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TOP 10 MOST MEMORABLE AUSTRALIAN PERFORMANCES AT THE MASTERS

2013 - Adam Scott became the first Australian to win the Masters when he made birdie on the final hole in regulation before another on the second play-off hole to defeat Argentine Angel Cabrera. Australians Jason Day (third) and Marc Leishman (tied fourth) were close.

1950 - Sydney native Jim Ferrier, the first Australian to play the Masters in 1940, led Jimmy Demaret by five shots with six holes to play. But Ferrier bogeyed five of the last six holes to finish two strokes back as the runner-up.

1996 - Greg Norman blew a six-shot lead after 54 holes, handing Nick Faldo the green jacket in one of the most iconic losses in golf and sporting history. "I let this one get away," Norman said at the time. "I'll wake up tomorrow morning still breathing, I hope."

1987 - Norman entered a three-way, sudden-death play-off with Seve Ballesteros and Augusta native Larry Mize. Mize miraculously chipped for birdie from off the green on the par-four 11th (the second extra hole) and won when a shaken Norman failed to make his birdie putt.

1986 - Norman was tied with Nicklaus going into the 72nd hole. But Norman pushed his approach right on No.18, made bogey and handed Nicklaus his sixth Masters and 18th major. Norman was joint runner-up.

2011 - Jason Day and Adam Scott posted the clubhouse lead on Sunday, only for South Africa's Charl Schwartzel to birdie the final four holes to win by two. Day and Scott shared second, the first runner-up by Australians since Norman in 1996.

1972: Bruce Crampton tied for second behind Jack Nicklaus, who won the fourth of his six green jackets. It was also Australia's second ever runner-up after Ferrier.

1980: Jack Newton came within three of Seve Ballesteros with five holes to play, but Ballesteros hung on to victory and Newton finished tied second.

1999 - Three years after his collapse to Faldo, Norman made a valiant Sunday run when he eagled the par-5 13th to share the lead with five holes to play. But bogeys on the next two holes handed Jose Maria Olazabal his second green jacket as Norman tied for third.

1989 - Norman continued his bad luck at the Masters with a bogey on the final hole to miss a play-off by one shot, as he did in 1986. Norman tied for third while Faldo won his first green jacket in a play-off when competitor Scott Hoch missed a two-foot putt.

In what would have been Masters week, reminders of Greg Norman's shattering losses and grace in defeat at Augusta National are making their annual return.

Former tour pro Mike Clayton believes he should also be remembered for "incredible resilience".

For Australians, the torment began well before Norman.

The Masters had tortured the nation's golfers for more than 40 years before the Great White Shark set foot on the manicured grounds of Augusta National.

Joe Kirkwood was the first Australian to play the Masters in 1936, when he shared 29th.

Jim Ferrier, a Sydney native who became an American citizen in 1946, was the first Australian-born player to record a top-10 at the Masters - a tie for fourth in 1946.

In 1950, Ferrier led American Jimmy Demaret by five shots with six holes to play in the final round but bogeyed five of the last six holes to finish two strokes back and runner-up.

It set the scene for a 63-year stretch of close calls and collapses as the Masters became the great hoodoo of Australian sport - until Adam Scott finally claimed the green jacket in 2013.

Bruce Crampton would earn Australia's next runner-up finish, in 1972, but he never came within three shots of winner Jack Nicklaus.

Enter Norman, the swashbuckling Queenslander many thought possessed the power game to tame Augusta.

Norman made his first trip up Magnolia Lane in 1981 and finished fourth. Five years later, he began an astonishing run that included five top-five results in eight Masters but without a victory.

Fellow Australian tour player Nick O'Hern remembers the 1986 Masters vividly.

Norman needed birdie on the final hole to win, or a par to force a play-off with Nicklaus. But Norman pushed his approach right into the gallery then missed a 15-foot par putt to finish one stroke behind the ageing Golden Bear.

"Watching Nicklaus beat Norman in 1986 was the craziest finish I'd ever seen," O'Hern says.

"First Greg had control, then Seve (Ballesteros) and then finally Jack, who played an incredible back nine.

"Norman came back to birdie 14, 15, 16, 17 but then made bogey on 18 to lose by one ... are you kidding me? I was shattered for him."

Time didn't heal the wound. A year later, Norman suffered through an even more gut-wrenching defeat.

Tied for the lead going up the final hole and needing birdie to win, his 20-foot birdie putt burned the left edge of the cup.

