MELBOURNE, Australia -- Adam Scott emerged victorious from a last-round fight with Matt Kuchar on Sunday to successfully defend his Australian Masters title and make it back-to-back victories on his four-event tour of his homeland. Scott began Sunday with a comfortable lead, lost it on the back nine, then wrestled it back, with his scrambling even-par 71 proving enough for a two-shot victory at a windy Royal Melbourne. It followed his victory in last weeks Australian PGA to make a perfect start to his first visit back home since his U.S. Masters title in April. American Kuchar led by two strokes with three holes to play but double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker and finished second after a 68. Vijay Singh was third after a 71, four behind Scott. The 50-year-old Fijian veteran was attempting to win his first tournament since 2008. Scott, who had a four-round total of 14-under 270, will now try to win the so-called Australian Triple Crown with a victory at the Australian Open at Royal Sydney in two weeks. Before that, he will partner Jason Day for Australia at the World Cup next week, again at Royal Melbourne. Kuchar took the lead when Scott made a double bogey on the 14th as he dealt with a plugged lie in a bunker, while Kuchar in the preceding group made a birdie at the 15th. The situation was reversed a whole later when Scott also birdied the 15th and the American bogeyed the 16th. Scott had led by four strokes at the start of the round and by five shots late on the front nine. His faltering on the back nine revived memories of the 2012 British Open when he bogeyed the final four holes to lose by a shot, but this time he came out on top. "I usually like looking at the leaderboard, but it wasnt enjoyable today," Scott said of the numerous lead changes. "I made a lot of errors, but I managed to hang on despite being a little shaky out there." His day got off to an ominous start. His birdie putt from three feet lipped out while Singh had a tap-in birdie to reduce the lead to three, but a Singh bogey on the second restored the four-shot gap. While Scott and Singh dueled in the final group, Kuchar, who will team with Kevin Streelman for the United States at the World Cup, moved up the leaderboard. The American bogeyed the first hole, but birdies on five of the next eight holes left him as Scotts closest pursuer. He birdied the 11th and then the 15th to take the lead for the first time in the tournament before his late collapse. "Its never fun, the 72nd hole, but it can happen any time," Kuchar said. "I tried on the last hole to stay aggressive and hit a good quality shot and I thought I had. "The thing about Royal Melbourne is you can really pay the price for just being off if you play aggressively. Its certainly a rough way to end it but thats kind of the nature of the game." Jarrod Lyle, playing in his first tournament in 20 months since his recovery from his second bout of leukemia, finished with an 8-over 79, including bogeys on his final three holes. He didnt expect to make the cut. At the 18th, the large gallery applauded, even playing partner Michael Long, as Lyle walked gingerly around the green. "I played five days in a row, including the pro-am, and the last nine holes I started to feel it," Lyle said. "I got around, and its not the end I wanted. But its better than I thought it would be: three good rounds and one shocker, thats golf." Noah Hanifin Hurricanes Jersey . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. Eddie Lack Hurricanes Jersey . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. 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Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions.Jason Collins is the NBAs only openly gay athlete and he also happens to be an unemployed free agent. Coincidence? When Collins shared his sexuality with the world six months ago, he was hailed as a trailblazer and applauded for his courage. But Collins is a decade removed from anchoring the New Jersey Nets on back-to-back trips to the NBA Finals, and even the causal basketball fan knew he was on the downside of his career. Collins isnt Jackie Robinson, a young undeniable force poised to break down barriers, so when his name wasnt on an NBA roster on opening night, few were surprised. Collins sexuality wasnt what was holding him back from being in the league, but his talent. The 34 year-old centre had lost a step over the years and was always limited offensively, to the tune of 3.6 points per game for his career. But Collins strength is his ability to provide interior defence, rebound and supply relief minutes off the bench. His age also works in his favour as a veteran who acts accordingly, and as a solid locker room presence. However, those are costly positives at the NBA veterans minimum of $1.4 million, as teams are wary of entering the luxury tax. Collins absence in the league can be reasonably chalked up to one of the best blanket explanations in all of sports: "basketball decisions." According to Ric Bucher at Bleacher Report, several general managers said in October the apprehension of signing Collins didnt stem from concern about the locker room and his teammates, but the non-stop media hype that would come from it. "If it were just an initial blast and you knew it would settle down after that, it would be one thing," said one executive. "But you know this is something that he and his teammates are going to be asked about everywhere they go, all season long, and all it takes is one guy too say something a little off and it could really blow up.dddddddddddd Hes still good enough to play in the league, but when you throw in the ongoing media frenzy, most teams are going to decide its just not worth it." Already this season, three starting centres (Tyson Chandler, JaVale McGee, Larry Sanders), have suffered injuries that will keep them off the court for 5-6 weeks or more. In the quest for back-up support, Collins was again overlooked. When Golden State Warriors reserve Jermaine ONeal went down with a knee injury last week, the Warriors braintrust, "entertained the idea of asking assistant coach Brian Scalabrine to come out of retirement to fill the void." Scalabrine would also be entitled to the veterans minimum and ironically came into the league with Collins as rookie teammates on the Nets. The Warriors subsequently called up rookie Dewayne Dedmon from their D-League affiliate. While the notion of going with a younger, cheaper player is just smart business, the idea that there is a not-worth-the-hassle notion amongst general managers when it comes to Collins shows that his sexuality is an issue. Jason Collins isnt as talented as Jackie Robinson; he is a serviceable NBA player on the fringe. But if opportunities exist and teams continue to look past him due to concerns over the media fallout of his sexuality, he is being discriminated against just the same as Robinson was in 1947. This isnt a basketball decision and no one, not even Collins wants to be in the league because hes gay; he just wants to play and feels he can contribute. This isnt a situation of players acting ignorant or insensitive, but shortsighted gatekeepers, of which one wouldve likely signed Collins this season, if they were unaware of his sexuality, and thats a bigger problem. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '