Scottie was chased by a Tiger but left it in the Lord’s hands
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER thanked Tiger Woods and the Lord for his Masters triumph after admitting he “cried like a baby” before the final round.
On the 25th anniversary of his fellow-American Woods’ first Augusta victory, world No.1 Scheffler continued his dominant form by winning his first Major by three shots on Sunday.
The 25-year-old has now won four times in the past eight weeks, starting with his maiden PGA Tour win in February.
He led The Masters from Friday evening and proved a strong Sunday front-runner like Woods, right, in his prime. He was the only player to break par in every round. He said he was inspired by Woods’ remarkable comeback here.
“I played Tiger’s irons, wore his shoes, wore his shirt this week,” said Texan Scheffler. “Tiger on the golf course is just ridiculous. He’s done so much for the game. We’re so glad to have him back.
“He’s the needle for the game of golf. He has completely changed the PGA Tour and his YouTube clips are such an inspiration for me.
“I remember watching the highlights of him winning in ‘97, kind of running away with it, and he never really broke concentration. That’s something that I reminded myself of. I tried not to look up.
“I tried to keep my head down and just keep doing what I was doing because I didn’t want to break my concentration.
“The minute I did was on the 18th green and I had a five-shot lead and was like, ‘All right, now I can enjoy this’. Thank you, Tiger.” Scheffler revealed his cool exterior was in contrast to the upset stomach – and imposter syndrome – he suffered before his final round until a pep talk from his wife Meredith Scudder.
The new champion, who met his caddie Ted Scott at bible school, said: “I cried like a baby, I was so stressed out. I didn’t know what to do. I was sitting there telling Meredith, ‘I don’t think I’m ready for this. I’m not ready, I don’t feel like I’m ready for this kind of stuff’. I just felt overwhelmed.
“She told me, ‘Who are you to say you’re not ready?’ Who am I to say that I know what’s best for my life? And so what we talked about is that God is in control, that the Lord is leading me and if today is my time, it’s my time. And if I shot 82, somehow I was going to use it for his glory.”