AUGUSTA, Ga. — Scottie Scheffler has staked his claim as the No. 1 player in the world for three years. On Sunday, Scheffler declared himself the dominant force of his time.
Scheffler, 27, topped the star-studded leaderboard at the Masters by four strokes to win his second green jacket in three years. He becomes the fourth young golfer to win the Masters twice, joining Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros and Tiger Woods. He joins Nicklaus and Woods to win the Players Championship twice and become the only three players to win the green jacket twice.
For a moment on a picture-perfect Sunday afternoon at Augusta National, it looked like the greatest race in Masters Championship history was taking shape. The four players playing in the final two groups (Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa, and Ludwig Oberg) were tied at 6 under for the front nine at one point.
But then Scheffler, who shot a 68 in the final round, put his foot down and everyone else stepped out of the way.
As he stood on the fairway of the ninth hole, Scheffler hit a shot so great that it could become part of Masters lore. From 89 yards out, he hit the shot just above the flagpole and watched as it spun back to 6 inches. . He was a foot away from the hole when an eagle appeared to tumble in, and patrons were jumping up from their chairs in anticipation. He “made” a birdie and took the lead at 8 under.
Scheffler birdied the par-4 10th, the hole where he made double bogey on Saturday, to take a two-shot lead over Homa and Oberg.
Morikawa, who was playing with Scheffler, was the first to drop out of contention. He made a double bogey on the 9th hole, a par on the 10th hole, and put his second shot into the water on the 11th, expressing his frustration as he watched the Masters slip out of his hands with his second double bogey. Diverged.
Oberg was next, but he also hit the water on Augusta National's dangerous 11th hole and made a double bogey, falling to four strokes behind Scheffler.
Finally, it's Homa, and it's still out of Scheffler's reach until his tee shot on the par-3 12th flies off the green and takes an awkward bounce onto the back mountain, earning Homa an unplayable lie penalty. I was there. He suffered a double bogey due to a chip error, and even after Scheffler made bogey on No. 11, his second shot of the day, he was still three strokes behind.
From there, it became clear there was only one hole left, and Scheffler added birdies on the 13th, 14th, and 16th holes and continued to chase the rest of the field in a desperate chase. Oberg finished second (7-under) in his first Masters appearance, followed by Morikawa, Homa and Tommy Fleetwood (tied at 4-under).
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Two years ago, Scottie Scheffler held a three-shot lead on the morning of the Masters when he broke down in tears in the arms of his wife, Meredith, telling her he wasn't ready for what was to come. There he was. He was not with Meredith this week as she remained at home in Dallas awaiting the birth of her first child, but he is present. Scheffler had promised to withdraw from the tournament if he went into labor (he is due later this month). It wasn't necessary. Nothing was going to stop him from winning this Masters.
He currently has nine wins in two majors on the PGA Tour, compiling a resume of unparalleled excellence over the past decade. Those nine wins include two Masters, two Players Championships, two Arnold Palmers Invitationals, two Phoenix Opens, and one WGC Match Play victory. But perhaps even more telling is Scheffler's unprecedented consistency. He played in 15 major league games as a tour player, finishing in the top 25 in all but one. He finished in the top 10 in 10 of those times. The last time he finished outside of the top 31 in a pro tournament was in October 2022.
Scheffler has been world No. 1 for 83 of the past 107 weeks, and Sunday's win further strengthened his belief that no one will be able to reach him anytime soon. The only question left for Scheffler was whether he could stabilize his putting to ensure he added more majors and the trophy room commensurate with his special level. He has now won four consecutive tournaments, including The Players, Arnold Palmer, and Masters as a 4-1 favorite.
Suddenly, the question isn't whether Scheffler can truly act like golf's biggest star. It's up to someone to stop him.
(photograph: (Andrew Reddington/via Getty Images)