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There’s something totally different about how Scottie Scheffler has turn into a a number of main winner.
Totally different than Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm and everybody else who has completed the feat prior to now decade.
Totally different than everybody else in latest reminiscence aside from Tiger Woods.
Scheffler is extra dominant than the friends earlier than him. He’s extra predictable. His life is extra balanced. He’s much less vulnerable to harm.
And, like Woods earlier than him, Scheffler is the one man of this period who can play common golf—relative to his outstanding baseline—and nonetheless win the sport’s largest occasions with out even being totally challenged.
That’s what it felt like as he cruised to victory within the 88th Masters.
The ultimate end result was doubtful for lengthy stretches on each Saturday and Sunday however Scheffler responded with excellent resilience every time. Finally, he wore down the competitors.
On Saturday, Scheffler made a multitude of the tenth gap by going lengthy and taking a double-bogey. When he made one other mistake on the eleventh to fall to 4-under for the match, it appeared just like the momentum had flipped to Collin Morikawa, Max Homa and different challengers.
However Scheffler did what he usually does, responding with an eagle on the par-5 thirteenth and later a press release birdie on the par-4 18th. When Saturday ended, he had clawed again into the lead.
By way of three rounds, Scheffler’s usually elegant strategy play was pedestrian by his requirements. Even after the ultimate spherical, he solely ranked No. 15 in Strokes Gained strategy—his tremendous energy was restricted however he made it work via a cumulative impact of nice driving, nice scrambling and above-average placing.
On Sunday, Scheffler had shaky moments early and located himself in a dogfight, tied for the lead after making a sloppy bogey on the par-4 seventh. Many figured it will go all the way down to the wire.
Then the championship DNA kicked in as he went 5-under the remainder of the way in which and didn’t make a single error.
Everybody else faltered round him. Ludvig Aberg, who was in any other case good, discovered the water on the eleventh. So did Morikawa. Homa went lengthy on No. 12 and couldn’t get better.
With two hours left in protection, everybody knew it was over. That’s how dependable Scheffler has turn into.
Final month, I wrote about why Scheffler was on pace to win no fewer than five tournaments this season. He has already collected two extra wins since then—The Gamers and the Masters—and we nonetheless have three extra majors remaining this yr.
The stats are fairly clear: Scheffler is miles higher than everybody else. His worst spherical since August is a 72. Since October 2022, he has completed outdoors the highest 25 of a match one time. He virtually gained the Houston Open along with his C+ sport. And as I’ve talked about earlier than, we’re in a time period when the game’s best players are mostly stagnant, getting older or fading from the spotlight they once had.
It makes you surprise what else is on the desk for this 27-year-old Texan who’s about to turn into a father.
We’re all prisoners of the second. Recency bias could cause exaggeration, particularly in a sport the place majors are so troublesome to win. Life will change for Scheffler, who now could be displaying as much as each massive occasion with a big goal on his again.
It does really feel, nonetheless, that Scheffler’s life like potential is to turn into a legend of the sport. Getting to 6 majors is nicely inside the realm of chance. Finishing a profession grand slam is a chance. Being an all-time nice is a chance.
You need to say Scheffler is firmly among the many prime American athletes in any sport in the mean time.
What will cease him from persevering with to win?
So lots of the pitfalls which have precipitated star gamers to stall should not components in Scheffler’s profile.
He isn’t like Spieth, who rode a sizzling putter to beat ball-striking deficiencies. Scheffler’s putter solely must be common for him to win.
He isn’t like Johnson, who prioritized cash over maximizing his on-course success.
He isn’t like McIlroy, who leans on his driver to beat apparent shortcomings in short-iron play, scrambling and placing. Scheffler’s brief sport is great. He led the Masters discipline in Strokes Gained across the greens this yr.
His psychological sport is best. His swing is so athletic. His household is an important a part of his life.
Something can occur in life however Scheffler has each device to be probably the most dominant participant of his era. He’s the person to beat each time he tees is up and that units up a long-term storyline for us to trace for the subsequent 5, 10 or much more years.
We’re witnessing greatness now. That’s the final honor for golf followers.
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