Adam Scott wins Masters, the first for Australia

Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY Sports | USATODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Adam Scott's Masters win excites mom, Australian prime minister Adam Scott's mother Pam and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard pay tribute to the 32-year-old after he wins the Masters.

Adam Scott defeated Angel Cabrera in a playoff to win the Masters

It%27s Scott%27s first major title%2C and the first Masters title for an Australian

Scott closed with a 2-under 70%2C including a clutch birdie on the second playoff hole

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Carrying the weight of a continent on his back and hauling around the burden of expectations for years hasn't been easy at times for Adam Scott.

Since his days as a dashing amateur in Australia he has been a beacon of hope for a proud sporting nation yearning for the next Greg Norman.

Although Scott notched wins across the globe and captured huge tournaments such as The Players Championship, the Tour Championship and the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, the 32-year-old had come up short in the majors, the most coveted of all golf events.

He also was known for a crushing defeat — he failed to hold a four-shot lead with four holes to play in last year's British Open at Royal Lytham and lost to Ernie Els by one shot. Doubt started to percolate that perhaps Scott just didn't have it in him to win a major and that he has underachieved.

But he never lost his cool — nor his nerve. Turns out he is as resilient as he is talented. And on a gloomy Sunday that tempered the beauty of Augusta National's grounds, with bouts of rain from above perplexing players on the putting surfaces below, Adam Scott silenced his doubters and left with a green jacket.

With a final-round 3-under-par 69, highlighted by a birdie from 25 feet on the 72nd hole and a great break on the 13th hole when his ball didn't roll into Rae's Creek and he walked away with a fortunate birdie, Scott finally won a major championship by taking the Masters with a birdie from 12 feet on the second playoff hole to beat Angel Cabrera.

And at 9:40 a.m. Monday, the land Down Under started to celebrate as Scott became the first Australian to win the Masters after years of heartache painfully dealt up via competitors such as Bruce Crampton, Jim Ferrier, Norman, and, just two years ago, Scott and Jason Day.

Scott lifted his arms upward and just stared into the gloomy sky when the final putt dropped, exhaling, if you will, all the pressure he places on himself and quieting the critics who have questioned his work ethic and commitment to the game in the past.

"I found my way today," Scott said in Butler Cabin as he awaited defending champion Bubba Watson to put the green jacket on him. "There was some luck out there. It's incredible to be in this position. I am honored.

" … This is the notch in the belt (Australia) never had before. There was one guy who inspired an entire nation and that's Greg Norman. Part of this is for him."

Late drama

Scott and Cabrera finished regulation at 9-under 279. Both made par on the 18th hole to begin the playoff — with Cabrera nearly chipping in for the win. On the second playoff hole, the 10th where Watson won the Masters last year, Cabrera nearly holed his birdie putt from 20 feet but it stayed on the edge of the cup.

As the last of the light began to fade, Scott stepped up and drained his birdie putt for the win.

Cabrera, who seems to fall out of the sky every now and then, find his footing on a golf course and contend in a major, fell short of winning his third. Ranked 269th in the world, Augusta National's beautiful grounds charged up his soul. Playing in the final group on Sunday for the third time in five years, Cabrera, who led by two shots earlier in the final round, hit a spectacular approach to birdie from three feet on the 72nd hole to force the playoff.

"It was the type of round I expected. I expected to score under par today and I did and was able to get into the playoff," said Cabrera, whose only wins on the PGA Tour are the 2007 U.S. Open and the 2009 Masters, where he won the title on the 10th hole, also the second playoff hole that year. "Golf gives and takes, so sometimes you make those putts, sometimes you just miss them but that's golf.

" … Certainly this helps, especially going for the rest of this season to keep on playing and try to win for all of what remains of the year."

Day fell painfully short of the green jacket again, this time falling out of the lead with bogeys at 16 and 17 and finishing third. Two years ago, he finished behind Charl Schwartzel in a tie for second with Scott.

World No. 1 Tiger Woods, involved in a messy rules controversy Saturday when he was docked two strokes instead of being disqualified for hitting from the wrong spot after he took an improper drop during Friday's second round, finished with a 70 to wind up in a tie for fourth. Woods has not won a green jacket since 2005 or a major since the 2008 U.S. Open.

Marc Leishman, the 2009 PGA Tour rookie of the year, also finished in a tie for fourth. Thorbjorn Olesen and Brandt Snedeker finish in a tie for sixth.

Snedeker, who shared the 54-hole lead with Cabrera, shot 75. In 2008 he left the Masters in tears after a final-round 77. This year he left with his daughter in tears after another final-round disappointment.

"The greens really messed me up," he said. "I was so used to how fast they were (Saturday), and I left every putt short out there today."

Watson never found his footing and tied for 50th.

Inspired by defeat

Scott, the fourth major winner out of the past six to anchor his putter, said he found his footing in golf's biggest events by contending last year at the British Open. When many thought the devastating loss would scar him for the rest of his career, that demons would hound him until he quit the game, Scott says he instead was inspired to move forward.

"The Open gave me more belief that I could win a major," Scott said.

On Sunday, Scott seemed to find his rhythm on the back nine. He said he was too defensive on the greens on the front nine and said he wanted to be "bold" on the inward side. His iron play was spot-on all day but his putter continually let him down. Trying to make something happen, he went right at the dangerous flag on the par-5 13th hole and nearly lost his chance to win. The ball hit into a bank guarding the green and looked destined to tumble into Rae's Creek, but it stopped on the shaved grass bank. From there Scott chipped to three feet and made the putt for a momentum-building birdie.

He added another birdie at 15 before his dramatic birdie on 18.

"Everything fell my way in the end, I guess, and you just never know," said Scott, who shared an emotional hug with his father, Phil, behind the 10th hole after the win. "I just kept plugging away, and I didn't know if it was going to happen through nine. But a good back nine here solves a lot and gives you a chance."

Once he was in the playoff, Scott said, it was time to "step up and see how much I want this."

All along, he's wanted it — a lot. His easy-going manner, his tendency to be as polite and approachable a player as there is on any professional golf tour, brought on doubts about whether he had the heart to win, the killer instinct to finish off a foe. Add in a jet-set life, a fashion sense envied by many, and some thought the guy was just too nice, too cool, to be a cutthroat.

He proved them wrong.

Australian near-misses in past years:

•Scott and Jason Day held the clubhouse lead late on Sunday in 2011; Charl Schwartzel finished 4-2-3-3.

•Jim Ferrier had a three-stroke lead with six holes to play in 1950 but lost to Jimmy Demaret.

•Bruce Crampton couldn't get past Jack Nicklaus in 1972

•Jack Newton couldn't get to Seve Ballesteros in 1980.

•Greg Norman failed to par the 72nd hole in 1986 from the fairway to get into a playoff with Jack Nicklaus and lost in a playoff in 1987 when Larry Mize chipped from 140 feet on 11. Then there was 1996. Norman led by six after 54 holes and lost by five to Nick Faldo.