Scottie Scheffler spent extra time taking a look at his toes than any of the white leaderboards at Augusta Nationwide, all of them exhibiting what everybody was watching — a Masters champion once more, the undisputed greatest participant in golf.
He prefers to remain in his personal little world, inhabitants one.
No one is near him within the sport in the intervening time.
Scheffler is No. 1 on the planet by a margin not seen since Tiger Woods in his prime. In 9 tournaments this yr, he doesn’t have a spherical over par and has earned over 15 million USD. And on Sunday, he delivered the best piece of proof when he slipped into that inexperienced jacket.
Scheffler pulled forward with magnificent photographs across the flip, poured it on alongside the again 9 as his challengers melted away with errors and closed with a 4-under 68 to assert his second Masters in three years with a four-shot victory.
“I had quite a lot of actually gifted gamers making an attempt to chase me down, and I knew pars weren’t going to get it performed,” Scheffler stated.
Not like two years in the past when he received his first main, there have been no doubts Sunday morning, no tears, and no spouse to reassure him he was constructed for a second like this. His spouse, Meredith, was residence in Dallas anticipating their first little one on the finish of the month.
Scheffler made certain there was no drama, both.
Very similar to Woods he made the end result look inevitable with elegant management, the distinction being a peach shirt as an alternative of Sunday purple, and no fist pumps till it was over.
After sharing hugs with caddie Ted Scott and Collin Morikawa, Scheffler turned to face the group with each arms raised. “WOOOOOO!” he yelled, slamming his fist.
Masters newcomer Ludvig Aberg, amongst 4 gamers who had a share of the lead at one level, misplaced floor together with his method went into the pond left of the eleventh gap and he made double bogey. Towards a participant like Scheffler, these errors usually are not straightforward to beat.
Aberg closed with a 69 and was the runner-up, not a foul debut for somebody taking part in in his first main championship.
Morikawa, who had two double bogeys to fall out of the hunt, shot 74 and tied for third with Tommy Fleetwood (69) and Max Homa (73), whose hopes ended on the par-3 twelfth with a double bogey from the bushes, not Rae’s Creek.
“He’s fairly wonderful at letting issues roll off his again and stepping as much as very troublesome golf photographs and treating them like their very own,” Homa stated about Scheffler. “He’s clearly an amazing expertise, however I feel that’s his superpower.”
Woods, in the meantime, closed with a 77 and completed in final place at 16-over 304, the very best 72-hole rating of his profession. This got here two days after he set the Masters report for making his twenty fourth consecutive minimize.
The 27-year-old Scheffler is the fourth-youngest participant to have two inexperienced jackets. He now has three victories towards the strongest fields — Bay Hill, The Gamers Championship and the Masters — in his final 4 begins. The opposite was a runner-up end in Houston.
Scheffler completed at 11-under 277 and earned $3.6 million from the $20 million purse.
Maybe much more daunting for the remainder of golf is that Scheffler now has 10 victories worldwide courting to his first PGA Tour title on the Phoenix Open simply two years and two months in the past.
Throughout that stretch, Scheffler has completed within the prime 10 a staggering 65% of the time.
It was the fourth straight Masters when the winner got here to the 18th inexperienced with one arm within the inexperienced jacket. That doesn’t imply Sunday was a stroll in golf’s most beautiful backyard.
“I felt like I used to be battling the entire week,” Scheffler stated. “It was a protracted week. I needed to battle some ups and downs. And, you already know, I’m very lucky to be sitting right here with you.”
4 gamers had a share of the lead at numerous factors alongside the entrance 9, after which Scheffler started to claim himself with three straight birdies across the flip.
He acquired up-and-down with a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-5 eighth. He hit the proper wedge that caught the ridge and got here inches inside entering into on No. 9, leaving him a tap-in birdie. After which he holed one other 10-foot birdie putt on the tenth to construct a two-shot lead.
“I hadn’t hit many good iron photographs, which is a bit uncommon for me,” Scheffler stated. “And going into No. 9, it was good to get that feeling of hitting a extremely well-struck shot after which it set me as much as have a very nice again 9.”
After which, identical to in one of the best days of Woods, he let everybody else make the massive numbers.
Within the group forward, Aberg’s method to the eleventh slammed off the financial institution and into the water, resulting in double bogey.
Homa managed a troublesome par on the eleventh, solely to hit it so lengthy over the par-3 twelfth the golf ball plunged deep into bushes and left him no alternative however to take a penalty drop. His chip didn’t attain the inexperienced, and two putts later he had double bogey.
Morikawa already had begun to slip by taking two photographs to get out of a deep bunker left of the ninth inexperienced for double bogey. He all however sealed his destiny with a shot into the water on the eleventh and took double bogey.
Aberg was the one one who battled again, and Scheffler stored answering with birdies. He hit the thirteenth inexperienced in two and two-putted for birdie. His method to the 14th hit the slope towards the again and rolled all the way down to a foot from the pin.
His ultimate birdie got here from simply inside 10 toes on the sixteenth.
Defending champion Jon Rahm, now with Saudi-funded LIV Golf, closed with a 76 and tied for forty fifth, 20 photographs behind Scheffler. He was in Butler Cabin to assist Scheffler into the inexperienced jacket.
Rahm had not confronted Scheffler all yr and witnessed what the PGA Tour gamers are up towards every week. His tee-to-green play is paying homage to Woods, although actually not the emotion, the worldwide attraction or the variety of victories.
Scheffler’s feelings got here when he thought in regards to the subsequent prize.
“You’re about to make me cry right here in Butler Cabin,” Scheffler stated when requested in regards to the impending start. “It’s a really particular time for each of us. I can’t put into phrases what it means to win this match once more. I actually can’t put into phrases what it’s going to be wish to be a father for the primary time. I’m wanting ahead to getting residence and celebrating with Meredith.
“Its been a protracted week right here with out her, however I’m simply wanting ahead to getting residence.”