Scheffler slams door shut, wins first major at Masters

R1: Tiger on Prowl at Augusta
R2: Scheffler’s Seismic Surge
R3: Sunday’s Superman — Scheffler or Smith?

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

 

AUGUSTA, GA. When you’re hot you’re hot. And no one in golf is hotter than Scottie Scheffler. Entering the final round with a three-shot lead at the Masters– the 25-year-old snared his first major title and fourth tournament win in the last 57 days.

The incredible journey was capped off by a sterling performance only marred by a closing four-putt mistep at the final hole. It mattered not. The final cushion of three strokes was more than enough to outlast a game Rory McIlroy who closed with a 64 and a solo runner-up position.

Paired with his nearest challenger Cameron Smith, Scheffler had a front row seat in watching the talented 28-year-old Aussie birdie the first two holes — narrowing the starting three-shot deficit to one.

 

 

The short par-4 3^rd proved pivotal as Scheffler and Smith both missed the green with their approaches. Scheffler then made a critical shot in holing his chip shot for birdie. Immediately afterwards, Smith made bogey and the lead was back to three. The margin would never get any closer.

Throughout the final round — time after time Scheffler kept his composure and executed shots when needed. After Smith birdied the 11th, Scheffler had a five-foot putt for par to only drop one shot. He buried the putt. When Scheffler pulled his shot at the always dangerous par-3 12th — he calmly chipped close and made the putt for a par. Smith, on the other hand, hit his approach into Rae’s creek and eventually made seven. A four-shot swing in favor of Scottie.

Following a pushed drive into the trees at the 17^th — Scheffler chipped back to the fairway and then lofted a wedge to two feet and made his par. The only snafu came at the final hole when after reaching the green in the regulation stroke — he four-putted with his concentration waning before finally ending the day in triumph and a three-shot margin over McIlroy.

 

“I never made it this far, it was just a dream of being here and competing,” said Scheffler in Butler Cabin during the CBS broadcast prior to him being helped by defending champion Hideki Matsuyama into his newest attire – a Master green jacket. “I can’t put into words what it means that I’ll be able to come back here for a lifetime.”

Scheffler finished at 10-under 278 and won $2.7 million from the $15 million prize fund. In less than 60 days he has earned $8,872,200 via four wins in his last six starts.

Amazingly, there were people who questioned why Scheffler was chosen by Steve Stricker as a captain’s pick for last year’s convincing USA Ryder Cup win at Whistling Straits. Prior to the matches, Scheffler had never won a PGA Tour event and many wondered whether the Ryder Cup rookie would be able to handle the intense pressure. 

 

Scheffler repaid the faith placed in him by totally vanquishing then world number one Jon Rahm in the Sunday singles matches — making five birdies in six holes and showing the kind of golf prowess he possesses.

That display of golfing talent has only intensified since the start of ’22. 

Golf has a new sheriff in town and it is clear that the sport’s younger generation of under 30 stars is intent on snaring more titles.

Scottie Scheffler has demonstrated golf stardom since his junior days when winning 67 percent of the events he entered. He continued that effort when playing for the University of Texas at the collegiate level. 

Many wondered when he would crack the winner’s circle. Many are now wondering when someone will be able to beat him.

In golf’s ever-changing universe — it is Scheffler who occupies the penthouse suite. Evicting him from that lofty position will require a concerted effort as the Texan is intent on adding more golf hardware in the months ahead.

 

 

Masters Minutia

*Tiger Woods did what few thought possible — complete 72 holes in his first major event played since the 2020 Masters. Woods played the weekend with consecutive scores of 78 but the highlight came in the opening round when the 5-time Masters champion added to his stature with a one-under-par 71 score. He went even further in making the 36-hole cut and playing the weekend finishing 47th.

The question Woods needed to answer was whether the accumulated rust from non-playing after enduring a major car accident in February 2021 could be pushed aside. His completion of 72 holes proved that.

What’s next? Woods indicated via an interview with Sky Sports he plans to play in the 150^th Open Championship at The Old Course at St. Andrews and may opt to play in May’s PGA Championship at Southern Hills in Oklahoma. Both venues have provided past wins for Woods.

 

*Dottie Pepper provided on-course updates for the CBS telecast having been the first to do so starting at the November 2020 Masters, but she erred badly when incorrectly noting Scottie Scheffler was planning to hit a 9-iron lay-up at the water guarded par-5 15th. Scheffer chose a different club and game plan in going for the green and having his approach shot finish just off the back of the green. Analysts are paid to provide correct information — a clear bogey on Pepper’s part.

*Rory McIlroy’s electric finish in holing out from a greenside bunker at the 18^th hole was prematurely stated by CBS analyst Sir Nick Faldo. The six-time major winner and three-time Masters champion talked on air about a sensational shot without saying McIlroy’s name and then CBS showed the shot on tape. Talk about ruining the electrifying moment.

 

*For the first time since the 1965 Masters no eagles were made at the par-5 15th. The hole was lengthened from 520 to 550 yards for this year’s tournament and the fairway recontoured. Of the four par-5 holes at Augusta National — the 15^th played the toughest.

*The Scheffler / Woods parallel. Scottie Scheffler won on his third attempt at the Masters — the same as Woods who won his first green jacket 25 years ago in 1997. The win also gave Scheffler his fourth PGA Tour win — the same number Woods achieved with his inaugural Masters win.

*The stingiest hole at Augusta National was the 11th. Only nine birdies made for the tournament and only one came during the final round when Cameron Smith sunk a 15-foot putt. The hole also had the highest overall scoring average – 4.47.

 

*The man carrying the clubs for Scottie Scheffler — Ted Scott — joins a select club in having been on the bag for two different Masters champions. Scott previously caddied for 15 years for two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson. The other caddie with two different players with wins at Augusta is Steve Williams who handled the bag for three of the five Tiger Woods wins and for Adam Scott in 2013.

