecoming with the Masters’ Green Jacket will be made complete with the ‘Scotty Slam’.

Having successfully defended his Talisker Australian Masters title, to go with his Australian PGA last week, the 33-year-old has kept his chances alive to achieve what no player has ever done before – four consecutive wins in big events on Australian soil in as many weeks.

Adam Scott celebrates sinking the final putt to win the Australian Masters at Royal Melbourne. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

In 2005, Robert Allenby won the Open, Masters and PGA in consecutive weeks to become the first player to win Australian golf’s ‘Triple Crown’. In 1989, Peter Senior won the PGA, Open and Johnnie Walker Classic in a three-week stretch. Scott is now poised to go beyond those fine achievements.

He will be the short-priced favourite to claim individual honours this week at Royal Melbourne in the World Cup of Golf and then it will be on to Sydney for the Australian Open. If he wins both, the ‘Scotty Slam’ will be complete and he will also emulate Allenby’s famous ‘Triple Crown’.

When asked if he can win the ‘Triple Crown’, Scott laughed and said: “It’s looking good now.”

“It’s a funny one because I’m going to play an event in between but it will certainly be on my mind when I get to Sydney.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun to try and do that … I remember how big a deal it was for Robert (Allenby) when he achieved that in 2005. It was fun for me even playing those events to watch it, knowing he was going to do it.

“Hopefully there will be a lot of excitement when we get to Sydney, going for the three events and coming off a win in the World Cup as well.”

Scott could be forgiven for feeling exhausted after fulfilling a raft of public and sponsor’s commitments during the past two weeks to show off the Green Jacket and still find the time to practice and prepare for each day’s play. And, if he wants to win the ‘Scotty Slam’ he’s only half way there and the demands – more mentally than physically – to keep on top of his game must be draining.

YEEES! Adam Scott hoists the Waterford Crystal Australian Masters trophy after the win. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

While Scott agrees it is hard to be mentally on top of things but he says successfully defending his title helped his state of mind.

“Had I not won today it would have been a big let down,” he said. “I’m riding a wave of confidence on the golf course at the moment, as every one does when they’re winning tournaments, but I;m on the back of a great year and every time I walk out on the course I feel pumped because people are excited to watch me play at the moment and I appreciate that a lot.

“So winning helps me keep going for another week. It’s going to be Thursday before you know it, Wednesday morning pro-am … and back to business. Two days off doesn’t feel quite enough for me at the moment. But certainly, this winning feeling helps the mental state carry on.”

Not only is this the first time in his professional career that he’s won two events in as many weeks, he’s the first player in 23 years to win the Australian Masters in consecutive years. The last player to do it was Greg Norman in 1990 when he won his sixth and last Gold Jacket.

The World No.2 started the final day with a four-shot lead and many expected – given the Queenslander’s form over the past two weeks – him to cruise to an easy win. But he made hard work of the final day and the tone was set with a missed birdie putt from close range at the 1st hole.

When his playing partner Vijay Singh converted his birdie opportunity, the four-shot lead had been cut in half.

Both players then made tough going of the par-5 2nd hole, which had been one of the easiest on the Royal Melbourne composite course over all four days. Scott and Singh missed the green right with their second shot approaches. Scott was forced to take an unplayable lie drop but still managed to salvage his par, while Singh had to settle for a bogey six, sending the margin between leader and chasers back out to three strokes.

American Matt Kuchar began making his charge up the leaderboard at the 3rd hole. He birdied the par-3 and backed that up with a great birdie at the next. Further birdies at the 6th, 8th and 9th holes had him four under for the day and just one shot back of Scott, who bogied the 7th hole.

By the time the final group reached the 8th tee it became apparent that the eventual winner of the Gold Jacket for 2013 would come from the three biggest names in the field – Scott, Singh or Kuchar. Three holes later, it was a battle in two between Scott and Kuchar as three consecutive bogies from Singh at the 7th, 8th and 9th holes saw him drop four shots behind the lead.

The American, who won the World Matchplay and The Memorial tournament this year, moved into a share of the lead with Scott at 14 under when he birdied the easy par-4 11th hole.

Perhaps the biggest scare for Scott in this tournament came at the par-3 14th hole when Scott’s tee shot got knocked down by the wind and fell short of the green into a deep bunker. The ball plugged like a fried egg in the sand and his blasted escape could not impart any spin on the ball and it ran through the back of the putting surface. Scott’s chip back onto the green finished eight feet right of the cup and he missed the slick bogey putt. Moments after he penciled double bogey onto his card, Kuchar birdied the par-5 15th to take a two-shot lead over the local hero.

When Scott made a birdie of his own on 15 and Kuchar fumbled his way to a bogey on 16 they were all-square again and likely to head into a play-off as the 17th and 18th holes hd surrendered very few birdies on the final day. But there were bogies and double bogies to be found and Kuchar discovered why the challenges of this famed layout continue right up to the very last putt.

A dejected Matt Kuchar realises the tournament has slipped from his grasp after finding a bunker beside the 18th green. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Kuchar missed the 18th green to the right and found one of the ominous greenside bunkers. With his swing impeded by an island of grass behind him, he fashioned a short handle shot into the face of the bunker before hitting his fourth shot onto the putting surface. Two putts later he was in for a six and his chances of winning the Talisker Masters were gone.

Playing two groups behind, Scott was fully aware of Kuchar’s mistake-riddled finish and after striping his drive down the final fairway, he nailed his approach into the heart of the massive green to leave himself the luxury of three putts for the win.

He only needed two and the sense of relief when the job was done was telling – the heavy weight of expectation on himself and an adoring Australian public for him to perform had been further satisfied.

Scott is now starting to closely follow in the footsteps of his mentor and childhood hero, Greg Norman, and this win pushed him closer to attaining the goal he’s had since he was a kid learning the game on the Gold Coast – to become World No.1.

Winners of PGA Tour of Australasia events usually receive a minimum 16 World Golf Ranking points but the strength of the field this week means Scott will actually receive 26.

Now that he has retained the Gold Jacket he edges even closer Tiger Woods, who won’t be playing until the first week of December.

This week’s ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf will attract a similar number of points, while the Emirates Australian Open will receive double the PGA Tour of Australasia’s minimum meaning at least 32 points will be given to the person who claims the Stonehaven Cup.

So if Scott does win again one or even his next two events, he will move to within a fraction of a point of Woods and will head into 2014 with a real chance of becoming the World No.1.

TALISKER AUSTRALIAN MASTERS LEADERBOARD

1. Adam Scott (Qld)           67-66-66-71–270

2. Matt Kuchar (US)           71-66-67-68–272

3. Vijay Singh (Fiji)              72-68-63-71–274

4. Nick Cullen (SA)             65-69-69-72–275

T5. Ryan Fox (NZ)              68-71-66-73–278

T5. Matt Griffin (Vic)           69-65-69-75–278

T7. Aron Price (NSW)       73-71-67-68–279

T7. Jason Scrivener (WA)  69-71-70-69–279

T7. Marc Leishman (Vic)    71-71-72-65–279

T7. Mathew Goggin (Tas)   72-71-67-69–279

T7. Geoff Ogilvy (Vic)       71-72-67-69–279

T7. Brendon De Jonge (Zim)         68-70-68-73–279