World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler showed why he is the absolute favorite heading into the tournament with a dominant performance at Augusta National, winning the Masters for the second time.
Scheffler, who had led by one stroke all night, shot a four-under 68 in Sunday’s final round to finish at 11 under for a four-point lead.
Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg of Sweden shot a 69 to take second place in his major debut.
British athlete Tommy Fleetwood (69) took third place along with American pair Collin Morikawa (74) and Max Homa (73).
Fleetwood put together an impressive round, climbing up the leaderboard in the closing stages and posting his best finish at the Masters.
However, it was impossible to catch up with Scheffler. The 27-year-old American showed rare emotion on the 18th green as he received applause from the Augusta crowd after winning his second Masters in three years.
There was a possibility that the 2022 champion would not make it to the final.
Scheffler’s wife, Meredith, is expecting her first child, and the Texan said Saturday that she was prepared to leave Augusta mid-round if she went into labor Sunday.
Scheffler said this to his wife during the Green Jacket Award Ceremony. “I love you and I’m coming home. I’ll be home as quick as I can. ”
He added: “I can’t put into words what it is like to win here again and what it will be like to become a father for the first time.”
Scheffler justifies his standing as rivals falter
Since Tiger Woods took the golf world by storm in the 2000s, no player has been as strong a favorite to win at Augusta as Scheffler.
He enters his first major tournament of the year after winning two of the past three tournaments, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship, and finishing runner-up at the Houston Open.
This confident form, combined with his pedigree as a former Masters champion, had him at odds of just 4-1 at the start of the week.
Despite not achieving the expected highs in the first three days, especially Saturday’s eventful round as he bounced back from several mistakes, he still led by a header by one point heading into Sunday.
However, he had trouble controlling the distance with the early irons and made bogey on the 7th hole, dropping him to the same position as Morikawa and Aberg. After making a birdie on his eighth day of play, Homa joined his team in a four-way tie for the lead.
But Scheffler, playing alongside Morikawa in a group behind Aberg and Homa, birdied the same hole and regained the lead at 7 under.
Then came a magical moment that felt like a potential turning point – and it turned out to be a turning point.
Scheffler almost nailed a great 89-yard drive on the 9th, showing supreme skill in spinning the ball and using the contours of Augusta to roll the ball toward his marker for back-to-back birdie tap-ins.
Scheffler added a third straight birdie on the 10th, but it was still too close to call as the leaders approached Amen Corner, the famous section of the course consisting of the 11th, 12th and 13th holes.
But it turned out to be a losing tournament for Shortstop when he teed off in 12th place.
Scheffler’s closest rivals, Aberg, Morikawa and Homa, all made costly double bogeys in about 15 minutes, giving Scheffler a three-stroke lead despite a bogeyed on the 11th hole.
Aberg and Morikawa dragged their approaches on his 11th and fell into the water, while Homa fell into the bushes after a poor jump on his legendary par-3 12th and received a one-stroke penalty.
From this point on Scheffler was able to relax a bit and birdies on the 13th, 14th and 16th all but sealed his victory.
Aberg’s hopes of becoming the third player to win in his first major start were dashed, but he recovered with birdies on the 13th and 14th holes to finish second.
The poised 24-year-old, just 10 months into his professional career, was described as a “generational talent” by Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald before helping Europe defeat America in Rome last September. It was praised.
Praised for his clean ball striking, he showed this weekend why he is expected to be a regular in the majors.
Fleetwood sparkles as McIlroy sees another chance pass
While the progress of the British and Northern Ireland players has been rather disappointing, 33-year-old Fleetwood persevered and was rewarded with a top-10 finish.
Indeed, Fleetwood needed a better round to really compete, but his solid play left him feeling optimistic heading into next month’s PGA Championship at Valhalla.
“I guess I needed a few more fireworks. But the golf course wasn’t giving much away,” said Fleetwood, who will be playing in his eighth Masters.
“Who knows if my time will ever come, but all I can do is keep trying to put myself there and having performances like this.”
Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy failed to reach 10th with a full Harry. There were years of waiting for a major title, which he never achieved.
The 34-year-old won four majors – two PGA Championships, the British Open Championship and the US Open – between 2011 and 2014, but is only the sixth man to do so. There was never a fight, as it was seen as a possible future. Completed the Grand Slam of his career.
McIlroy struggled in the testing conditions, starting with rounds of 71, 77 and 71, but ended up shooting a 73 and finishing far behind, four overs behind.
“It hasn`t been my year but I’ll keep coming back until it is my year,” he said.
England’s Tyrrell Hatton tied for 69 on the final day, but Matt Fitzpatrick finished with four over, and 2016 winner Danny Willett, playing in his first tournament since shoulder surgery in September, finished with nine. After a good start, things slowed down.
Woods and Rahm struggle despite support
Five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods finished last out of 60 players who advanced to all four rounds with a 5-over 77 and a total of 16 over.
Just participating this weekend was a success for the 15-time champion, who has barely played over the past year as he continues to recover from injuries sustained in a car accident in February 2021.
But packed galleries followed Woods around the site of some of his most well-known victories, cheering him off the last green and hoping for many more opportunities to see the 48-year-old at Augusta in the future.
Defending champion Jon Rahm was already out of the running, and things got even worse when he posted his highest total in eight Masters appearances.
The 29-year-old Spaniard, who made a surprise move to the LIV Golf Tour, where he has been absent since winning last year, shot a 76 and finished the match with nine overs.