Scottie Scheffler wins Masters; Collin Morikawa, Max Homa finish top-5

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Scottie Scheffler had no doubts about this Masters, and no one was watching, either. He took the lead with magnificent shots Sunday on the turn and poured it down the back nine at Augusta National for a 4-under 68 to win his second green jacket in three years.

Scheffler is simply unstoppable at the moment, and he had help from a group of hesitant suitors to make it look easier than it was.

Much like Tiger Woods, he made the outcome inevitable with sublime control, the difference being a peach shirt instead of the Sunday red, and no punches until the end.

After sharing hugs with cadets Ted Scott and Collin Morikawa, Scheffler turned to the crowd with both arms raised. “WOOOOOO!” » he shouted, banging his fist.

Scheffler won by three strokes in 2022 with a meaningless four-putt on the final hole. There was no drama this time either.

No climb in golf is sweeter than toward the 18th green at Augusta National, thousands of spectators rising at every step to salute the game’s best player. Scheffler holed a 3-foot par putt for a victory of four shots over Masters newcomer Ludvig Aberg of Sweden, who did his best to make it a battle.

Aberg, among four players who had a share of the lead at one point, lost ground with his approach, entered the pond left of the 11th hole and made a double bogey. Facing a player like Scheffler, these mistakes are not easy to overcome.

Aberg closed with a 69 and was second.

Morikawa, who had two double bogeys out of the chase, shot 74 and tied for third with Tommy Fleetwood (69) and compatriot Max Homa (73), whose hopes ended on the par-3 12th with a double bogey from the bushes, not Rae’s Creek.

Scheffler, 27, is the fourth youngest player to own two green jackets. He extends his lead at world No. 1 to levels not seen since Woods’ heyday.

Scheffler now has three wins against the strongest fields – Bay Hill, The Players Championship and Masters – in his last four starts. The other was a second-place finish in Houston.

Woods closed with a 77 and finished at 16-over 304, the highest 72-hole score of his career.

Scheffler said he was in tears before the final round in 2022, when he had a three-shot lead going into his first major tournament. His wife, Meredith, spoke reassuring words to him and he sailed to victory. His wife had to watch this one from home in Dallas, where she is expecting the couple’s first child at the end of the month.

Scheffler finished at 11-under 277 and earned $3.6 million from the $20 million purse, bringing his PGA Tour season total to more than $15 million in just nine tournaments.

Perhaps even more daunting for the rest of golf is that Scheffler has yet to shoot an over-par round this year. He has 10 victories worldwide since his first PGA Tour title at the Phoenix Open just two years and two months ago.

During that span, Scheffler finished in the top 10 65 percent of the time.

Scheffler walked toward the end zone alone with his wife. His two sisters, Sara and Molly, were the first to greet him, followed by his parents and Randy Smith, the only coach he ever had.

It was the fourth consecutive Masters when the winner arrived at the 18th green with one arm in the green jacket. This is not to say that Sunday was a walk in the most beautiful garden in golf.

Four players shared the lead at different points on the front nine, then Scheffler began to assert himself with three consecutive birdies around the turn.

He was up and down with a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-5 eighth. He hit the perfect wedge that caught the crest and came within inches of No. 9, leaving him with a birdie. And then he holed another 10-foot birdie putt on the 10th to build a two-shot lead.

And then, like Woods’ best days, he let everyone put up big numbers.

In the group ahead, Aberg’s approach to the 11th hit the bank and fell into the water, leading to a double bogey.

Homa made a tough par on the 11th, only to hit it so long on the par-3 12th that the golf ball dove deep into the bushes and left him with no choice but to take a penalty. His chip didn’t reach the green, and two putts later he made a double bogey.

Morikawa had already started to slide as he fired two shots out of a deep bunker to the left of the ninth green for double bogey. He almost sealed his fate with a shot into the water on the 11th and suffered a double bogey.

Aberg was the only one to fight back, and Scheffler continued to respond with birdies. He reached the 13th green in two and two-putts for birdie. His approach to the 14th hit the slope toward the back and rolled to within a foot of the hairpin.

His final birdie came from just shy of 10 feet on the 16th.