THE MASTERS
MASTERSTROKE
World No 1 Scottie Scheffler won The Masters in convincing fashion, and undoubtedly won over a few more fans in the process. Brendan Barratt
It’s disconcertingly difficult to dislike Scottie Scheffler. I’ve tried. Yet much like the man’s golf game, there’s very little about him that stands out as an obvious flaw.
For me there’s the lingering memory that, two years ago, Scottie held off a late charge by Rory McIlroy to win The Masters and deny the Northern Irishman a Grand Slam. Enough to fire up the Rory fans – this writer included – but hardly a fireable offence.
How about the fact he has the appearance of a man in his mid-forties when he’s really only 27? Well, I guess you can’t help nature, can you?
In fact, the main criticism the world No 1 endures is that he seems to lack on- and off-course charisma. That he could do with a few more fist pumps or club tosses to indicate his passion for the sport. Or make a few more calamitous mistakes.
Yet Scheffler’s “slow poison” game is precisely what makes him so successful. Shot after shot, hole after hole and round after round, he makes the right decision and executes the shot as planned. He’s relentless, with a near-perfect blend of precision iron play and smart course management.
WHAT’S IN THE BAG
The clubs Scheffler used to record his second Masters win.
WHAT’S IN THE BAG
The clubs Scheffler used to record his second Masters win.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (8deg)
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15deg)
Irons: Srixon ZU85 (3, 4) and TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (50-12F, 56-14F), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-T)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Scheffler’s “slow poison” game is precisely what makes him so successful. Shot after shot, hole after hole and round after round, he makes the right decision and executes the shot as planned
As one of the best ball strikers on Tour, it’s no surprise that Scheffler heads the Strokes Gained categories – for Tee to Green and Approach Shots – by some distance. Arguably the only thing that keeps him from winning every week is a putter that does not always seem to follow instructions. I guess you can’t have it all.
Scheffler’s remarkable run of form has netted him nine PGA Tour titles in the past two years. Not just any old titles either – two Masters, two Players Championships, two Arnold Palmer Invitationals, two Waste Management Phoenix Opens and a WGC Match Play. Not bad for a guy who, fewer than five years ago, was plying his trade on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Going into this year’s Masters, Scheffler was heavily favoured to win. The world No 1 had been on a heater run, claiming two wins in consecutive weeks leading up to the year’s first Major and there was a feeling that even with his B game, Scheffler was still the outright favourite.
Not that his B game was anywhere near Augusta.
I'm just me, I'm not trying to be anybody else or do anything crazy. I'm just trying to be the best I can be and that's all I'm focused on
– Scottie Scheffler
Gallery below
In 35 rounds of golf this year, the American’s worst score is 72 – and that came during the second round of the this year’s Masters, when the wind was gusting and other players were posting rounds in the 80s.
The last time Scottie Scheffler shot a competitive round over par? August last year.
Yet there was a brief moment on Masters Sunday where he allowed others to dream.
Early in the final round, Americans Collin Morikawa and Max Homa, together with rookie Ludvig Åberg, had all claimed a share of the lead. For a while, it looked as though we’d be getting an epic Masters back-nine showdown.
Then Scheffler hit them with the sucker punch combination. He followed a birdie on the par-five 8th with a tap-in birdie on the 9th and completed the hat-trick with another birdie on the par-four 10th hole. Suddenly he was clear of the chasing pack and in the perfect position to apply his slow poison.
Shot after shot, hole after hole.
As others fell, perhaps trying too hard to catch the leader, Scheffler did his own thing, finding the middle of the fairways and the fat parts of the greens.
In it’s own way, it was a thing of beauty.
After signing for a four-stroke victory and wrapped in a second Green Jacket in three years, the ever-humble Scheffler wouldn’t even allow himself to ponder his place in golfing history or what possibilities lay ahead.
“I don't really think about that kind of stuff, I'm just me, I'm not trying to be anybody else or do anything crazy,” he said. “I'm just trying to be the best I can be and that's all I'm focused on.
“I'll let you all decide that stuff at the end of my career, but at the end of the day I'm just trying to come out here and compete, have fun and go live the rest of my life outside the course.
“Days like today, it's really fun to be in my shoes. Other days, it’s not so fun. I think we all go through the ups and downs of life and golf is a really challenging sport, so I'm trying to get better at soaking in the good times when they're here.”
