There is both joy and sadness in Australian sport today with Adam Scott becoming only the second Australian to be crowned World No. 1 but on the same day motor racing legend Jack Brabham passing away.

Bizarrely, Scott has achieved the feat by resting at home with his new wife.

However news of Scott replacing injured Tiger Woods as the game’s best player has been tinged with news of his fellow Queenslander Sir Jack Brabham, the three-time Formula One world champion and an iconic figure in motor racing, dying at age 88.

The former Royal Australian Air Force mechanic won Formula One world titles in 1959 and 1960 with the Cooper Racing Team, and again in 1966 when he became the first driver to win in a car that he built himself.

He was the first motor sport identity to be knighted, after he retired in 1970, and he was awarded Australian of the Year in 1966 and National Treasure in 2012.

Triple F1 World Champion passes away on the day Adam Scott becomes World No. 1

And while Scott is naturally delighted to become the new world No.1 he’s be more pleased to trade the title for a second Major Championship victory next month at Pinehurst.

In fact, Scott becomes the 17th golfer, and second Australian after Greg Norman, to hold the No.1 spot since the rankings began at the 1986 Masters.

“I think No.1 is a nice feather in the cap and if I was never world No.1 when I was this close I’d have been disappointed,” said Scott.

“But I’d also much rather win the US Open and not be No.1 at all this year.

“That’s what it comes down to.

“There weren’t rankings back in the day and guys won a lot of majors and that’s how they’re remembered.”

Be sure though that Scott will reflect on all that it’s taken to get to No.1, and just what a key role his childhood hero and mentor Norman played in getting him there.

Five years ago, in the midst of a deep slump, Scott could have just given the game away, picked up his surfboard and ridden waves into every sunset.

But he turned it all around with some soul-searching, a clean out of his team, sweeping changes in his preparation for big events and also a confidence boost from Norman, who spent 331 weeks of his career as No.1, the last back in January 1998.

Adam Scott becomes only the second Australian to be crowned World No. 1

It was Norman who handed Scott the lift his career needed when he handed him a ‘wildcard’ pick for the 2009 President’s Cup.

After a tie for second in Hawaii in January that year, Scott finished no higher than a tie for 33rd and missed 10 cuts in 19 starts all season, including a run of six missed cuts in a row.

By October, he had bottomed out at No.76 in the world and was wondering if it was all worth it.

But Norman’s show of confidence set the ball rolling, allowing Scott to once again believe in his ability to beat the best.

In December he won the Australian Open and began his climb back.

Despite having multiple tour wins around the world Scott knew he’d need to make changes to add the missing link from his career – good finishes in major championships.

“I just didn’t have the best plan in place,” Scott said.

“I went through the motions and did all the practise, but maybe it wasn’t intense enough, there wasn’t a narrow enough focus on exactly what I had to do.”

To get that focus he dumped world renowned Butch Harmon as coach, let go caddie Tony Navarro from his bag and would also change his management team as he revolutionised his approach.

With new coach Brad Malone, also his brother in law, the pair came up with a system to peak for majors.

Woods’ former caddie Steve Williams came onto the bag and immediately results came.

The 2011 Masters could have easily been his before South African Charl Schwartzel incredibly birdied the final four holes to win by two.

But Scott was gathering momentum and in recent times no player has been close to the Queenslander’s consistency in the majors.

In the past 13 major championships, Scott has missed just one cut (US Open 2011) and has been outside the top-15 just three times.

In 2012 and 2013 he was the best player in relation to par across all four majors.

His 2013 was a monumental year as he became the first Australian to win the Masters before adding a tie for third in the British Open and a tie for fifth at the US PGA Championship.

That consistency is the reason he has taken over Woods’ latest reign at the top and why, given his drive to win more majors, he could stay there a long time yet.

“No one else has played better in the last three years than Scotty, especially in big tournaments,” said countryman and 2006 US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy.

“He’s a legitimate number one. He’s a way better player than Tiger at this moment right now, purely on recent record.”

Scott’s healthy perspective on his No.1 ranking suggests he may enjoy many more weeks in the top spot before his career is done.

“It’s a nice achievement that I am proud of because it rewards consistent play over a period of time and at the moment it has me in front,” Scott said.

“But it is temporary unless I play very good golf.”