In professional golf, there’s Scottie Scheffler, and then there’s everybody else.
The No. 1 player in the world won his second Masters in three years on Sunday in Augusta, Ga., by firing a final-round 68 to finish the week at 11-under 271.
Six of Scheffler’s seven birdies came over his final 11 holes at Augusta National as he pulled away for a four-stroke win over Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, who posted a 69. Collin Morikawa struggled to a 74, tying Englishman Tommy Fleetwood (69) and Max Homa (73) for third at 4 under.
“I did my best to stay calm out there,” Scheffler said at the green jacket ceremony in Butler Cabin. “I tried to stay patient on the course and was able to make some key shots and key putts today to keep my round going. Ludvig played great today, he made a good move at me there on the back nine and I was fortunate to hold him off towards the end.”
Only Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Spaniard Seve Ballesteros were younger two-time Masters champions than Scheffler, 27.
It marks Scheffler’s second major victory and his 10th win on the PGA Tour in the past 26 months. In his past four starts on tour, Scheffler has won three tournaments and tied for second in the other.
Though no one is close to Scheffler’s dominance, Aberg continued his meteoric rise through the world of golf with a solo second in his first major start. The 24-year-old had yet to turn pro this time last year, but he’s now won on the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour, played for a victorious European Ryder Cup team and contended on Sunday at the Masters.
“This being my first major championship, you never really know what it’s going to be like until you’re there and experience it,” Aberg said. “I think this week has given me a lot of experiences and a lot of lessons learned in terms of those things. It makes me really hungry, and it makes me want to do it again and again.”
After a short birdie putt at No. 3, Scheffler suffered bogeys at Nos. 4 and 7 to drop to 6 under with Morikawa, whom he led by one after 54 holes. Aberg and Homa soon joined them for a four-way share of the lead, but Scheffler and Morikawa each birdied the par-5 eighth to sneak ahead to 7 under.
But after Scheffler’s approach at No. 9 spun back and narrowly missed the cup, setting up a birdie, each of his three competitors carded a double bogey to drop down the board. First was Morikawa, who failed to get out of a greenside bunker on his third shot at No. 9 before two-putting.
Aberg’s misstep came at the par-4 11th, where his approach landed well short of the green and hit the water hazard. And Homa went backward at the par-3 12th after his tee shot over the green bounced into bushes and forced him to take an unplayable lie.
Morikawa added a second double bogey at the 11th to tumble further out of the race. Like Aberg, his second shot found the water hazard.
“Greed got the best of me,” Morikawa said. “9, can’t miss it over there and can’t leave it in the bunker. 11, just tried to hit too perfect of a shot. It’s not like at that point I was trying to press. I knew where I stood.
“We put a lot of pieces of the puzzle together this week, but after watching Scottie this week, I know what to do if I really want to close this gap on what he’s doing and how impressive he’s playing.”
Scheffler made it three birdies in a row at No. 10, absorbed a missed par putt at No. 11 and rebounded with consecutive birdies at Nos. 13 and 14. The latter was the final nail in the coffin, as his approach shot landed on the green’s back ridge and slowly rolled to 2 feet of the cup.
Now Scheffler can return home to his wife, Meredith, who soon will deliver the couple’s first child.
“It’s a very special time for both of us,” Scheffler said. “I can’t put into words what it means to win this tournament again. I really can’t put into words what it’s going to be like to be a father for the first time. I’m looking forward to getting home and celebrating with Meredith. It’s been a long week here without her, but I’m just looking forward to getting home.”
–Field Level Media
