Scottie Scheffler Wins Players Championship in PGA Tour
Scottie Scheffler was fearless on the TPC Sawgrass course, which can jangle the nerves on every hole. All he wanted was to make sure his lead in The Players Championship grew as the wind grew stronger and the targets appeared smaller.
When competing against the best players in the world on Sunday, he delivered a masterful performance, showcasing his talent to the fullest.
Scheffler built up a six-shot lead with five straight birdies in the middle of his round, leaving all the drama to others for a 3-under 69 for a five-shot lead Won the most lucrative prize money on the PGA Tour.
Scheffler took on the challenging Players Stadium Course as if he were playing by himself as a group of six players attempted to make a game of it. Scheffler was clearly comfortable on the course, and he showed no hesitation as he sailed through the holes.
And that's how he managed to make it look like he was successful.
Cam Davis said that it seems as if the player is not really concerned with what the other players are doing and is instead just focusing on making birdies.
Scheffler returned to the top of the world after winning the match, which was worth $4.5 million, for the second time in 2018. He now has six victories in his last 27 starts on the PGA Tour, including the four wins he had last year that culminated in his master's title.
When he par-boiled a 20-foot par putt on the final hole, Scheffler earned The Players largest margin of victory since Stephen Ames par-six in 2006.
"In the middle of the round, I got hot, so I hurried to put everything away." Scheffler said.
When he noticed Davis' tee shot over the island green at the par-3 17th, he had a five-shot lead and was standing on the 16th green. Then, Tommy Fleetwood came up short.
That was the goal for Scheffler on Sunday. To ensure that it wouldn't be fatal even if he ended up joining the dozen players who hit the water on Sunday, he tried to build up a significant lead. It went without a hitch for Scheffler on this day. He made par with a perfect shot from 10 feet, and the rest came naturally.
As he got ready to celebrate his birthday with his wife, parents, sister, and 87-year-old grandmother, Bryan couldn't have been happier. Everyone had a great time dancing and laughing until it was time for Bryan to take a well-deserved break.
This is something that the strongest field of the year could not do.
Tyrrell Hatton birdied his final five holes for a 65, finishing three strokes ahead of Scheffler at the turn. Viktor Hovland (68) and Tom Hoge (70) finished third and earned nearly $1.5 million each from the $25 million purse.
Scheffler won the TPC Sawgrass with a score of 17-under 271 and became the third golfer to do so with four rounds in the 60s. This is a significant accomplishment, as only a few golfers have been able to shoot in that range.
Min Woo Lee, a newcomer to the Players Championship, briefly held the lead early in the tournament but ultimately finished with a 76.
Lee made a series of mistakes, none of which would have made much of a difference given the way Scheffler lit up the TPC Sawgrass. One of Lee's mistakes came on the fourth hole, when he chipped out of the rough only to have his third shot spin back into the water, resulting in a triple bogey.
By the time he had recovered, Scheffler was already running away.
Scheffler's chip on the eighth hole led to a strong play on the ninth hole, which resulted in a birdie. This helped Scheffler close out the front nine.
Hatton hit two of his final five birdies on the back nine, while Scheffler was playing the last nine holes. Hatton finished the day with a 12-under 276, while Scheffler shot 294.
The wind was blowing around 30 mph, which only made things more difficult on the course. Scheffler maintained his aggressiveness, holing an 18-foot birdie on the 10th, two-putting from 70 feet on the par-5 11th, and attacking the reachable par-4 12th with a 3-wood to pin high just right of the green. This gave him his fifth consecutive birdie and a six-shot lead.
For the final two hours, the tournament was a money grab for everyone else and some wasted cash for those who fell victim to the wind, water and the cruel Players Stadium Course.
Hatton finished the final round with a five-straight birdie, including a 4-iron out of the pine straw and around the trees to 20 feet. This put him nine shots behind leader Golfer #2, but he was able to finish strong and take the win.
He won $2,725,000 in the 2019 Bay Hill Open, which was just over $1 million more than his victory at the same event in 2020.
Hideki Matsuyama was only one shot away from a hole-in-one on the 14th hole but took a double bogey on the 16th. However, he was still only 7 under through 13 holes and was able to take a 68 on the 18th to end the round with a total of 14 under.
Taylor Montgomery, a PGA Tour rookie, was tied for fourth until a bogey on the 15th, a double bogey on the 16th (without hitting in the water), and two balls and two balls (a full shot and a chip) in the water on the 17th for a quintuple-bogey 7.
He lost ground on the leaderboard and fell to the 55th position in the world, which prevented him from placing in the top 50 and qualifying for the Masters.
Ultimately, however, it was a one-man show.
Scheffler has now won six times in the last thirteen months, all against good opponents. Commissioner Jay Monahan announced that Scheffler will be awarded the PGA Tour Player of the Year in 2022, and now he has won the Players Championship title in 2023.
Jordan Spieth said that he is in a good position to continue playing well for a while.
Photo Credit: Depositphotos