Scottie Scheffler continues his year for the ages with Masters title

Scottie Scheffler, already on the run of a lifetime, is now a major champion after winning the Masters on Sunday

Scottie Scheffler is just 25 years old. He’s only in his third full season on the PGA Tour. He has many more tournaments and many more years ahead of him. But this year, 2022, and this week at Augusta National, will be ones he’ll never forget.

Scheffler’s name is now etched in history alongside Tiger, Jack, and Arnie. He’s on a fabulous run that only legendary players like them can match. And that run, which began two months ago in Phoenix, went straight down Magnolia Lane, opened the door to Butler Cabin, and slipped on a Green Jacket as Scheffler claimed the 86th Masters title on Sunday.

The tall Texan was already the hottest player on the planet coming into the Masters, with three wins over his last five events. Then he tied a tournament record with a five-shot lead after 36 holes and led by three coming into the final round. His lead, though, was cut to just one after his closest chaser and playing partner, Cameron Smith, birdied the first two holes.

Then came his moment that will live on in tournament lore. This week marked the return to play after 508 days of Tiger Woods. In 2005, Woods hit his “in your life” chip shot on his way to the Green Jacket. Scheffler now has his “is that any good” chip, a low bump-and-run from short of the green on the par-four third hole that hit the flag and fell in for an unlikely birdie.

From there, while at times Smith and then Rory McIlroy pulled within three, the Masters seemed more like a coronation for Scheffler as he took his place as the most dominant player in golf. There’s little he hasn’t accomplished in just the last eight weeks: his first PGA Tour title; his first World Golf Championship; reaching World No. 1, the third-quickest player to do so behind only Woods and Jordan Spieth; and, now finally, the last piece, a major championship.

Even he couldn’t have foreseen just how much his career would change in just two short months. “I’ve never been a guy who likes to look too far in the future. So for me, just staying present is what works best for me,” he said. “Even when I get asked the question, when are you going to get your first win, when are you going to do this, the only time I really thought about it was then. And, so for me, I’m doing my best just to stay present and enjoy the moment. And that’s what I did today.”

Scheffler finished at 10-under, three shots ahead of McIlroy. It could’ve been more, after missing two short putts on the 18th hole. With three wins already in 2022 before this week, he’s the first since Arnold Palmer in 1960 to win the Masters for his fourth title of the year. Since Woods was dominating the tour, only Jason Day in 2015 has won four times in six events as Scheffler now has.

Scottie Scheffler never even dreamed of a run like this

That’s the company he’s keeping: golf legends, Hall of Famers, and major champions. He didn’t grow up dreaming of playing like them. He just liked playing golf and wanted to make it his career. Everything else has vastly exceeded his expectations.

“I always wanted to be out here. I never expected it. I never expected to be sitting where I am now,” he said. “You don’t expect things to come to you in this life, you just do the best that you can with the hand you’re dealt and just go from there. I never really thought I was that good at golf, so I just kept practicing and working hard.”

The entire world now knows how good he is. And he has the game to make it last. Day and Spieth had a magical year in 2015. Neither has really reached those heights again. It’s difficult in golf to stay so consistent for so long.

Even if Scheffler can’t keep up this pace—and, besides Woods, no one ever does—he’ll look back at the start of 2022 as a special time. For this moment, he played like Tiger in his prime. But he shouldn’t have to worry about that. With his powerful drives, cool demeanor, and delicate short game, there is still plenty of winning left in what looks like a bright future ahead for him.

This is just the start.

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