Scottie Sheffler is the No. 1 ranked golfer in the world for a reason.
And all those reasons were on full display when Sheffler closed the deal on winning his second straight Masters this past weekend.
There is saying about the tournament that goes “The Masters begins on the back nine on Sunday.”
That has been true numerous times and this year players lost their chances to win the tournament on the home holes on Sunday.
For Scheffler, I think the tournament was won on the back nine on Saturday. When he started with a double bogey on No 10, followed with bogey on No. 11, it could have led to a downward spiral that ultimately could have taken him out of contention.
Instead, he turned in a 7-hole stretch that I think ultimately won him the tournament. After a par at 12, he got the ball rolling with an eagle on No. 13, which led to a rare show of emotion.
After a par on the 14th, he birdied the 15th to get the lost shots back. When he stubbed his toe on the 17th with a bogey, he closed the round with birdie on No. 18.
The scorecard shows an even par round on the back, but the reality is that he seemed like he gained shots on the field.
Sunday, he put the tournament away in the final nine holes, shooting three under while the rest of the field was backing up.
Ludvig Aberg, who finished second three shots behind Scheffler, saw his tournament chances go into the lake guarding the left side of the 11th hole when his hooked approach went swimming.
Collin Morikawa found the same fate at the 11th, then added a bogey at the 18th, finishing fourth.
Max Homa, who tied with Morikawa for fourth, saw his dream of a first major go astray on the 12th when his tee shot bounced hard off the green and into the bushes behind the green. Homa was forced to take an unplayable lie and finished the hole with a double bogey.
One of the things that makes Scheffler so good is how unflappable he is on the course. Double-bogey, bogey can unnerve even the best golfer, but he is able to look past it and get it back.
At the same time, his calmness is perceived by some as making him boring. I heard him compared to tennis legend Pete Sampras this week. Sampras had an incredible run as the top player in the world but did so with little personality, likely costing him endorsement offers.
In the tennis world, being a bad boy has been worth millions off the court. I think there is some carryover of that in golf.
The surprise to me from The Masters is that the TV audience was down in numbers. I know it would have been higher if Tiger was in contention instead of being 100 strokes off the pace.
It does make you wonder if Scheffler’s current dominance – he has won three of his last four starts and finished second in the other – has made the game mundane for some.
I appreciate his greatness and enjoyed watching way too much of the Masters over the weekend, but others may feel different.
I am also sure the spat between the PGA Tour and the LIV tour have turned people off to golf. I can understand those who just think its multi-millionaires bickering and have had enough, just tuning out the sport altogether.
It will be interesting to see what happens as we get closer to summer and the rest of the majors. If the ratings continue to decline its time for the governing bodies to take a good hard look at what’s going on with the game.
By Dennis Miller