Scottie Scheffler wins the 2024 Masters for his second green jacket

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Scottie Scheffler has claimed to be the No. 1 player in the world for three years. On Sunday, Scheffler declared himself the dominant force of his time.

Scheffler, 27, won the Masters by four strokes over a star-studded leaderboard for his second green jacket in three years. He becomes the fourth youngest golfer to win the Masters twice, after Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros and Tiger Woods. He joins Nicklaus and Woods as the only three players with two Players Championship wins and two green jackets.

On a picture-perfect Sunday afternoon at Augusta National, it looked for a while like a race for the all-time Masters championship was taking shape. The four men playing in the final two groups – Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa and Ludvig Åberg – were all at one point tied for sixth place on the front nine.

But then Scheffler, who shot a 68 in the final round, put his foot down and everyone else got out of the way.

Standing in the fairway on the ninth hole, Scheffler unfurled a shot so good it might have a chance to become part of Masters lore – he hit it just high above the flagstick from 89 yards out and saw turning it back to fifteen centimeters. A foot from the hole, it seemed as if he were rolling in at the eagle, as customers jumped out of their seats in anticipation. He settled for a birdie and took the lead at 8 under.

Scheffler then birdied the par-4 10th, a hole he double bogeyed on Saturday, to gain a two-stroke lead over Homa and Åberg.

Morikawa, who played with Scheffler, was the first to fall out of the fight. He double bogeyed the 9th hole, parred the 10th and then put his second shot into the water on No. 11, expressing his frustration at seeing the Masters slip from his grasp with a second double bogey.

Åberg was next, also finding the water on Augusta National’s treacherous 11th hole and scoring a double bogey to fall four shots behind Scheffler.

Last was Homa, still within reach of Scheffler until his tee shot at the par-3 12th flew off the green, taking a nasty leap into the green on the hill behind and forcing Homa to take an unplayable lie penalty. He had a double bogey after a bad chip, and was three shots behind even after Scheffler’s bogey on No. 11, his second of the day.

From that moment on it became clear that there could only be one. Scheffler added birdies on holes Nos. 13, 14 and 16 to keep the rest of the field hopelessly in pursuit. Åberg finished second (7-under) in his first Masters appearance, followed by Morikawa, Homa and Tommy Fleetwood (tied at 4-under).

Customers react to Scottie Scheffler’s birdie at No. 16. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Two years ago, Scottie Scheffler had a three-stroke lead on the morning of the Masters and collapsed into his wife Meredith’s arms, confiding in her that he didn’t feel ready for what was to come. He was. He is, even though he didn’t have Meredith with him this week as she stayed behind in their Dallas home awaiting the birth of their first child. Scheffler had promised to withdraw from the tournament if she went into labor (she was due to appear later this month). It was not necessary. Nothing stopped him from this Masters victory.

He now has nine PGA Tour victories with two majors, creating a resume of excellence that is unparalleled this decade. These nine wins include two Masters, two Players Championships, two Arnold Palmers Invitationals, two Phoenix Opens and a WGC match play victory. But perhaps more telling is Scheffler’s unprecedented consistency. As a tour player he has played fifteen majors and has been in the top 25 in all but one. He was in the top 10 of 10 of those. The last time he finished a professional tournament outside the top 31 was in October 2022.

Scheffler has been world No. 1 83 times out of the past 107 weeks, and his victory on Sunday further reinforces the belief that no one will reach him anytime soon. The only question for Scheffler was whether he could stabilize his putting to ensure he added more majors and had a trophy room to match his specialty level. Now he is in a four-event series, winning the Players, the Arnold Palmer and the Masters as a 4-to-1 favorite.

Suddenly the question isn’t whether Scheffler can actually function as golf’s greatest star. If anyone can stop him.

(Photo: Andrew Redington / via Getty Images)