AUGUSTA, Ga. — A 2024 Masters victory seemed inevitable for Scottie Scheffler.
The Texan has been ranked No. 1 in the world for more than 80 weeks in his short career. He had won eight times on the PGA Tour since February 2022, a streak that saw him become the first golfer to win the Players Championship in recent years.
Scheffler is considered perhaps the best golf ball striker since Tiger Woods in his prime, and Scheffler’s magical hands around the greens have also drawn comparisons to you-know-who.
Until Sunday, Scheffler had just one major championship win, the 2022 Masters, which might be the only reason anyone would question his status as the game’s next-generation star.
After entering Sunday’s final round of the 88th Masters at Augusta National Golf Club with a 1-shot lead, Scheffler pulled away from the other contenders on the back nine to win a second green jacket in three years.
Scheffler carded a 4-under 68 over the final 18 holes to finish at 11 under for the tournament and beat Sweden’s Ludvig Ã…berg by 4 strokes. Aberg, who was an amateur at Texas Tech a year ago, was trying to become the first golfer to win the Masters in his debut since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. Aberg posted a 3-under 69 in the final round.
Max Homa, Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood tied for third at 4 under.
“I feel like I’m playing really good golf right now,” Scheffler said. “I feel as in control of my emotions as I’ve ever been, which is a good place to be. I feel like I’m growing as a person on the golf course, which is a good place to be.
“I think it’s hard to argue with the results of the last few weeks. I’ve been playing some nice golf. But I’m really trying not to focus too much on the past.”
At 27, Scheffler became the fourth-youngest golfer to win multiple green jackets. Only Jack Nicklaus (25 years, 81 days), Woods (25 years, 100 days) and Seve Ballesteros (26 years, 2 days) were younger.
Scheffler won his second Masters title in just his fifth start at Augusta National, which is the second fewest starts needed to accomplish the feat in tournament history. Horton Smith won two of the first three Masters, in 1934 and 1936.
Scheffler also became only the fifth golfer in Masters history to win multiple green jackets by 3 or more strokes, joining Woods (1997 and 2002), Ballesteros (1980 and 1983), Nicklaus (1965 and 1972) and Sam Snead ( 1959 and 1949).
“Obviously, Scottie is an incredible golfer and I think we all expect him to be there when it comes down to the last two holes of a tournament,” Aberg said. “He’s proven that time and time again, and I think it makes us better. He makes you want to beat him, obviously, and that’s the same for me and the same for everybody else in this area.”
In the past 35 days, Scheffler has won three times against elite fields at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Players and now the Masters.
“I’m just pinching myself honestly,” said Scheffler’s partner, Ted Scott. “I don’t really know what I’m seeing. The guy is special. He’s different special. I think we all see that and we’re all wondering, ‘Where did that come from?’
What does Scheffler do so well?
“What is he not good at?” Scott said. “I don’t know, I think his superpower is [that] People who are extremely powerful are good at everything, and he seems to be good at everything. He doesn’t really have a weakness. I think people created a weakness in his placement. He is not a weak player. He is a good football player. He is a very good player.”
After his win, Scheffler didn’t wait long to FaceTime with his wife, Meredith, who watched the final round at her aunt’s house in Dallas. Meredith Scheffler is expecting the couple’s first child later this month. Scheffler said he planned to fly home Sunday night, then is scheduled to play the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, starting Thursday.
“I’m going home, I’m going to enjoy this win tonight,” Scheffler said. “I will definitely enjoy the birth of my first child. But with this, I still like to compete. My priorities will change here very soon. My son or daughter will now be the main priority, along with my wife, so golf I’ll probably be fourth in line, but I like to race soon, that’s for sure.
Scheffler said he spent Sunday morning with friends and tried to take his mind off golf, which wasn’t easy. At some point his throat began to bother him from stress. He had been battling a neck injury at the Players Championship in March.
The final two pairings of Aberg-Homa and Scheffler-Morikawa reached Amen Corner (holes Nos. 11 to 13) just before 5 p.m. ET. By the time they left, only one of them — Scheffler — still had a prayer of winning.
Aberg made his first big mistake when his 216-yard sweep shot went too far left and bounced into a pond at the par-4 11th. He double-bogeyed 6 and fell 4 shots behind Scheffler.
Moments later, Morikawa hit his approach shot from almost the same spot as Aberg. He yelled, “Damn it,” after his ball bounced and he saw it bounce in the pond. The result was his second double bogey in three holes — he couldn’t get out of a greenside bunker on No. 9 on his first attempt — as he fell 5 shots behind Scheffler.
“Greed got the best of me,” Morikawa said. “Nine, I can’t miss it there and I can’t leave it in the bunker. Eleven, he tried to hit a very perfect shot. It wasn’t like at the time I was trying to push. I knew where I was. Yeah, he just can’t do it.” .
Then on the 12th hole, where swirling winds, a narrow green and intimidating Rae’s Creek have spoiled the dreams of many Masters hopefuls over the years, Homa’s chances were dealt a devastating blow. He didn’t hit a bad tee shot on the course’s shortest par-3, but his ball bounced high off the sun-drenched green and settled in vines on a bank.
After watching his ball bounce off the green, Homa asked his partner, Joe Greiner, “Where did it go?”
After a couple of minutes, Homa found it in the thick ground cover but had to take an unplayable lie and a 1 stroke penalty. The chip shot fell to the fringe and he two-putted for a double-bogey 5 to drop to 5 under.
“The honest answer is it didn’t feel fair,” Homa said. “I hit a really good golf shot and it didn’t feel fair. I’ve seen a lot worse just going back down the hill. Yeah, the professional answer is these things happen.”
Scheffler made a bogey of his own at the 11th when he missed the green, chipped to 9 feet and missed a par putt. He played it safe at the 12th and made par.
Scheffler ended any doubts about winning again when he made back-to-back birdies on Nos. 13 and 14. On the par-5 13th, he reached the green in 2 shots and with two shots for a birdie to move to 9 under . Then on the par-4 14th, he twisted his approach shot to one foot and hit to go to 10 under.
“I never let myself get attached to the lead,” Scheffler said. “I just tried to keep pushing. I mean, I think if I had played a little bit more defensively it would have been a very different finish. I went for the green in two on the 13th [and] he was able to make a birdie. I attacked the pin on 14 and was able to birdie. I went again on the 15th and made a good score.”
“If I was just trying to make par the whole nine, I’d be on 18 and hope Ludwig would just make par.”
Scheffler added another birdie at the par-3 16th, and what seemed inevitable for so long was now a reality.