What happened next became Masters folklore.

On the second play-off hole, unheralded Augusta native Larry Mize was in trouble to the right of the par-4 11th green, having pushed his approach.

Norman played conservatively and his approach settled 50 feet from the hole. But Mize miraculously chipped in for an unlikely birdie from 45 metres away. Norman, visibly shaken, was unable to match it.

"To this day, whenever I re-watch the 1987 Masters, I think Greg's putt on 18 is going in," says US Tour veteran Greg Chalmers.

"His heartbreak in that playoff sticks in my mind."

Now a course designer, Clayton was playing on the European Tour at the time and still can't believe Norman's putt didn't drop.

"Golf is a big game, played over 7000 yards, but it comes down to centimetres," says Clayton.

But longtime world No.1 Norman's most shattering loss was still to come.

Broadcaster CBS began televising play on the first eight holes at Augusta for the first time in 1995.

A year later, the entirety of Norman's collapse was beamed to the world.

The Shark started Sunday in 1996 with a six-shot lead over great rival Nick Faldo. But two front-nine bogeys triggered a spectacular implosion.

He made bogeys on the 10th and 11th before a double-bogey at the iconic par-3 12th. Norman stopped the bleeding with birdies on the par 5s, the 13th and 15th. But a rinsed tee shot at the par-3 16th sealed his fate.

Norman signed for a six-over-par 78 to lose to Faldo by five. It remains the largest final-round lead squandered at the majors.

Fellow Queenslander Rod Pampling was shattered for his golfing idol.

"I was playing a tournament in Alice Springs that day when we all got on a shuttle bus from the hotel to the course," recalls Pampling, who played in four Masters.

"It was quite a shuttle ride, we were just gutted."

Norman gave the Masters one more real run - a third place in 1999.

"Norman kept coming back after every disappointment. His resilience was incredible," says Clayton.

The tone at Augusta had been set by the time a wonderful wave of Australian players began to knock on the door.

First Steve Elkington, then Stuart Appleby and Robert Allenby. Another wave would include rare talents Adam Scott, Marc Leishman and Jason Day.

Queenslanders Day and Scott shared second place in 2011, the first runner-up by Australians since Norman in 1996.

Day admits Australia's record weighed on his mind on his Masters debut.

"I was thinking about it a lot. I actually couldn't get it out of my head on that Sunday," says Day.

"I really wanted to be the first Australian to win."

But it was Scott's destiny to end the agony for Australian fans. In 2013, Scott birdied the final hole in regulation and then drained a birdie putt on the second extra hole to defeat Argentine Angel Cabrera.

An emotional Scott paid tribute to Norman and his legacy as he collected the green jacket in the Butler Cabin.

"There was one guy who inspired a nation of golfers and that's Greg Norman ... part of this belongs to him," said a choked up Scott.

At his home in Jupiter, Florida, Norman fell to the floor of his lounge room, crying tears of joy as he watched Scott triumph. His work was done.

Australia's highest-ranked golfer Adam Scott believes Trevor Immelman's appointment as captain will help the International team edge closer to an elusive Presidents Cup victory.

Former Masters champion Immelman becomes the third South African to lead the team, succeeding Ernie Els.

Aged 40, Immelman will be the youngest captain in the event's history.

Immelman assisted Els in last year's heart-breaking edition at Royal Melbourne, where the Internationals built their biggest lead in Presidents Cup history before falling to a Tiger Woods-led US team - to suffer an eighth successive defeat.

The 2021 tournament will be held from September 30 to October 3 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Immelman was excited to be taking charge, with new life breathed into the biennial team competition by last year's thrilling showdown.

"I imagine our team will eventually be comprised of a combination of guys that I have played a lot with over the years and youngsters that I've followed and studied due to my broadcasting career," Immelman said.

"One thing that I know for sure is that our team will come together as one unit, have a blast and give it our absolute best."

Set to play in a record 10th Presidents Cup, world No.6 Scott said the appointment of Immelman would help the International team continued its upward trend.

"He certainly played a big role in our team's amazing fight against the Americans last year and I'm sure he will be a fantastic leader when we head to Quail Hollow Club," Scott said.

"Trevor worked closely with Ernie, who was a phenomenal captain, and established a new template for our team and I see Trevor embracing the momentum from Melbourne and making the International team stronger heading into Charlotte."

