Ignore cold weather, Australian Masters will be a battle of a hot course versus an even hotter player Both Adam Scott and Royal Melbourne have legitimate claims to the world No. 1 ranking. ADAM Scott's triumphant homecoming will, it is hoped, inspire more young players and help keep the embers of the local tour burning. But if Scott has been a typically indulgent Pied Piper, this week provides a thrill for those golf tragics whose idea of good time is a three-hour clubhouse debate about the lofts of their gap wedges. The Australian Masters is, boiled down, a contest between Australia's best player and best course. One made more mouth watering by the fact both Scott and Royal Melbourne have legitimate claims to the world No.1 ranking. As a member of Generation Tiger, the "wild childhood dream" of being No. 1 seemed beyond Scott's reach. "But it's never been closer now," says Scott, currently ranked No. 2 behind Woods. Scott and Royal Melbourne have both endured stern challenges. Scott's nadir was blowing a four-shot lead with four holes to play at the 2011 British Open. Royal Melbourne's low-point came with the drought that in the late noughties left both fairways and greens scorched, bare and, for a time, unplayable. So parched was Royal Melbourne West, which supplies 12 of the championship composite course's 18 holes, it briefly lost top spot on Golf Digest's list of Australian courses to sandbelt rival Kingston Heath. An indignity for the old money club that is a pillar of the Melbourne establishment. Adam Scott digs his way out of a greenside bunker. But adversity might have been the making of both Scott and Royal Melbourne. Scott drew upon the lessons of his meltdown at Royal Lytham while winning the Australian Masters at Kingston Heath last year after a final day tussle with Englishman Ian Poulter. He was, by then, reconciled to his British Open collapse. But with a three-shot lead over Poulter with three to play, he figured "you don't want to make a habit out of it." That Scott held firm and won the gaudy gold jacket was a significant stepping stone in adding Augusta National's the more stylish green version to his collection. "The golf fan in me thinks it's just amazing it's in the wardrobe and I get to try it on," he says. For Royal Melbourne, the ravage caused by drought - for a time, 25 of the 36 holes on the West and East courses were closed - inspired the measures required to revive the course before it hosted the 2011 Presidents Cup. Having poached Kingston Heath's well regarded general manager Paul Rak, the club reinvigorated the course without painting any moustaches on a golfing Mona Lisa. A broader-leaf Legend grass was sown on the fairways, partly because it is more drought resistant, partly because it reduced roll. In the current context, a minor form of Scott-proofing. Renowned golf course architect and former professional Michael Clayton believes the most significant change was putting fescue grass around the greens. "It's beautiful to chip off and it allows the ball to run which means you can play the course the way it's supposed to be played," he says. The way Royal Melbourne is supposed to be played from the fairways is more like lawn bowls than darts. Although Clayton laments how modern ball and club technology has left Royal Melbourne relying on the weather, sun-baked greens and difficult pin positions to defend itself. "I walked around with Geoff Ogilvy yesterday and he was hitting wedges from places where they used to hit five-irons," says Clayton. If (architect) Alastair Mackenzie came now he would be horrified by what the club and ball has done to that golf course. But as the rain poured down and the wind howled during Wednesday's pro-am forcing Scott to abandon his round after nine holes, Royal Melbourne - and just Melbourne itself - proved it could give the Queenslander a run for his money. With the cold weather taking the sting out of the ball, Scott said he hit long-irons approaches holes where he usually had a wedge in his hand. With more bleak weather forecast for the opening days, the battle of the No.1s should be enthralling - and not just for the tragics. "I love playing Royal Melbourne," said Scott, rising to the challenge. It's one of the highlights of my year playing a golf course like this.