SCHEFF’S SPECIAL
Stunning 64 lands Scottie glory as 50th anniversary ends in a thrilling finale
WORLD No.1 Scottie Scheffler gave the 50th anniversary of the Players Championship a golden final day as a stunning 64 saw him win the title for a second year on the spin.
The American started the day five shots off the lead held by Xander Schauffele but an eight-under closing round catapulted him to 20 under.
And that was just enough to get him over the line, with fellow americans wyndham Clark, Schauffele and Brian Harmon one stroke behind.
Clark thought he had taken it to a play-off with his birdie putt on the 18th but it lipped out and the glory went to Scheffler who became the first player to win the tournament back to back.
His victory was even more impressive given he had been struggling with a neck injury throughout the tournament.
And Scheffler said: “I felt like I did enough on Friday and Saturday to stay in the tournament. My trainer did a good job on my body to flush it out and I felt Ok today.
“I hit a lot of quality shots today, that was the name of the game. Had a lot of early putts, that was important. It was a very nice round.
“I knew I needed to get off to a good start to put myself into position.
“I knew I needed to shoot four or five under on the front nine to have a chance and I managed to do that.
“Friday was a tough day. when I woke on Saturday I was feeling a touch better, had a nice round and when I woke up this morning I felt pretty good.
“It’s been a fun ride over the last couple of years and I’m very thankful.
“It’s very special (to win back to back), I don’t know how to put it into words.”
england’s Matt Fitzpatrick finished in fifth place, with a birdie blitz towards the end of his 66 taking him to 16 under.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy has welcomed the news that a group of Pga tour players will meet officials from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund today as efforts continue to end golf ’s civil war.
PGA tour commissioner Jay Monahan revealed earlier this week that he had met with PIF governor Yasir al-Rumayyan in January and the tour’s six player-directors are now about to follow suit.
“It should have happened months ago, so I am glad that it’s happening,” McIlroy said after a final round of 72 took him to nine under at Sawgrass.
“Hopefully that progresses conversations and gets us closer to a solution.”
Asked what he hopes the players take away from the meeting with al-Rumayyan, McIlroy added: “that fundamentally he wants to do the right thing.
“You got PIF over here and LIV are sort of over here doing their own thing. So the closer that we can get to Yasir, PIF and hopefully finalise that investment, I think that will be a really good thing.”
Martin Laird saw a top-20 finish disappear after putting two balls into the water at the 71st hole.
The Scot was four under for his round and six under for the tournament when disaster struck at the infamous par-3 island green 17th.
To compound the hurt of that 7, Laird then three-putted the last in a round of 73 and finished just two under.