Scottie Scheffler on another big run, this one getting attention

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Scottie Scheffler finally won, and then he kept winning, and the question a year ago was when this incredible hot streak would finally cool.

Now comes another question: Did it ever?

Even with a green jacket that ended last year’s remarkable run — four victories in six starts, capped by a Masters so dominant he four-putted the last hole and still won by three shots — he reached the top so quickly that it was tougher to appreciate it than a slow, steady rise like Dustin Johnson or Rory McIlroy or Jon Rahm.

The Players Championship brings a different view of the No. 1 player in the world.

Scheffler is on another big run, this one getting far more attention.

He won the WM Phoenix Open for the second straight year on a Sunday that featured Rahm, Justin Thomas and Nick Taylor. He was one foot away from a close birdie chance on the 18th to tie for the lead at Bay Hill.

And then against the strongest field so far this year at the TPC Sawgrass, Scheffler seized control with a 65 on Saturday and really showed his mettle by turning The Players Championship into a runaway with a five- shot victory.

Of the final four groups, his 69 was the only score under par.

“I think the team around him and the way he’s wired … he’s extremely grounded,” Jordan Spieth said. “He’s got really good parents, great family structure. Randy Smith has been around for a long time — his coach — and he’s been with him forever. So I don’t see it changing. He’s in a good position to be able to continue to do this for awhile.”

Scheffler was easy to forget last year even while staying atop the world ranking from March to October because the Masters was his last win of the year. Easily overlooked was that he lost in a playoff at Colonial to a 45-foot putt by Sam Burns and was one putt away from a potential playoff at the U.S. Open.

Now he has six wins in his last 27 starts, and 16 finishes in the top 10 during that span.

“His top 10s are off the charts,” Spieth said.

Next up for Scheffler is the Dell Match Play next week in Austin, Texas.