AUGUSTA, Ga. — Scottie Scheffler spent more time Sunday afternoon looking at his feet than at any of the white leaderboards at Augusta National Golf Club, all of them showing what everyone was watching: a Masters champion again, the undisputed best player in the sport.
He prefers to stay in his own little world, population one.
And at the moment, nobody in the game is close to him.
Scheffler is No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking by a margin not seen since Tiger Woods in his prime. In nine tournaments this year, he doesn't have a round over par and has earned more than $15 million. And on Sunday, he delivered the greatest piece of evidence when he slipped into that green jacket for the second time in three years.
Scheffler pulled ahead with magnificent shots around the turn, poured it on along the back nine as his challengers melted away with mistakes, and closed with a 4-under-par 68 to finish at 11-under 277, post a four-stroke victory and become the 18th player to win the Masters multiple times.
The 27-year-old Scheffler is the fourth-youngest player to have two green jackets.
Ahead by a stroke after 54 holes, he was well aware of the pack of potential challengers on his trail and what he needed to do. He just didn't let the pressure of that situation show in his emotions.
"I had a lot of really talented players trying to chase me down," Scheffler said, "and I knew pars weren't going to get it done."
Unlike two years ago when he won his first major, there were no doubts Sunday morning in Augusta, no tears — and no wife to reassure him he was built for a moment like this. His wife, Meredith, was home in Dallas, expecting their first child at the end of the month.
Scheffler ensured there was no drama, either.
Much like Woods did so often on the way to five Masters triumphs, Scheffler made the outcome look inevitable with sublime control, the difference being a peach shirt instead of Sunday red, and no fist pumps until it was over.
After sharing hugs with caddie Ted Scott and playing partner Collin Morikawa, Scheffler turned to face the crowd with both arms raised and finally let loose. "WOOOOOO!" he yelled, slamming his fist.
AP photo by David J. Phillip / Scottie Scheffler hits his tee shot on the third hole at Augusta National Golf Club during the final round of the Masters on Sunday.Masters newcomer Ludvig Aberg, among four players who had a share of the lead at one point Sunday, lost ground with his approach went into the pond left of the 11th hole and made a double bogey. Against a player like Scheffler, those mistakes are not easy to overcome.
The 24-year-old from Sweden closed with a 69 and was the runner-up, not bad for someone playing in his first major championship.
Morikawa, who had two double bogeys to fall out of the hunt, shot a 74 and tied for third with Tommy Fleetwood (69) and Max Homa (73), whose hopes ended on the par-3 12th with a double bogey from the bushes, not Rae's Creek.
"He is pretty amazing at letting things roll off his back and stepping up to very difficult golf shots and treating them like their own," Homa said of Scheffler. "He's obviously a tremendous talent, but I think that is his superpower."
Woods, meanwhile, closed with a 77 and finished in last place at 16-over 304, his highest 72-hole score as a professional. It came two days after he set a Masters record by making his 24th consecutive cut.
Scheffler now has three victories against some of golf’s strongest fields and on some of its most challenging course in his past four starts, winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship in back-to-back weeks last month.
Sunday’s win in Augusta came two weeks after his runner-up finish at the Houston Open to Chattanooga resident Stephan Jaeger, a former Baylor School and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga standout whose first PGA Tour victory also secured his first trip to the Masters.
Jaeger missed the cut Friday, but two other Baylor graduates in the field made it to the weekend. Harris English, playing the Masters for the fifth time, closed with a 71 and tied for 22nd at 4 over. Luke List, who has been an Augusta resident for more than half a decade, also shot a 71 and shared 38th place at 7 over.
The 39-year-old List said, "Yeah, without question" when asked whether Scheffler could be a force for years to come.
"He's just an all-around good player and good guy, so it's easy to see why he's having a lot of success," List said. "Once you get confidence in this game, it kind of rolls. He's probably just trying to bottle it and keep it going as long as possible."
AP photo by Matt Slocum / Baylor School graduate Luke List hits from the fairway on the second hole of Augusta National Golf Club during the final round of the Masters on Sunday.So far, so good. Scheffler has 10 victories worldwide dating to his first PGA Tour victory at the Phoenix Open just two years and two months ago. During that stretch, he has finished in the top 10 a staggering 65% of the time.
It was the fourth straight Masters when the winner came to the 18th green with one arm in the green jacket. That doesn't mean Sunday was a walk in golf's most gorgeous garden.
"I felt like I was battling the whole week," Scheffler said. "It was a long week. I had to battle some ups and downs. And, you know, I'm very fortunate to be sitting here with you."
Four players had a share of the lead at various points along the front nine, and then Scheffler began to assert himself with three straight birdies around the turn.
He got up and down with a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-5 eighth. He hit the perfect wedge that caught the ridge and came inches within going in on No. 9, leaving him a tap-in birdie. And then he holed another 10-foot birdie putt on the 10th to build a two-shot lead.
"I hadn't hit many good iron shots, which is a bit unusual for me," Scheffler said. "And going into No. 9, it was nice to get that feeling of hitting a really well-struck shot, and then it set me up to have a really nice back nine."
And then, just like in the best days of Woods, he let everyone else make the big numbers.
In the group ahead, Aberg's approach to the 11th slammed off the bank and into the water, leading to a double bogey.
Homa managed a tough par try on the 11th, only to hit it so long over the par-3 12th that the golf ball plunged deep into bushes and left him no choice but to take a penalty drop. His chip didn't reach the green, and two putts later, he had a double bogey.
Morikawa already had begun to slide by taking two shots to get out of a deep bunker left of the ninth green for his own double bogey. He all but sealed his fate with a shot into the water on the 11th and took a double bogey.
Aberg was the only one who battled back, and Scheffler kept answering with birdies. He hit the 13th green in two shots and two-putted for a birdie. His approach to the 14th hit the slope toward the back and rolled down to a foot from the pin. His final birdie came from just inside 10 feet on the 16th.
Jon Rahm, who since winning the 2023 Masters for his second major title has left the PGA Tour for the rival LIV Golf League, closed with a 76 and tied for 45th, 20 shots behind Scheffler. He was in Butler Cabin to help Scheffler into the green jacket.
Rahm had not faced Scheffler all year and witnessed what the tour's players are up against each week. His tee-to-green play is reminiscent of Woods, though certainly not the emotion, the worldwide appeal or the number of victories.
Scheffler's emotions came when he thought about the next prize.
"You're about to make me cry here in Butler Cabin," Scheffler said when asked about the impending birth. "It's a very special time for both of us. I can't put into words what it means to win this tournament again. I really can't put into words what it's going to be like to be a father for the first time. I'm looking forward to getting home and celebrating with Meredith.
"Its been a long week here without her, but I'm just looking forward to getting home."