Fellow Australians Marc Leishman and Cameron Scott, who were part of last year's International team, also backed Immelman.

"To play for Trevor will be another huge goal, he's one of the most positive people I've ever," Leishman said.

"I just want to play good and do everything that I can to be on the team next year and we'll work our butts off to make him a winner and to make us winners."

Smith, who made his Presidents Cup debut last December, said promoting Immelman would be good for the team.

"I like the fact there will continuity as Trevor was an instrumental member in Ernie's backroom tea," he said.

The captain for the US team has yet to be announced.

A relieved Jason Day has welcomed golf stakeholders' new plan to squeeze in three of the four majors and resume the US PGA Tour in the second half of a year.

The former world No.1 was delighted to learn the US PGA Championship, which he won in 2015, has now been rescheduled for August 6-9 with the US Open from September 17-20 and the Masters from November 12-15.

The British Open, however, was a major casualty of the coronavirus crisis sweeping the world with the Royal and Ancient Golf Club cancelling their championship for the first time since 1945.

After the PGA Championship, the US PGA Tour's final regular season event will be followed by its three-tournament playoffs series.

The hugely popular Ryder Cup biennial battle between the US and Europe will remain in its original dates of September 25-27.

The mooted new schedule was a boost for Day, with his family at their home in Ohio.

"It will be strange playing the majors late in the year but it will be fun," Day told AAP.

"The Masters will start right on my birthday (November 12), so I'm pumped about playing Augusta National then.

"It's obviously very sad with the Open Championship being cancelled but I understand and support the R&A's decision, especially after Wimbledon cancelled their event.

"Overall, it should be a fun second half of the year."

Golf's powerbrokers stressed that the majors dates are being held but by no means does that guarantee they will go ahead, with so much depending on how the Covid-19 crisis currently hammering the US and Europe plays out in coming months.

Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley said the Masters identified November as "intended dates".

CEO Seth Waugh said the PGA of America was "holding" August 6-9 as dates for the PGA Championship.

Also welcoming the news was Day's countryman, amateur Lukas Michel.

The Victorian earned exemptions to play the Masters and US Open courtesy when he became the first Australian to win the US Mid-Amateur Championship.

"Playing the Masters will be incredible in the fall (autumn) when the course is obviously going to look and play different, but in a way I think that is going to add to the experience rather than take away from it," Michel told AAP.

"It is music to my ears knowing they're both planned to happen this year.

"Winged Foot is a course I dreamed of making my US Open debut at, especially with Geoff Ogilvy winning the last one there (2006), so it's very exciting to know it will stay there.

"I'm hoping spectators will be allowed because it'd be great to have that authentic experience playing a major in New York in front of big crowds."

GOLF'S NEW 2020 SCHEDULE

- August 6-9: US PGA Championship

- August 13-16: End of PGA Tour regular season at Wyndham Championship

- August 20-23: Start of FedEx Cup play-offs with the Northern Trust

- August 27-30: BMW Championship, second play-off event

- September 4-7: Tour Championship

- September 17-20: US Open at Winged Foot

- September 25-27: Ryder Cup at Wisconsin's Whistling Straits

- November 12-15: Masters at Augusta National

This year's British Open has been cancelled, with the Masters now set for November as golf organisations wrestled to save a season ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Open, the oldest championship of them all, won't be played for the first time since 1945.

In the revamped schedule, the Masters goes from that annual rite of spring to two weeks before Thanksgiving while the US Open will be held in September for the first time since amateur Francis Ouimet took down Britain's best at Brookline in 1913 to put golf on the map in America.

The PGA Championship, which last year moved to May, will go back to August. That will be followed by the PGA Tour's post-season, the US Open and Ryder Cup in consecutive weeks, and then the Masters on November 12-15.

"Any Masters is better than no Masters," Augusta native Charles Howell III said.

Still to be determined was when - or even if - golf could resume because of the COVID-19 pandemic that has shut down sports worldwide.

Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley said the Masters identified November as "intended dates."

CEO Seth Waugh said the PGA of America was "holding" August 6-9 as dates for the PGA Championship at Harding Park in San Francisco.

USGA chief Mike Davis said moving from June to September was the best chance to mitigate health and safety concerns - Winged Foot is five miles from New Rochelle, New York, a virus hot spot - to have "the best opportunity" of staging the US Open.

