Scottie Scheffler Wins 2024 Masters for Meredith & His Child; LIV Golfers Denied Happy Ending In Brutal Fashion
It took Scottie Scheffler only twenty rounds to don the green jacket twice. Only Horton Smith took less than the eight-time PGA Tour winner. The four-stroke victory made him the fourth youngest multiple Masters champion. With a final round score of 4-under 68, Scottie Scheffler also became the only golfer since Tiger Woods to win both THE PLAYERS Championship and the Masters Trophy in the same season.
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 14, 2024
The 27-year-old stepped on the gas after carding his second bogey on the first nine. Scottie Scheffler made three consecutive birdies to separate himself from the pack. At par 4, 11th Scheffler stumbled for a moment before quickly recovering with a par save on the 12th, and eventually closing the Amen’s Corner with a birdie.
This was Scheffler’s seventh straight top-five this year and his third title in four weeks. The world No. 1 was the overwhelming favorite entering Augusta National with the lowest odds since Tiger Woods. Scheffler also became the first golfer since Tiger Woods to win multiple Masters as the first reigning World No. 1 and the first since Dustin Johnson to don the Green Jacket as the current World No. 1. At one point, it appeared only his wife, Meredith, going into labor would alter the Masters’ fate.
Scheffler, before resting his head on the pillow with the overnight lead, reasserted that the plans remain the same: to pull out if the news of Meredith going into labor reaches him. It’s not that golf comes later. It’s just that Scheffler was sure he would be back at the Masters many times. As a past champion, he has a lifetime exemption, yes. The show he put up at Augusta was enough to ensure that Scheffler must return to par 72, 7555-yard layout time and again.
All eyes on Scottie. pic.twitter.com/lAVtXOvmGN
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 14, 2024
“I hadn’t hit many good iron shots,” the two-time Masters champion said while analyzing his round from the Butler’s cabin. He was right. Had his elite iron game been at Augusta, the margin would’ve been wider. Scheffler was way behind the field in both Strokes Gained: Approach to Green, and Strokes Gained: Around the Green.
However, none of that mattered as his putter turned hot whenever someone came between himself and the second Green Jacket. The 27-year-old though was seriously challenged not by his playing mater, but rather by a Swedish rookie who subjected the world No.1 to a Ryder Cup dressing down a few months back.
Ludvig Aberg went bogey-free in the first nine, extending that streak to the par-4, 10th as well. However, he entered Amen’s Corner with an errant tee shot that landed straight into the water. Aberg eventually carded a double bogey. Aberg, though, was seemingly nonchalant, exiting Amen’s Corner with a par-save and a birdie. The Swede oozed flamboyance and confidence munching sandwiches on his way to card 7-under 69 for a solo second.
On the other hand, Max Homa, who wanted to bring his inner dog on Sunday, suffered at par 3, 12th, carding a double bogey after his ball was lost in the vegetation. Collin Morikawa, Scheffler’s final round playing mate, made his second double-bogey at the White Dogwood, hitting exactly where Aberg shot his tee shot minutes ago. That effectively put Scheffler on a solo ride at the top.
Bryson DeChambeau, the 18-hole leader, failed to rise up to the occasion, as well. What the 30-year-old needed birdies to erase the gap created by his 3-over 75 on Friday. The LIV Golf Pro, however, was on a par streak that didn’t help his title bid. DeChambeau bested his low amateur record with a T6, however.
The 88th Masters was a mix of welcome and distressing surprises
Tommy Fleetwood, after a late charge, posted a bogey-free 3-under 69. His Ryder Cup teammate, and defending champion, Jon Rahm, failed to break par in the fourth round as well. The Spaniard tied for 45 with two former Masters champions, Danny Willet, and Jose Maria Olazabal. Last year’s 54-hole leader, Brooks Koepka, too, tied for the 45th spot.
Low-amateur Neal Shipley carded 12-over, tying for the 53rd spot, seven places ahead of his final-round playing mate, Tiger Woods. The five-time Masters champion, after a wild moving day that saw him post his worst major round at 10-over 82, made a slight turn for the better. Tiger Woods carded 5-over 77 on the final round and settled for the 60th spot on the leaderboard, the last among the players to make the cut. Woods, notably, became the first player in history to make 24 consecutive cuts at the Masters.
On a side note, with Scheffler’s second triumph at Augusta, Ted Scott, his caddie, has more Masters triumphs than the man himself. Scott was looping for Bubba Watson in both of his Masters triumphs.
