Scottie Scheffler got off to a very human start and an even more human finish at the 86th Masters on Sunday.
But in between, the world’s No. 1 player was simply sensational, ice-water cool and clutch when he needed to be on his way to winning that coveted Green Jacket at the Augusta National Golf Club.
Scheffler went to the first tee on a picture-perfect afternoon with a three-shot lead over gritty little Cameron Smith but after a bogey-bogey start and a wild drive at the short third hole — things were looking very, very shaky for the big Texan. A pair of birdies on the first two holes by Smith cut the lead to a single shot but in an amazing sequence of events, Scheffler totally flipped the script at the third green and began his march to the championship.
After getting relief from the scoreboard left of the green where his big-hook tee shot ended up, Scheffler’s second came up short and bogey came into the equation. With the door open to square things up, Smith’s second also came up short. It was then that Scheffler produced his most significant shot of the round. He pitched in for birdie, then watched Smith hit a poor pitch and two-putt for bogey. The lead was back to three then it grew to four when Scheffler scrambled for par while Smith missed from seven feet at the par three fourth and made a second straight bogey.
The lead was back to four and Scheffler began to play like the world’s No. 1.
“Number three, I was surprised,” Scheffler said of his pitch that found the hole. “It changed the complexion of the day. I just tried to keep my head down and execute shots. I took care of my stuff and played good, solid golf.”
It was very good and very solid. A birdie at the seventh got him to 11-under and he took that four shot lead to the final nine — where anything can and has happened over the years. All sorts of craziness and there was exactly that.
Both Scheffler and Smith bogeyed the 10th. Both made pars at 11.
Then came the 12th — and Rae’s Creek — where many a hopeful has drowned their Green Jacket hopes. Smith joined the body count.
Scheffler played too safe — way left, off the green with the pin in that tempting but treacherous Sunday far right position. Smith went after it with a nine-iron. He swiped it and it had no chance — it dunked in the water without even hitting the shaved bank. He’d end up with a triple-bogey six and his Masters hopes were somewhere in the bottom of Rae’s Creek.
“A poor shot on 12 and there’s the tournament,” Smith lamented later after Scheffler’s victory. “A perfect nine-iron (160 yards) just a really bad swing. I’ve played some of my best golf around here — just not quite my time yet.”
It was Scheffler’s time as he bore down with par at 13 then back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15 that took him to 12-under par and seven clear of Rory McIlroy — who had gone around Augusta National in 64 shots — his best-ever performance and posted seven-under.
Scheffler kept his ball dry and made par at 16 then scrambled for a wonderful four at 17, His drive at 18 was a bit right but he hit yet another nice iron shot safely on the green, 40 feet above the hole.
Then came his very human moment to finish the victory.
His first putt finished four feet past the hole. No worries. His par putt went three feet past the hole. No worries. His bogey putt went two feet past the hole. No worries. He got his fourth putt at the 72nd hole in the bottom of the hole to close a sensational week.
For the record, his rounds were 68-67-71-71. Ten-under par and three clear of McIlroy despite the closing four-putt.
Scheffler was smiling and humble as 2021 champion Hideki Matsuyama slipped the Green Jacket on Scheffler. The Japanese star had a bit of a struggle getting it on the taller Scheffler.
“I’m pretty tired — I wanna go home and celebrate. I want to thank my family,” the new champion said.
And all the family was there. He went through about 14 hugs as he came off the 72nd green and made his way to the scoring room.
You can bet more hugs are coming when he gets home.
One Comment
baxter cepeda
I got Tigers comeback prediction right but toms on a roll thanks to riding Scottie picks.
Scottie Sheffler is an animal. What can we say at this point?
I’m starting to lose track of all the wins. I’m beginning to wonder if he is ever going to lose.
That being said he did almost lose it a few times.
On the back 9 Saturday he made a lot of bogeys but it could have been worse. He narrowly avoided that bunker and a sure bogey on 17 Saturday before averting double or worse on 18. To his credit he handled that potential disaster like a champ.
Sunday hole 3 was huge. The game was on by then thanks to Cams great start. And Scotties tee ball at 3 coulda been much worse. Instead he got a free drop and then a miracle chip in for birdie while Cam Smith made that untimely bogey.
A lot of other things happened but The next memorable moment obviously is 12. It’s always 12.
3 back at that point, Cam now has one clear shot he wishes he could take back.
How many times do we have to see that same scenario play out at 12?
I guess endless times. It’s what makes it the best par 3 in the whole wide world.
Rory.
Glad to see him so happy. Saying things like only the best player beat me. Really a bunch of players beat him, but they were in the actual game, playing to win, not already beaten and freewheeling themselves to a top 10 and “move on” scenario like Rory.
Rory got his top 10 and then some, but they still don’t give jackets to second. They don’t give champions dinners invites for seconds. No come back to the Masters forever if your second. No honorary starters for seconds.
Second is still first loser.
Which brings us back to Tiger, as all roads in golf always lead back to Tiger. Tiger had a successful week, no doubt.
Yes, the more his chances to win dropped the more he limped, but Tiger looked like a guy whom could win if not for all that nasty rust. He will continue getting stronger. As he mentioned he has had to wait patiently to heal before starting his straight building. He felt pain this week but he also got a lot stronger this week. He made a lot of progress.
This begs the question:
can Tiger win “the big ones” sans playing some not so big ones in between?
I for one feel tigers odds increase significantly if he not only plays, but plays well, in between the big ones.
Sure hogan did some amazing things back in the black and white tv days only playing the big ones. But just like Golf coverage has come a long way since then, especially at the masters with the highest definition covering literally every shot; golfers as a whole have also come a long way.
Tiger needs to be sharper— than Hogan was in his day — to win majors.
Tiger needs to be able to play a minimum of 4-8 other tournaments to help him win majors.
I do think he will be at Southern Hills. But what about before that?
He obviously won’t play at Hilton head, although like Waialae it could be a great track for this version of Tiger. He probably won’t play the team event at Zurich; not even with JT. Maybe Charlie. He likely won’t go to Mexico either.
The best and only option is the Wells Fargo which is in MD this year. Then he would take the Byron Nelson week off before heading to southern hills.
Rory will likely ride his Sunday momentum to a win soon. But Rory didn’t win the masters because he didn’t build much momentum before the tournament.
On that note another prediction I got right is that Rory would start slow before getting better and better but ending up short. I literally predicted all that, but then again that is pretty predictable at this point…just like Scottie Sheffler winning.