The British Open effectively is pushing its schedule back one year, saying the 149th Open is still set for Royal St George's on July 15-18, leaving the 150th Open for St Andrews the following year.

"I can assure everyone that we have explored every option for playing The Open this year, but it is not going to be possible," R&A chief Martin Slumbers said.

Golf's major organisations, starting with the PGA Tour and its calendar filled with tournaments, have been trying to piece together a puzzle for the last three weeks. Each agreed to announce their plans together in a show of collaboration.

The PGA Tour has tentatively planned to complete its FedEx Cup season close to schedule, with the Tour Championship finishing on Labor Day. It is contemplating putting tournaments in dates that previously belonged to the US Open, British Open and Olympics.

It was not immediately clear how the teams from Europe and the United States would be determined for the Ryder Cup.

For the 24 players, that means going from what long has been regarded as the toughest test in golf to what has become the most tiresome three days in golf.

"It's definitely better than leaving the Tour Championship and going to France, or leaving the Bahamas to go to Australia," said Patrick Cantlay, referring to the Americans' most recent Ryder and Presidents cup itineraries.

As for the British Open, Shane Lowry gets to keep the claret jug longer than anyone since Dick Burton, who won in 1939 at St Andrews in the last Open before World War II.

The new schedule:

- Aug. 6-9: PGA Championship.

- Aug. 13-16: End of PGA Tour regular season at Wyndham Championship.

- Aug. 20-23: Start of FedEx Cup playoffs at The Northern Trust.

- Aug. 27-30: BMW Championship, second playoff event.

- Sept. 4-7: Tour Championship for the FedEx Cup.

- Sept. 17-20: U.S. Open at Winged Foot.

- Sept. 25-27: Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits.

Commissioner Mike Whan says golf's LPGA Tour will not resume after the coronavirus pandemic until the majority of international players are able to compete in tournaments.

It was announced earlier on Friday that the US Women's Open, scheduled to take place in Houston in June, had been postponed until December as part of a move that saw the next five LPGA events postponed or cancelled.

That would be the latest a major championship is played, and the first time an official LPGA Tour event was held entirely in December since Maria Hjorth won the LPGA Tour Championship in 2010.

Once golf resumes after the Covid-19 crisis, international travel is likely to prove an issue for some players and Whan insists that no events will be played until the majority of eligible players are able to participate.

Whan said: "Could I see us playing an event where our international players can't attend? We feel we've got to be in the 75 per cent kind of range of players eligible for the event who could play.

"I couldn't see us running an event where half of our players couldn't play; I don't think I could call that official."

The British Open golf could become the latest major sporting event to be postponed because of the coronavirus crisis, but a final decision has not yet been taken, organisers said on Thursday.

Media reports have said the annual tournament, meant to take place at Royal St George's on the southern English coast from July 16-19, was in danger. It is reputed to be the oldest golf tournament in the world and this year's edition is meant to be the 149th.

Martin Slumbers, chief executive of governing body the R&A, said in a statement: "We are continuing to work through our options for The Open this year, including postponement.

"Due to a range of external factors, that process is taking some time to resolve. We are well aware of the importance of being able to give clear guidance to fans, players and everyone involved and are working to resolve this as soon as we can."

The first golf major of the season, the US Masters, was due to take place on April 9-12 but was postponed to an unspecified date last month.

Postponement of the British Open golf will be difficult given other tournaments later in the year and the fickle British weather.

Slumbers added: "We are well aware of the importance of being able to give clear guidance to fans, players and everyone involved and are working to resolve this as soon as we can.

"We will give a further update as soon as we are in a position to do so and thank everyone for their support and understanding in this challenging situation."

Golf Australia is standing by its recommendation that courses should be closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, despite confusion and anger around the country over the position.

The national body on Thursday reiterated its statement from earlier this week advising clubs to shut down their courses, saying they are following federal government guidelines.

However only Victoria followed that edict, with courses in all other states and territories remaining open for play, stating that they are following their own government advice.

Adding to the confusion, PGA of Australia's chief executive Gavin Kirkman also circulated a memo to its members this week saying golf can continue under the right social-distancing practices.

Golf Australia on Thursday said it was still of the view that golf was a "non-essential activity".

"Golf Australia remains of the view that golf is a non-essential activity, a view which sits comfortably with the current Federal Government directive and rules to "stay at home" unless absolutely necessary," GA said in a statement.

