Scottie Scheffler Dominates Masters Final Round
It was like 2022 all over again for Scottie Scheffler. Scheffler won the Masters in such a dominant fashion that, a long way from the finish line, we all knew who the winner would be. The American won by four shots and although it was close and curious around the halfway stage, there was only one man with an extra gear that wanted the Green Jacket more than anyone else. Here is what happened on the last day of the 2024 Masters…
Masters Report:
So what happened? The order of the leaderboard largely remained unchanged in the opening acts of the show. Scheffler touched eight-under-par with a birdie on the 3rd hole, but he gave one back with a bogey on the next one. He was seven-under-par after six holes, but he had a long line of stars behind him including Ludvig Aberg who, to this point, was putting like a demon.
Birdies on the 2nd and 7th holes for the young Swede took him to just one shot back with Collin Morikawa who was sensibly bowling along one shot behind as well. Max Homa started well with a birdie on the 2nd hole and, although he also gave one back on the 7th, his solid start paid dividends as once Scheffler made a bogey on the 6th hole, we had a three-way tie for the lead between Scheffler, Morikawa and Aberg.
Homa cashed in on the 8th with a birdie and now, we had a four-way tie with Bryson DeChambeau and Tommy Fleetwood within three shots off the summit with their back nines remaining.
On the 9th, Aberg rolled in an incredible looping, downhill birdie putt to join Scheffler and Morikawa in the lead on seven-under-par. This happened shortly after the American pair made birdies on the 8th hole in the final group of the day. But then Scheffler cranked up the pressure. After Morikawa found the greenside bunker on the 9th, Scheffler almost holed his second shot from the fairway. He tapped in for a birdie, while Morikawa struggled to a double-bogey.
Leaderboard at the Turn:
- -8 Scottie Scheffler (9)
- -7 Ludvig Aberg, Max Homa (10)
- -5 Collin Morikawa (9)
- -3 Tommy Fleetwood (12), Bryson DeChambeau (10)
Around the turn, Scheffler began to ignite the burners. He birdied the 10th hole for his third in a row and suddenly, he had a two-shot lead over Homa and Aberg. He might have bogeyed the 11th hole, but his rivals began to flounder.
Scottie Scheffler’s Victory
Scheffler’s lead was three. To his credit, Aberg battled back. He made birdies on 13 and 14 to remain in the back of Scheffler’s mind, but the World No.1 added birdies on 13 and 14 too to reach 10-under-par for the week and kept his Scandinavian opponent three shots away. He had navigated every possible obstacle and even added a birdie on the 16th hole.
As he arrived at the 18th hole in the setting sun, Aberg finished with a 69 ahead to end on seven-under-par. A fierce effort on his Masters debut. Scheffler went one better with a four-under-par 68 to finish on 11-under-par and win the Masters by four shots.
Player Reactions
Scottie Scheffler: “I did my best… I’m coming home (addressing his pregnant wife now). I’ll be home as quickly as I can.”
Max Homa: “I thought I handled myself great…”
Tommy Fleetwood: “It was a nice round of golf…”
Shot of the Day
Scheffler has become somewhat of a killer on the PGA Tour. His driving and iron play is formidable and when his putting is hot, it’s all over. After his playing partner Morikawa found the greenside bunker on the 9th hole, Scheffler launched his ball over the pin and it trickled back to within an inch of falling into the cup. He tapped in for birdie and Morikawa continued to double-bogey the hole. A brutal window of about five minutes where Scheffler began to take control.
Stat of the Day
Scheffler won the 2022 Masters by 3 shots. Nobody has ever won the Masters by 3 or more twice in a 3-year span. — Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) April 14, 2024
Wholesome Moment of the Day
Verne Lundquist, the man who called moments from the Masters commentary booth such as Jack Nicklaus’ iconic display in 1986 and Tiger Woods’ chip-in on the 16th hole in 2005, completed his 40th and final broadcast at Augusta National this week. A quite incredible moment occurred by that 16th green again on Sunday. Sat by the par 3 putting surface, Lundquist watched Woods finish the hole and while walking to hole 17, Woods shook hands with the legendary commentator. In your life, have you ever seen such an…
