Scottie Scheffler (-11) has not only met the forecasts, he has blown them away. The world’s Number One has conquered his second Masters of Augusta this Sunday with an extraordinary performance. A champion as big as a pine tree. A sensational competitor.
Three consecutive birdies on holes 8, 9 and 10 tightened the noose on his rivals, the Amen Corner, a term first coined by journalist Herbert Warren Wind in Sports Illustrated in the 1958 edition, did its part of the job and again Scheffler himself finished off with another three fabulous birdies on holes 13, 14 and 16. Five under in nine holes. Bye, bye. The Jacket is heading to Texas.
Don’t think that the last round of the Masters has been a military walk for Scheffler. Don’t be fooled. In fact, that somewhat tortuous reading would detract from the champion. It would be definitely unfair. It is true that Scottie started the round well and with a birdie on 3 he built a good two-stroke cushion over Max Homa (-4) and Collin Morikawa (-4), however he had to suffer. A bogey fell on 4, after a shot that went long and another one on 7 after missing his drive to the right and not being able to make the recovery from the bunker. In addition, he had missed a good birdie option on 5. These were Scheffler’s worst moments… The only ones.
Ludvig Aberg (-7) and Morikawa took advantage of the stumble to present their candidacy. The Swede was distributing blows and smiles left and right, showing in his first Major that he is made of another dough, of those that smell like a great champion. Not only does he not crumple, but he is able to enjoy the moment. That’s another level, gentlemen. Meanwhile, Morikawa, who was playing with Scheffler, activated the no-mistake mode. That was enough for him to stay clinging to Scottie’s neck, although he later missed the gear change necessary to win.
Scheffler begins to take the Masters at hole 8. He responds to the bogey on 7 with a great birdie, making one of those three-meter putts that you have to make and that he has missed so many times in recent months. One sleeve of the Jacket will have to be given to Phil Kenyon, the man who has managed to order Scottie’s head on the greens.
He made the birdie on the par 5, one more on 9 and a third on 10. There he took a two-stroke lead over Aberg and Homa and, above all, sent a message: to catch me you will have to make birdies. There is no worse feeling to face the Amen Corner than to think that you have to steal, precisely there, strokes to the field. Morikawa and Aberg went into the water on 11 and Homa went to the bushes at the back on 12. All unplayable. All penalties. The Amen Corner, spurred on by Scheffler’s birdies, dictated sentence. The End.
Be that as it may, Scottie took care to remove from the heads of the most twisted analysts the idea that he had not won the Masters, but that others had lost it. Thus, to make things very clear, he finished with birdies on holes 13, pulling two from the first cut of rough on the right, on 14, with a sensational shot a palm from the hole and on 16, with another fantastic shot and a putt of just over three meters. He went out to the last two holes with a four-stroke lead. A luxury within the reach of the best.
Behind, Homa and Morikawa could not find a way to squeeze, Scheffler gripped them, and the only one who kept squeezing to, at least, put pressure, was Aberg, the second winner of the Masters, if you can be a second winner. By the way, he achieves the best result of a Swede in Augusta, second alone, ahead of the tied second of Jonas Blixt in 2014. In third position tied ended Morikawa, Homa and a great Tommy Fleetwood, who finished with a round of 69.
Scheffler was already the best in the world in a divided golf and again shows that he is the best in the world in a united golf. At the Masters. On the best stage. There is no more. His son is going to arrive with a loaf of bread under his arm. Thank you for having patience to go out into the outside world, boy. The world of golf thanks you. And there will still be some enlightened person who wants to put an asterisk on him… It doesn’t matter, don’t worry, Scheffler will continue to do his thing. The only asterisk of this Masters would have been the absence of Scottie. Simply, the best player in the world.
