Masters 2013: Win at Augusta Is Just the Beginning for Adam Scott

Adam Scott isn't a youngster anymore, but it's safe to say the 32-year-old Australian is finally hitting his groove.

Scott, who made his PGA Tour debut in 2000, had eight career victories on tour headed into the 2013 Masters. Now he has nine, including one historic win.

Scott became the first Australian to win the Masters in the tournament's history on Sunday after winning a playoff against veteran Angel Cabrera. He was a bit of a sleeper coming into Augusta, if you can call a top-10 player a sleeper. He had posted eight career top-10 finishes at majors, including three top-10 finishes at Augusta. He placed eighth at Augusta in 2012 and second in 2011.

The Australian was a bit inconsistent this year before the Masters, posting two top-10 finishes, as well as two finishes of 30th or worse. One thing Scott has improved upon has been his putting (strokes gained). He was ranked 78th on tour before the Masters this year (per PGATour.com), which may not seem that great until you consider he was ranked 145th on tour last year.

While Scott ranked just below the field average in putting at Augusta this year, he made two critical putts down the stretch, including a 20-footer on hole No. 18 and a 12-footer on the second playoff hole to clinch the Masters.

Scott's new-and-improved putting—combined with his driving distance and his greens-in-regulation percentage—figure to make him a very tough out moving forward.

While the Australian ranked 153rd in GIR this year headed into Augusta, the past three years he had ranked in the top 50 in that category. He found his iron game at the 2013 Masters, topping the field in GIR (76.39 percent).

Winning the Masters once is enough for most golfers to hang their hats on, but this may be the tip of the iceberg for Scott. It's no surprise that Scott won the Masters this year after getting so close before because his putting game has been noticeably better. That won't just help him at the Masters moving forward; it will help him in any tournament.

Last year, Scott finished 15th at the U.S. Open, second at the British Open and 11th at the PGA Championship. It wouldn't be a surprise if he captured another major in 2013 after the year he's had so far, particularly when it comes to the British Open and the PGA Championship, where he's had more success historically.