SCOTT IT ALL
World No.1 can live up to billing as favourite
WORLD No.1 Scottie Scheffler is the hottest favourite to win The Masters since peak Tiger after showing Woods-like consistency this season.
But the God-fearing Texan is certainly nothing like his fellow American off the course.
“I’m a faithful guy,” said the 2022 champion.“I believe in a creator. I believe in Jesus. Ultimately, I think that’s what defines me the most.”
If the build-up to Augusta last year was all about how LIV stars would perform back in the Majors, the big question this time is who can stop Scheffler.
The 27-year-old is the shortest-priced favourite here since Woods in 2011 after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship, before finishing tied second at Houston.
Players
Ian Woosnam, one of only five players to win here while topping the rankings, said:“I became world
No.1 on the Monday and won the following Sunday. It was quite a week.
“Scheffler will have even more momentum this year. He is rightly the hot favourite and the man to beat.”
Scheffler won his first Major here two years ago after claiming three wins in his previous five PGA starts.
He is imperious from tee to green but has struggled with the putter.
He finished 53rd for putting out of the 53 players who made the cut last year. But when he putts well, he wins.
He has now won eight times in 26 months to open up a big lead at the top of the world rankings. But Scheffler is too modest to contemplate world domination.
“I try not to look too far into the future,” he said. “Hopefully
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I’ll be out here competing for a long, long time, but life throws crazy stuff at you sometimes.”
His beloved wife Meredith is about to give birth, while Scheffler carries the heavy weight of being favourite.
Anticipation
Sky Sports analyst Butch Harmon said: “He’s never come into The Masters with all of this anticipation on his shoulders as the No.1 player in the world, the hottest player in the world. We will see right away on Thursday how he handles it with the kind of start he gets off to.”
Jon Rahm began with a double bogey after four-putting the first green last year before recovering to win his second Major by four shots.
He saw off LIV’s top players but now the Spaniard has joined them in a €558m deal.
Nick Faldo said: “I’m not too sure — apart from one reason — why he went to LIV. Being a competitor, it can’t be deemed the same, can it?”
After happily talking about his Champions Dinner menu in his pre-tournament press conference, world No.3 Rahm bristled at the suggestion he will be under-cooked.
“If anything, I feel physically better than last year,”he said.“I feel fresh and ready for it.”
Rahm has said he is “confident”one of the 13 LIV players will win.
The “framework agreement” between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund — and ongoing peace talks — have cooled golf’s civil war.
But 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples is definitely not a fan of the breakaway league, saying: “If the LIV Tour is better for golf, I’m missing something.”