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Cameron Smith has suffered Masters despair, two cruel breaks dashing his chances of golfing glory at Augusta National.

Smith settled for equal third spot behind triumphant world No.1 Scottie Scheffler and a roaring Rory McIlroy, after closing with a luckless one-over-par 73.

The Australian must be wondering what might have been.

After slashing Scheffler's overnight lead to just one stroke with two superb birdies to open the final round, Smith's Masters dream began to slip away in an extraordinary twist on the third hole.

After driving into the trees left, Scheffler was given relief from an interfering scoreboard, his second favourable drop in four holes after escaping with a miracle bogey up the last on Saturday.

Scheffler left his ensuing pitch shot short and watched his ball tumble back down the hill.

Staring a bogey in the face as Smith threatened to seize the lead, the Texan instead chipped in for a most improbable birdie.

After also leaving his approach short, Smith was unable to save par from the same position as Scheffler's hole-out, suddenly leaving the Queenslander three shots behind again.

He never recovered.

Another bogey on the par-3 fourth hole, after taking an aggressive line off the tee and finding the bunker, had Smith trailing by four shots.

Both players birdied the seventh as Scheffler moved to 11 under and assumed control.

Runner-up to Dustin Johnson in the rescheduled November Masters in 2020, Smith seemed set for at least another second after making a brilliant birdie on the par-4 11th, one of Augusta's most demanding holes.

Instead the 28-year-old's tee shot into the water and racked up a heartbreaking triple-bogey six on the 12th hole as Amen Corner claimed yet another victim.

Smith rebounded gamely with successive birdies on 15 and 16 to secure a third top-five finish at the season's first and most magical major.

Countryman Min Woo Lee had a more memorable day, tying the Masters front-nine record course en route to a top-15 finish on debut.

Lee eagled the par-5 second, then reeled off four straight birdies to surge to reach the turn in 30 shots.

At two under, the 23-year-old was briefly holding down fourth spot before eventually signing for a two-under round of 70.

A two-over 72-hole total left the younger brother of major-winning LPGA Tour star Minjee Lee in a tie for 14th alongside the likes of defending champion Hideki Matsuyama and former world No.1 Lee Westwood.

Marc Leishman (74) tied for 30th at five over, Cam Davis (73) finished 46th at 12 over, while former champion Adam Scott (74) shared 48th spot at 14 over after making the cut for a 13th straight year.

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Scott Morrison has pulled ahead of Anthony Albanese as preferred prime minister but Labor remains in poll position despite a further fall in popular support, the latest Newspoll shows.

The Newspoll conducted for The Australian on the eve of the election campaign shows Labor's primary vote has dropped a point to 37 per cent on top of a three-point fall last week.

The coalition's primary vote remains unchanged on a low 36 per cent.

The shift in underlying support for Labor has resulted in a one-point gain for the coalition on a two-party-preferred basis with Labor ahead 53-47.

Mr Morrison has pulled ahead of the Labor leader as the better prime minister, the Newspoll shows.

Mr Albanese fell three points to 39 per cent while Mr Morrison rose a point to 44 per cent.

The Greens remain unchanged on 10 per cent, with One Nation level on 3 per cent, Clive Palmer's United Australia Party lifting a point to 4 per cent and "others" recording 10 per cent for the third poll in a row.

The poll of 1506 voters was conducted across Australia between April 6 and 9.

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The Melbourne crowd's reaction to Daniel Ricciardo crossing the line in sixth has the McLaren driver dreaming of one day winning the Australian Grand Prix.

In his first Formula One event at home since 2019, Ricciardo was able to make up one place after starting Sunday's race from seventh on the grid as Ferrari's Charles Leclerc brought up a comfortable victory.

Unlike some of his previous efforts at Albert Park, the McLaren driver's GP race was drama-free as he capitalised on defending world champion Max Verstappen being forced to retire on lap-39.

The result is sweet relief for Ricciardo after he failed to finish the Saudi Arabian GP last month, following a 14th-place in the season-opener in Bahrain.

The 32-year-old's teammate Lando Norris crossed the line just ahead of Ricciardo, continuing McLaren's resurgence after a difficult start to 2022.

He banks his first championship points - eight - of the season from the race.

Ricciardo described F1's return to Melbourne after two COVID-19 affected years as "nuts".

"When I got out of the car there was a pretty loud cheer and I was like 'man if this is a cheer for sixth, I can't imagine winning here or even a podium'," Ricciardo said.

"I'd probably have to keep my earplugs in if that did happen.

"It was pretty awesome and just happy for everyone who came out."

The Perth-born driver has experienced mixed fortunes at his home grand prix, with fourth his best result in 2016 and 2018 when racing for Red Bull.

In 2014, Ricciardo came second, but was later disqualified due to illegal fuel flow.

But he leaves Melbourne content this time and looking forward to better days ahead in his second season with McLaren.

"After Bahrain, I was obviously still very positive and I knew we could make a turnaround. I didn't think it would happen already," Ricciardo said.

"The weekend as a whole has been smoother for all of us and we've shown a lot more for it.

"Parts of my race were certainly more competitive ... still some parts of the race I can keep chipping away at but the team result was mega compared to the last few."

Ricciardo will remain in Australia for a few days before preparing for the Italian GP, starting on April 22.

"I'll try and rehydrate with a few beers tonight," he said.

"I've got a little bit longer here in Australia, not as long as I'd like, but I'll try and make the most of it."

© AAP 2022