That’s pretty good advice for the rest of us golfers to follow, whether we are gunning for a Green Jacket or playing a weekend round with our mates.
BY THE NUMBERS
Five key figures from the 2024 Masters.
BY THE NUMBERS
Five key figures from the 2024 Masters.
2 Scottie Scheffler won his second Major Championship and with it his second Green Jacket, two years on from his first at Augusta National.
1 Neal Shipley was the only amateur to make the cut, capping his week by playing alongside Tiger Woods in the final round.
4 Ludvig Aberg is just the fourth Masters rookie since Fuzzy Zoeller’s win in 1979 to finish solo second.
24 Woods made his 24th consecutive cut at The Masters, surpassing the mark he previously shared with Gary Player and Fred Couples.
3 Scheffler sealed his third win in just over a month after his closing four-under 68 lifted him to 11 under overall.
2024 MAJORS preview
men
THE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
16-19 May,
Valhalla GC, Louisville, Kentucky
Defending champion:
Brooks Koepka
2023 wrap: Koepka clinched his fifth Major title after shooting a three-under 67 in the final round at Oak Hill to win the 105th PGA Championship by two strokes over Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler.
2023 winner’s purse:
$3.24-million
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US OPEN
13-16 June,
Pinehurst Resort & Country Club (Course No 2), North Carolina
Defending champion:
Wyndham Clark
2023 wrap: Clark edged out Rory McIlroy in a nail-biting finale at Los Angeles Country Club. The American, who had just one win on the PGA Tour, carded a closing round even-par 70 to finish 10 under overall and win the 123rd edition of the Major by a single stroke.
2023 winner’s purse:
$3.6-million
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THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
18-21 July,
Royal Troon, Ayrshire, Scotland
Defending champion:
Brian Harman
2023 wrap: Harman withstood the weather challenges to lift the Claret Jug, finishing six shots ahead of Jason Day, Sepp Straka, Tom Kim and Jon Rahm. The American shot a one-under-par 70 in the final round to win his first Major on 13 under par overall.
2023 winner’s purse:
$3-million
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women
CHEVRON CHAMPIONSHIP
18-21 April,
The Club at Carlton Woods, Texas
Defending champion:
Lilia Vu
2023 wrap: Vu became the first winner of the Chevron Championship at the Major’s new home, The Club at Carlton Woods outside Houston. The American made birdie in the first sudden-death playoff hole to top Angel Yin for her debut Major title.
2023 winner’s purse:
$765 000
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US WOMEN’S OPEN
30 May-2 June,
Lancaster CC, Pennsylvania
Defending champion:
Allisen Corpuz
2023 wrap: Corpuz carded a final-round three-under-par 69 to register a three-stroke victory over Charley Hull and Jiyai Shin at the iconic Pebble Beach Golf Links. It was the first Major title for the 25-year-old.
2023 winner’s purse:
$2-million
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KPMG WOMEN’S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
20-23 June,
Sahalee CC, Washington
Defending champion:
Ruoning Yin
2023 wrap: With a birdie on the par-five 18th hole on the Lower Course at Baltusrol Golf Club, Yin closed out a bogey-free four-under 67 to reach eight-under 276 and defeat Yuka Saso by one shot.
2023 winner’s purse:
$1.5-million
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AMUNDI EVIAN CHAMPIONSHIP
11-14 July, Evian Resort GC
Defending champion: Celine Boutier
2023 wrap: Boutier had the solo lead through 54 holes and went on to record a comprehensive six-shot victory with a closing 68. Her fourth LPGA Tour title and first Major victory was cheered on by a massive home crowd.
2023 winner’s purse: $1-million
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AIG WOMEN’S OPEN
22-25 August, Old Course St Andrews, Scotland
Defending champion: Lila Vu
2023 wrap: It was a dominant performance from Vu on the final day at Walton Heath Golf Club as she fired a five-under 67 to win by a whopping six shots and capture her third LPGA Tour title and second Major of the 2023 season.
2023 winner’s purse: $1.35-million
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ERIK S LESSER/JOHN G MABANGLO/CAROLINE BREHMAN/DAVID DAVIES/PA WIRE/EPA/BACKPAGEPIX/THE MASTERS/CHRIS KEANE/RUSSELL KIRK/USGA/R&A/GETTY IMAGES/TRISTAN JONES/MARK RUNNACLES/LET/SUPPLIED/ROLEX/AUGUSTA NATIONAL