"Of course, Golf Australia is merely recommending that position to all clubs around Australia and ultimately we respect the right of the clubs to act in the way they see fit while complying with all social distancing requirements.

"Golf Australia has adopted - and will continue to adopt - a prudent position of respecting and heeding Government advice on all matters pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic."

GA apologised for the confusion and said the "constantly changing" position of states surrounding coronavirus had contributed.

"We apologise for any confusion that has caused, but we are sure you can understand these are unprecedented times in our country and, indeed, for our great game.

"That so many people are passionate about the sport is a great sign of the game's significance in our community and we are truly sympathetic to those who are desperate to once again walk the fairways.

"But we as the national governing body feel that in this time of crisis for so many in our community, it is best to be safe."

Padraig Harrington says it would be better to stage the Ryder Cup on schedule this September with a shortened qualification period than postpone the biennial showpiece.

The coronavirus pandemic has already forced the first two major championships of the year - the Masters and the US PGA - to postpone.

Some golfers have called for the tournament to be put back 12 months amid the current global uncertainty.

But three-time major winner Harrington will captain Europe at Whistling Straits and would rather the event took place this year - even if it means changing the qualification criteria.

"We're playing on, if at all possible, because the merit of getting out there and showcasing our sport far outweighs a perfect qualifying system," the Irishman told the Daily Mail.

"It wouldn't worry me if we were the first tournament back and I had to go with 12 picks with no qualifying.

"In many ways it would be perfect if the Ryder Cup was the first tournament back. Just 12 guys from Europe and 12 guys from America, with no prize money at stake and competing just for the glory.

"Wouldn't that be a nice way for the sport to start back?"

An extraordinary Masters in November, when autumn leaves are falling at Augusta National, could cap a triumphant return for golf as organisers look to squeeze in the four majors at the end of the year.

That's the belief and hope of Ian Baker-Finch, who says there is merit in speculation that the US Open, British Open, PGA Championship and Masters could be staged in that order during a three-month span starting at the end of August if circumstances allow.

In normal times, golf fans would be eagerly anticipating a spectacular start to the majors season next week, with Tiger Woods defending the Masters crown he won amid such emotional scenes last year.

The coronavirus currently engulfing the US, UK and countries in Europe ruled that out with all tours suspended.

But British Open winner turned US golf broadcaster Baker-Finch, isn't giving up hope that golf's biggest events can still be played in 2020 and provide the public welcome relief after a grim time.

That includes the wildly-popular biennial Ryder Cup clash between the US and Europe which could be held during that three-month stretch in its original dates in late September.

"I think, if we get back to playing golf in maybe August, we could play all four majors, the Ryder Cup and the PGA Tour's big play-off events in that final four months of the year," Baker-Finch told AAP.

Regular PGA Tour events have been cancelled due to COVID-19 and the next scheduled tournament is the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial CC in Texas from May 21, although it is unlikely to go ahead with the US struggling to cope with a severe virus outbreak.

The Masters postponement to an undetermined date was its first interruption since World War II when it was cancelled from 1943-1945.

The PGA Championship, which was to be mid-May at San Francisco's TPC Harding Park, was also postponed.

The USGA is expected to announce later this week that the US Open will be postponed from mid-June, with some suggesting it will be held late August and remain at New York's Winged Foot GC.

There are also suggestions the British Open, which was to be held at Royal St George's in England in mid-July, will be moved to September and that the PGA Championship will be played in October.

That would allow the Masters to be held in November, when turf conditions and weather best resemble April in Augusta, Georgia.

Baker-Finch believes that can be one of the most anticipated editions in the Masters' 86-year history.

"When golf returns, there is a real opportunity to be so appreciative of what we've missed. It will be a really exciting time," said Baker-Finch, a pundit for US network CBS, the TV rights-holder for the Masters.

Former Augusta Chronicle sports writer Scott Michaux said the falling red-and-yellow leaves of autumn could give a November Masters unprecedented beauty.

"It could be very colourful if the leaves are changing; there are enough hardwood trees on the property that if (Augusta National) times it right, it could look really spectacular," Michaux said.

Australian world No.15 Marc Leishman, who won on the PGA Tour in January, says it would be special to contest such a rare edition of the Masters.

"November would be awesome and it would be very different, visually," said Leishman, who owns two top-10 results from seven Masters.

"They can get the greens super quick at that time of year and the course, honestly, could be in even better condition than April.

"I just hope they can play the Masters at some point this year."