Best actor Scheffler shines on the biggest stage of all
Amid Augusta’s magic, champ Scottie has his lines off to a tee...
SUNLIGHT glistened off the putter held by Ted Scott, caddie of Scottie Scheffler, on the 18th hole at Augusta National on Sunday afternoon.
The patrons applauded, Scheffler chipped his ball to two feet and the world number one holed out to win his second Masters. It was comfortable in the end. It’s a good time to be Scottie Scheffler, whose wife Meredith will soon give birth to their first child.
A final-round 68 brought the 27-year-old American to 11 under par, giving him a four-shot win over Swedish rookie Ludvig Aberg.
There was a moment between the ninth and tenth holes when Scheffler and his playing partner Collin Morikawa walked through the rope line, with cheering patrons on either side. A CBS cameraman moved backwards at pace. In the flesh, I felt a shiver because of what this was — major league television sport. A very big deal.
The back nine of a Masters Sunday is a history book of spellbinding moments, but Scheffler’s excellent play, control of his emotions and the mistakes of others at Amen Corner made his victory a procession.
All facets of Scheffler’s game were on — he hit 79 per cent of fairways, was third in the putting statistics and made 20 birdies for the week. His approaches on holes nine, 14 and 16 in the final round were pinpoint. His smooth putting helped him make six birdies in his last 10 holes, as Aberg and Morikawa both carded double bogeys after finding the pond on the 11th and Max Homa’s challenge ended with a double bogey on the 12th.
There are factors which have aided Scheffler’s ascent to the top of the game, with nine wins now since 2022. First of all, he’s a very talented golfer. He is a man of faith, and his faith grounds him to accept what may happen on a major Sunday.
He is also very competitive and hates losing, but he has learned to manage his emotions maturely on course and focus on the next shot.
And if Scheffler was the Best Actor on the Masters stage, Aberg won the Best Supporting Actor award for a stand-out display by a debutant not only at the Masters, but in a major championship full stop.
The 24-year-old’s rise in the sport has been phenomenal, a fast track from being the best amateur in the world to winning in the last year on both the DP World and PGA Tours and being on a successful European Ryder Cup team.
Aberg has the ability, but he also appears to have the disposition and it was noteworthy how much he referenced the guidance of his caddie, veteran Joe Skovron. Aberg appears to be going right to the summit.
We will have to wait another year at least for a maiden Irish winner of the Masters.
Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry could never get it going, finding the windy conditions of the first two days an impediment to their respective challenges. McIlroy tied for 22nd place and Lowry tied for 43rd.
McIlroy spoke about Scheffler and what it’s like to have ‘no clutter’ in one’s mind when winning comes easy, a place he will hope to return to. Lowry was disappointed in his scoring and for making silly mistakes, but he remains upbeat about the way he is playing. They will have other major opportunities at the US PGA at Valhalla in Kentucky in May, the US Open at Pinehurst in North Carolina in June and the Open Championship at Troon in Scotland in July.
As someone who watched Larry Mize chip in as an eightyear-old in 1987 and wanted to run into the television, the Masters didn’t let me down upon my exceptional fortune to make a first visit to this part of Georgia.
I was struck many times by the perfection and depth to the colour of the fairways, the green Bermuda grass overseeded with rye. The definition of Augusta is shaped by the fairways being mown from the greens back to the tees. The greens had many contours, requiring a delicate touch by the players.
America has a car culture and a customer service culture, and while the service at the Masters is top class, it’s the people you meet and share stories with who make the week. A ban on phones is a gateway for strangers to talk to one another on the course and I found the locals unfailingly polite and lacking in cynicism.
Yes, it’s hard to get to and expensive, but there are many people out there that can make the journey run more smoothly. In my case, the help of Simon Wakefield of The Golf Butlers and Peter Finnan of the Irish Golfer was invaluable.
People will be glad to assist you because they know how special this is. Everyone just loves being here. I really believe every golf fan and sports fan should try getting to Augusta National at least once, because it truly is a lifetime experience.