Scott hopes for Aussie bounce

Adam Scott has yet to decide if kangaroo will be on this year's Masters Champions Dinner menu, but he has high hopes Australian golfers will keep things hopping at Augusta National.

The 33-year-old (right) broke the Australia curse last year, sinking a 12-foot birdie putt on the second play-off hole to become the first Aussie to win the green jacket symbolic of Masters supremacy, capturing his first Major title.

"Hopefully, every Aussie who is there will appreciate not being asked whether it will be him this year," Scott said, ahead of the April tournament.

"Hopefully, the shackles are off and we're going to have a host of Aussies up there in the champions' locker room and serving dinners in the future."

Scott, who has spent six weeks resting in the Bahamas ahead of his return to the US PGA Tour next week in Florida, will be making his 13th appearance at Augusta after his best-ever season.

And, in time-honoured tradition, he will host his fellow Masters winners at a dinner before this year's championship begins.

"I'd like to serve something that everyone will really enjoy and nothing too crazy," Scott said.

"But, probably no surprise to anyone, there's definitely going to be an Australian theme. Whether that means they are eating kangaroo, I'm not sure yet."

Scott, currently No. 2 in the world, also spoke of a growing feeling in the game that top-level golf is no longer defined by Tiger Woods, with more depth in the game meaning a greater number of Major winners is likely.

But he dismissed the notion that Woods, 38, has become less of a factor at Majors, despite the 14-time winner not winning one of the top-four events since the 2008 US Open.

"I don't necessarily think it's that Tiger is not a factor. He certainly is a factor. He's the No. 1 player in the world and he's always there or thereabouts. He's on a dry spell at the moment and that's what happens in a career.

"Jack Nicklaus had a run like that and he's still the greatest player of all time. It wouldn't surprise me that Tiger comes and wins again this year, but there's my generation of players who are feeling like their time is now, so they have got to take advantage of it."

Woods, whose most dominating era was more than a decade ago, continues to chase the all-time Major win record of 18 set by Nicklaus, but faces a new generation of champions such as England's Justin Rose, the reigning US Open champion, and Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, already a two-time Major winner, aged 24.

"The way it has been shared around a little bit lately - the players have raised the level of their own game over the last couple of years and believe it's their time to do it," Scott said.

"They are not worried about Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson or a young guy like Rory McIlroy. "They are just into their own thing." - AFP.