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AUGUSTA, Ga. — A victory on the 2024 Masters appeared inevitable for Scottie Scheffler.
The Texan has been ranked No. 1 on the earth for greater than 80 weeks throughout his brief profession. He’d received eight instances on the PGA Tour since February 2022, a stretch that noticed him change into the primary golfer ever to win the Gamers Championship in back-to-back years.
Scheffler is thought to be maybe golf’s finest ball-striker since Tiger Woods in his prime, and his magical fingers across the greens even have drawn comparability to you-know-who.
Till Sunday, Scheffler had just one main championship victory, the 2022 Masters, which could have been the one purpose anybody would doubt his standing as the sport’s subsequent generational star.
After coming into the ultimate spherical of the 88th Masters at Augusta Nationwide Golf Membership in a three-way tie for the lead, Scheffler ran away from the opposite contenders on the second 9 Sunday to win a second inexperienced jacket in three years.
Scheffler carded a 4-under 68 over the ultimate 18 holes to beat Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg by 4 strokes. Aberg, who was an novice at Texas Tech a yr in the past, was making an attempt to change into the primary golfer to win the Masters in his debut since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. Aberg posted a 3-under 69 within the ultimate spherical.
Max Homa, Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood tied for third at 4 below.
At 27, Scheffler turned the fourth-youngest golfer to win a number of inexperienced jackets — solely Jack Nicklaus (25 years, 81 days), Woods (25 years, 100 days) and Seve Ballesteros (26 years, 2 days) had been youthful.
Scheffler claimed his second Masters title in solely his fifth begin at Augusta Nationwide, which is the second fewest begins wanted within the match’s historical past. Horton Smith received two of the primary three Masters in 1934 and 1936.
Scheffler additionally turned solely the fifth golfer in Masters historical past to win a number of inexperienced jackets by 3 strokes or extra, becoming a member of Woods (1997 and 2002), Ballesteros (1980 and 1983), Nicklaus (1965 and 1972) and Sam Snead (1949 and 1952).
Up to now 35 days, Scheffler has received thrice towards elite fields on the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Gamers and now the Masters.
The ultimate two pairings of Aberg-Homa and Scheffler-Morikawa made their technique to “Amen Nook” (holes Nos. 11 to 13) shortly earlier than 5 p.m. ET. By the point they left, solely one in every of them — Scheffler — nonetheless had a prayer to win.
Aberg made the primary massive mistake when his sweeping shot from 216 yards went too far left and bounced right into a pond on the par-4 eleventh. He made double-bogey 6 and fell 4 pictures behind Scheffler.
A short time later, Morikawa hit his method shot from almost the identical spot as Aberg. He yelled, “Damnit,” after his ball took flight and watched it bounce into the pond. The consequence was his second double-bogey in three holes — he could not get out of a greenside bunker on No. 9 on his first strive — as he fell 5 pictures behind Scheffler.
Then, on the twelfth gap, the place swirling winds, a slim inexperienced and the intimidating Rae’s Creek have spoiled many Masters hopefuls’ goals through the years, Homa’s possibilities took a devastating blow. He did not hit a foul tee shot on the shortest par-3 on the course, however his ball leaped excessive off the sun-baked inexperienced and settled in vines on a financial institution.
After watching his ball bounce arduous off the inexperienced, Homa requested his caddie, Joe Greiner, “The place did it go?”
After a few minutes, Homa discovered it within the thick floor overlaying, however he needed to take an unplayable lie and a 1-stroke penalty. His chip shot acquired caught up within the fringe, and he two-putted for a double-bogey 5 to drop to five below.
Scheffler made a bogey of his personal on the eleventh when he missed the inexperienced, chipped to 9 ft and missed a par putt. Scheffler performed it safely on the twelfth and made par.
Scheffler ended any doubts about successful once more when he made back-to-back birdies on Nos. 13 and 14. On the par-5 thirteenth, he reached the inexperienced in two pictures and two-putted for a birdie to maneuver to 9 below. Then on the par-4 14th, he spun his method shot to a foot and tapped in to go to 10 below.
By then, Scheffler’s lead was 3 over Aberg and 5 over Homa and Morikawa.
He added one other birdie on the par-3 sixteenth, and what had appeared inevitable for thus lengthy was now actuality.
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