Marc Leishman
“Just being there for it was incredible, and getting the questions every year I went to Augusta like, ‘When is an Australian going to win? Why haven’t they won already?’
“And also the way Scotty did it; he hung in there in the final round and to get a front-row seat to watch that was pretty special. It was definitely a great thing for golf back in Australia and hopefully another one of us can win the Masters this year and really get things going (for participation) in Australia.”
Q: Are you happy being enshrined in Masters folklore by being photographed fist-pumping for Scott when he holed the birdie putt on the 72nd hole?
“Absolutely. I was just happy for my mate. It was cool to be there for it and I was just pumped. Obviously there are a lot of cameras around the 18th green at Augusta but one happened to snap that exact moment. It was unexpected attention [laughs], but pretty cool to be in that moment forever now.”
Aaron Baddeley
“I didn’t play the Australian summer in 2013 when Scotty took the green jacket down there … but I did watch the Australian PGA on TV when they had that ‘green day’ to show support for his win. And I was amazed by the amount of people who came out, the amount of kids who wanted to see the green jacket. That was special.
“Myself, Scotty, Leish … all of us would wake up early to watch the Shark at Augusta when we were growing up, but now kids are getting up to watch Scotty, so it’s not hard to see how much his win has created that extra excitement for Australian golf because now they all know we can do it, we can win.
“I was watching at home [in Arizona]. It was great to see because I knew how hard Scotty worked up to that point and how many times he’d come close in all the Majors. To have that heartbreak at the British Open at Lytham the year before and then to come to Augusta, hit the shots he did while in contention and then hole those putts. That 13-footer he made to win at the 10th … it doesn’t get any better than that.”
Cameron Smith
“Adam’s win is definitely one of my favourite moments of watching the Masters. It’s right up there with Tiger chipping in at 16 in 2005. I was gearing up for my professional career when Adam won and it just made me want to get to the Masters even more. I think it did wonders for golf in Australia and especially Queensland.”
