Augusta, Ga. – Scotty Scheffler has been the No. 1 player in the world for three years. On Sunday, Scheffler declared himself the dominant force of his era.
Scheffler, 27, won the Masters by four strokes on the star-studded leaderboard for his second green jacket in three years. He became the fourth youngest golfer to win the Masters twice, following Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros and Tiger Woods. They join Nicolas and Woods as the only players to win two Players Championships and two green jackets.
A picture-perfect Sunday afternoon at Augusta National, the all-time Masters Championship, appeared for a while. The four men playing in the final two groups – Scheffler, Colin Morikawa, Max Homma and Ludwig Åberg – are all tied at 6-under at one point on the front nine.
But Scheffler, who shot a final-round 68, put his foot down and everyone got out of the way.
Standing on the fairway on the ninth hole, Scheffler hit a perfect shot and would have a chance to become a part of Masters history – hitting the flag high from 89 yards and watching it turn six inches. . A foot away from the hole, it looks like he’s rolling for an eagle, with patrons jumping out of their seats in anticipation. He “sat” for birdie and took the lead in 8-under.
Scheffler then birdied the par-4 10th, a hole he double-bogeyed on Saturday to take a two-shot lead over Homa and Eberg.
Morikawa was the first out of contention, playing against Scheffler. He double-bogeyed the 9th, bogeyed the 10th and put his second shot in the water on No. 11, venting his frustration as he watched the teachers slip away with a second double-bogey.
Åberg was next, also hitting the water on Augusta National’s treacherous 11th hole and scoring a double bogey to drop four shots behind Scheffler.
Last up was Homa, who was still out of Scheffler’s reach until he teed off on the par-3 12th, took a nasty bump into the green on the hill behind him and forced Homa to take an unplayable bogey penalty. He had a double bogey after a poor chip, and he had three shots after Scheffler’s bogey on No. 11, his second of the day.
It then became clear that it could only be one, Scheffler added birdies on holes 13, 14 and 16, leaving the rest of the field in hopeless pursuit. Åberg finished second (7-under) in his first Masters appearance, followed by Morikawa, Homa and Tommy Fleetwood (tied at 4-under).
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The fans responded to Scotty Scheffler’s birdie on No. 16. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Two years ago, Scotty Scheffler broke into his wife Meredith’s arms with a three-stroke lead on teacher’s morning, letting her know she didn’t feel ready for what was to come. he was. He is, although he doesn’t have Meredith with him this week, as they are at home in Dallas awaiting the birth of their first child. Scheffle had promised to withdraw from the race if she went into labor (which she is due later this month). It wasn’t necessary. Nothing was going to stop him from winning the Masters.
He now has nine PGA Tour wins in two majors, compiling a record of excellence unmatched this decade. Those nine wins include two Masters, two Players Championships, two Arnold Palmer Invitationals, two Phoenix Opens and a WGC match play win. But perhaps more telling is Scheffler’s unprecedented consistency. He played 15 majors as a tour player, and finished in the top 25 in all but one. Top 10 out of 10. The last time he finished a professional tournament outside the top 31 was in October 2022.
Scheffler has been world No. 1 for 83 of the past 107 weeks and a win on Sunday will only reinforce his belief that no one will catch up to him anytime soon. The only question left for Scheffler was if he could stabilize his position to ensure he added more majors and had a trophy class commensurate with his special status. Now, he’s on a four-event run, winning the Players, Arnold Palmer and the Masters as a 4-to-1 favorite.
Suddenly, the question isn’t whether Scheffler can really make it as golf’s biggest star. If anyone can stop it.
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(Photo: (Andrew Reddington/Getty Images)