AUGUSTA, Ga. – Sports betting comes with inherent risks, but then again, there are riskier things you can do with your money than making sure you bet on Scottie Scheffler to win the Masters in 51 weeks.
Hell, bet on him for the next ten years.
A dominant Scheffler won his second green jacket here on Sunday, shooting a 68 to finish 11-under as everyone around him splashed and crashed through the back nine. Ludvig Åberg finished second, four strokes back. Scheffler beat everyone else by seven or more.
The tournament was effectively deadlocked when Scheffler birdied 14. Or maybe it was even before that; the man had a nine-hole stretch with six birdies on Sunday.
It may be absurd – or absurdly premature – to think that someone who now has two Masters championships could one day challenge Jack Nicklaus’ record. Yet there may never have been a player with a more perfect mentality, if not game, to conquer Augusta National.
This place is known for last-lap pressure that has even stirred legends. Yet 27-year-old Scheffler walks around here, staring at his feet and not noticing anything, as if he were just taking a country walk.
The more the intensity increased, the calmer he seemed. He bombed drives (305.7). He drained putts (1.5 average per hole). He was his typical master of efficiency here, scoring par or better on 87.5 percent of his 72 holes. He was par or better in 18 of his 20 career rounds at Augusta.
In 2022, he won his first Masters in similar fashion, sailing through the final lap virtually unchallenged as Cam Smith faded. Scheffler eventually won by one stroke.
The Masters isn’t really about golf. There are dozens of players who play golf well enough to win. It’s all the things that happen between the courses that separate the champions from the pretenders.
“I feel like I’m as in control of my emotions as I’ve ever been, and that’s a good place to be,” Scheffler said. “I feel like I’m maturing as a person on the golf course, where it’s good to be.”
The man is imperturbable, unconcerned, perhaps even unconscious.
“I was very focused there,” he said.
As if winning the Masters might not have been enough to upset him, Scheffler knew his wife, Meredith, was back in Texas expecting the couple’s first baby any day — or any time. He promised that he would leave the tournament if necessary; a private jet was waiting in case she went into labor.
It didn’t seem to affect Scheffler. Nothing seems to affect Scheffler.
“That’s a testament to how good my mind was,” Scheffler said. “I didn’t think much about it. I did my best to stay in the moment, stay calm and execute shots.
This week will mark his 48th consecutive time at number 1 in the world. He hasn’t posted a round above par since last November, a ridiculous 40 in a row (Tiger Woods set the PGA Tour record at 52 from 2000-2001).
Scheffler was the model of consistency this week. Only nine bogeys and one double. He hit 79 percent of the fairways and 64 percent of the greens in regulation. He three-putted just twice. It’s all in line with his five-year Masters averages.
There’s no reason to think anything will change, even with fatherhood on the horizon.
“I’m going to continue the work, but keep my head down,” Scheffler said.
Only Horton Smith, who won two of the first three Masters (1934, 1936), became a repeat champion faster than Scheffler’s five starts.
In terms of age, Nicklaus won his third at the age of 26. This also applied to Tiger Woods, who has five green jackets. In that respect, Scheffler is behind schedule. Give it a year or so though. This man doesn’t seem prone to huge swings in fortune.
Moreover, with all due respect to the rest of the golf world, the competition is not exactly crushing at the moment.
The PGA/LIV split appears to have distracted players as much as it has divided the sport. Scheffler spent Sunday brushing aside a player with six career PGA Tour victories (Max Homa) and another with just one (Aberg, albeit a 24-year-old with plenty of potential).
Collin Morikawa faded at Amen Corner. Bryson DeChambeau never got going. Last year’s Masters winner Jon Rahm finished 9-over. Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson didn’t even make it. The same applied to the reigning champions of the US Open (Wyndham Clark) and the British Open (Brian Harman).
Scheffler’s footwork during his swing is every golf coach’s nightmare, but he is so confident in the outcome that he has resisted change his entire life. He admits that he hates losing more than winning, and that drives him to master not only the physical skills, but also the mental and emotional skills.
Boring work. Boring pays. Especially at Augusta.