*What a difference a day makes. The 3^rd round was impacted by blustery wind conditions and unseasonably cool temperatures resulting in a stroke average of 74.57. The fourth round was played with less wind and temperatures that crossed 70 degrees. The scoring average reflected that with a 72.40 average.

 

86^th Masters / 4th round scores
Augusta National Golf Club

Pos.	Player	To Par	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	Scottie Scheffler	-10	69	67	71	71	278
2	Rory McIlroy	-7	73	73	71	64	281
T3	Shane Lowry	-5	73	68	73	69	283
T3	Cameron Smith	-5	68	74	68	73	283
5	Collin Morikawa	-4	73	70	74	67	284
T6	Will Zalatoris	-3	71	72	75	67	285
T6	Corey Conners	-3	70	73	72	70	285
T8	Justin Thomas	-1	76	67	72	72	287
T8	Sungjae Im	-1	67	74	71	75	287
T10	Cameron Champ	Par	72	75	71	70	288
T10	Charl Schwartzel	Par	72	69	73	74	288
T12	Dustin Johnson	+1	69	73	75	72	289
T12	Danny Willett	+1	69	74	73	73	289
T14	Kevin Na	+2	71	71	79	69	290
T14	Matthew Fitzpatrick	+2	71	73	76	70	290
T14	Min Woo Lee	+2	73	75	72	70	290
T14	Harry Higgs	+2	71	75	73	71	290
T14	Lee Westwood	+2	72	74	73	71	290
T14	Talor Gooch	+2	72	74	73	71	290
T14	Hideki Matsuyama	+2	72	69	77	72	290
T14	Tommy Fleetwood	+2	75	72	70	73	290
T14	Jason Kokrak	+2	70	76	71	73	290
T23	Robert MacIntyre	+3	73	73	76	69	291
T23	Harold Varner III	+3	71	71	80	69	291
T23	Sergio Garcia	+3	72	74	74	71	291
T23	J.J. Spaun	+3	74	70	75	72	291
T27	Jon Rahm	+4	74	72	77	69	292
T27	Seamus Power	+4	74	74	74	70	292
T27	Viktor Hovland	+4	72	76	71	73	292
T30	Russell Henley	+5	73	74	76	70	293
T30	Sepp Straka	+5	74	72	76	71	293
T30	Lucas Glover	+5	72	76	72	73	293
T30	Hudson Swafford	+5	77	69	73	74	293
T30	Marc Leishman	+5	73	75	71	74	293
T35	Joaquin Niemann	+6	69	74	77	74	294
T35	Tony Finau	+6	71	75	74	74	294
T35	Patrick Reed	+6	74	73	73	74	294
T35	Webb Simpson	+6	71	74	73	76	294
T39	Patrick Cantlay	+7	70	75	79	71	295
T39	Bubba Watson	+7	73	73	78	71	295
T39	Tom Hoge	+7	73	74	75	73	295
T39	Si Woo Kim	+7	76	70	73	76	295
43	Billy Horschel	+8	74	73	79	70	296
T44	Christiaan Bezuidenhout	+9	73	71	77	76	297
T44	Kevin Kisner	+9	75	70	75	77	297
46	Cameron Davis	+12	75	73	79	73	300
47	Tiger Woods	+13	71	74	78	78	301
T48	Adam Scott	+14	74	74	80	74	302
T48	Max Homa	+14	74	73	77	78	302
T50	Mackenzie Hughes	+15	73	75	77	78	303
T50	Daniel Berger	+15	71	75	77	80	303
52	Tyrrell Hatton	+17	72	74	79	80	305
CUT	Takumi Kanaya	+5	75	74			149
CUT	Sam Burns	+5	75	74			149
CUT	Padraig Harrington	+5	74	75			149
CUT	Kyoung-Hoon Lee	+5	74	75			149
CUT	Brian Harman	+5	74	75			149
CUT	Zach Johnson	+5	74	75			149
CUT	Lucas Herbert	+6	74	76			150
CUT	Jordan Spieth	+6	74	76			150
CUT	Brooks Koepka	+6	75	75			150
CUT	Mike Weir	+6	74	76			150
CUT	Ryan Palmer	+6	75	75			150
CUT	Keita Nakajima (a)	+7	72	79			151
CUT	Abraham Ancer	+7	72	79			151
CUT	Xander Schauffele	+7	74	77			151
CUT	Austin Greaser (a)	+7	74	77			151
CUT	Stewart Cink	+7	76	75			151
CUT	Erik van Rooyen	+8	73	79			152
CUT	Bernhard Langer	+8	76	76			152
CUT	Justin Rose	+8	76	76			152
CUT	Gary Woodland	+8	75	77			152
CUT	Francesco Molinari	+8	78	74			152
CUT	Guido Migliozzi	+8	75	77			152
CUT	Luke List	+8	77	75			152
CUT	Fred Couples	+10	75	79			154
CUT	Cameron Young	+10	77	77			154
CUT	Larry Mize	+11	77	78			155
CUT	Garrick Higgo	+11	72	83			155
CUT	Aaron Jarvis (a)	+11	81	74			155
CUT	James Piot (a)	+11	81	74			155
CUT	Bryson DeChambeau	+12	76	80			156
CUT	Sandy Lyle	+14	82	76			158
CUT	Vijay Singh	+14	78	80			158
CUT	Thomas Pieters	+15	79	80			159
CUT	Matthew Wolff	+15	81	78			159
CUT	Stewart Hagestad (a)	+16	79	81			160
CUT	Jose Maria Olazabal	+17	77	84			161
CUT	Laird Shepherd (a)	+22	81	85			166
W/D	Louis Oosthuizen		76				76