They've all, at one time or another, awakened before dawn to watch the Masters Tournament's final round before racing off to school.

They've all sympathized with Greg Norman's failures and near misses. They've all risen to the top of their game and dreamed of rectifying a blemish on Australia's golf résumé.

Australians have won every major championship except the Masters. It has teased them long enough, they think. A record seven Australians - six ranked among the top 40 in the world and one reigning U.S. Amateur champion - will compete in the 2004 Masters.

"I think it sets up really well for all of us," Robert Allenby said. "It's just a matter of time before one of us contends and wins."

Even without Norman and fellow Australian major winners Steve Elkington, Wayne Grady and Ian Baker-Finch, this contingent of Australians might be deeper and more competitive than any previous at the Masters.

"I think so," said Stuart Appleby (Stats | Bio) , who won the Mercedes Championship and finished second at Bay Hill this year. "You'll have years when you're stronger than some other years, but I'd say this year looks good on paper."

"It'll happen; it's just a matter of when," Stephen Leaney said.

l Appleby is ranked No. 9 in the world and was runner-up in the 2002 British Open.

l Adam Scott (Stats | Bio) (No. 12) won The Players Championship, was third at Bay Hill and tied for ninth at Augusta in 2002.

l Allenby (20th) has 16 worldwide wins, including four on the PGA Tour.

l Leaney (30th) was runner-up at the 2003 U.S. Open and took Tiger Woods (Stats | Bio) to the final hole in the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play semifinals.

l Craig Parry (Stats | Bio) (33rd) won the WGC-NEC Invitational in 2002 and at Doral last month.

l Peter Lonard (Stats | Bio) (38th) has four top-20 major finishes over the past two years.

l Nick Flanagan (Stats | Bio) was the first foreign player to win the U.S. Amateur in 32 years.

Should one of them step up and add the final piece of an Aussie grand slam, it would be well-received.

"That would be the ultimate for Australian golf," Allenby said. "Absolutely huge."

Scott agrees: "It would be huge for an Aussie to win at Augusta. We were all sure that Greg would definitely win one. I think he deserves at least one, but funny things happen, and that's the kind of place where funny things do happen."

Appleby is playing some of the best golf of his career, but he's missed five Masters cuts since tying for 21st in his debut in 1997.

"I haven't played any good there since my first year," he said. "So I'm really looking to have a good, top-10 performance there where I'm actually playing good."

Allenby, who has made three straight Masters cuts and finished as high as 29th, is feeling more comfortable making his fifth Masters start.

"I'm not going to start by putting any pressure on myself, but I think this year or the next couple years I should have a good chance," he said.

Scott, who looks every bit the next Australian world-beater, posted a top-10 finish in his Masters debut and says the course is perfectly suited to his game.

"When I'm playing my best golf, I work it right to left," he said. "On that back nine pretty much every hole I can set it up down the right side and draw it back."

Parry played in the final group with eventual winner Fred Couples (Stats | Bio) on Sunday in the 1992 Masters.

"If I had probably a bit more experience, I might have been able to go on and do the job there," he said.

The Aussie rookie to watch out for is Leaney, though he downplays his chances.

"First-timers traditionally don't do very well," Leaney said. "So I need to get used to the golf course and go from there."

The runner-up to Jim Furyk (Stats | Bio) at last year's U.S. Open has played in 12 career majors but missed eight cuts. But Leaney's finish at Olympia Fields elevated his confidence and prominence.

"That was obviously a very big week for me," he said. "It turned my whole golf career around, allowed me to play here full time, which I wasn't able to do before. It was good that I could prove to myself that I could handle the situation and handle the pressure."

Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219 or scott.michaux@augustachronicle.com.