PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — There she was once more up on that hill, the identical one as a 12 months in the past, this time carrying the subsequent era of the Scheffler household. Meredith Scheffler stood overlooking TPC Sawgrass’ 18th inexperienced Sunday with a big solar hat shielding her face and the protruding stomach carrying their first baby due subsequent month. See, Scottie Scheffler cries simply fascinated by Meredith. He cried together with her the morning two years in the past earlier than he received the Masters. When he received this identical match a 12 months in the past, he raised his arms in celebration, seemingly having a second with the Florida crowd. However no.
“I used to be actually simply Mere on the hill,” Scheffler mentioned final week, reminiscing from the again of his throat, choking up, tears in eyes as he trailed off.
However this time he needed to wait. A Sunday 64 gave him the comeback lead at The Gamers Championship, however for one more 40 minutes, he’d have to attend off on the driving vary for the pack of Wyndham Clark, Xander Schauffele and Brian Harman to try to catch him with a birdie on 18. Harman’s putt missed. Schauffele’s didn’t have an opportunity. And as soon as Clark’s birdie putt spun across the cup and out to provide Scheffler a report second consecutive Gamers title, he didn’t even see it. Scheffler simply heard the groans lots of of yards away and high-fived his caddie, Ted Scott. Then Scheffler finally made his manner as much as the Sawgrass clubhouse. And operating down these stairs to fulfill him halfway was Meredith, her arms thrown round him, squeezing one another tightly for a full minute. By the point they launched, Scheffler’s face was vivid pink.
“Yeah, I at all times get emotional after I speak about Meredith for some purpose,” he mentioned two weeks in the past. “I feel Mere has such understanding of how a lot work it takes to get so far. To win a match like this. All of the work we put in day in, time out so as to have the ability to do that.”
However when Scheffler received this match a 12 months in the past, he was nonetheless in ascension. He was on his manner again to No. 1, a clean-shaven 26-year-old studying find out how to develop into a star.
A bearded Scheffler returned to reclaim it Sunday as a person. As a soon-to-be father. Because the plain, undisputed greatest golfer on the planet. And it’s every little thing that’s occurred in between that makes what comes subsequent so clear.
As a result of he gave his competitors an opportunity. These first three years, when he discovered to be a professional. He gave them a 12 months when each 5-foot putt was a query mark. And this week in Ponte Vedra, he gave them two days wherein he was merely “slapping it round” as a neck damage threatened his match. Irrespective of what number of head begins and free passes Scheffler gave the remainder of golf, none of them have been sufficient. The sector wasted their alternatives. They missed their window. Now Scheffler is totally fashioned, battle-tested and about to dominate the game indefinitely.
The placing was their probability. Scheffler’s been on a two-year run of ball placing not seen since prime Tiger Woods, however his placing cratered. It messed with him. He fell outdoors the highest 100 on putts inside 10 toes, and the questions each week centered across the subject solely pissed off him extra. But even with a dud putter, no golfer might catch him as world No. 1. After which Scheffler discovered it. Impulsively, as soon as he might putt at a constructive degree one week in the past on the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Scheffler left the remainder of the sphere gasping for air as he ran away for a five-shot lead.
So Friday, when Scheffler hit a second-round shot on No. 11 and felt it worsen his neck, he was out of it, proper? He couldn’t get his membership again. He wanted to be massaged earlier than the subsequent three holes. He and caddie Scott guessed on membership decisions as a result of they didn’t know what would occur on any given swing. When he nonetheless shot a third-round 68 to place himself 5 again of the chief, Schauffele, he described his spherical as “simply utilizing my fingers as a lot as I can … get it up there someplace close to the inexperienced and hopefully get up-and-down or make some putts.”
Through the second spherical, Scheffler informed Scott it was so painful that it was onerous to chip. Scott informed his spouse, “I don’t know if he can end this match.” Saturday, he was extra pissed off he couldn’t hit the photographs he wished. The conversations earlier than every swing was Scott saying, “A traditional you’ll be an 8-iron. How regular do you’re feeling?” At instances Scheffler might hardly transfer.
“It simply reveals you what tenacity, resilience, no matter fancy phrase you wanna use to explain Scottie Scheffler,” Scott mentioned. “Toughness. But additionally, he’s received nice fingers.”
So by the point Scheffler felt near regular Sunday, it was like one of the best golfer on the planet gave the sphere a five-shot head begin.
Good luck.
He hit his 92-yard wedge on No. 4 that took two bounces, spun left and fell into the outlet for eagle. He made a 17-foot putt on No. 5 to get inside two photographs of Schauffele. His 238-yard tee shot into the par-3 eighth bounced completely off the entrance tough to 16 toes, and he made that, too. As soon as he simply birdied 9 to shoot the entrance 9 at 5-under par — two photographs higher than anybody else within the prime 15 — the leaders started to note one other acquainted title subsequent to theirs.
“Yeah, in fact,” Clark mentioned.
“It’s simply one other week,” Schauffele joked.
SCHEFFFFF! pic.twitter.com/A3iOOoqBNi
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 17, 2024
Scheffler is reaching that tier, that zone, that aura when his title rises up the leaderboard and everybody realizes they’re screwed. As a result of the remainder of Scheffler’s spherical was much less about his brilliance (although he was), however concerning the methods none of Schauffele, Clark or Harman might hold it collectively and execute with him on their tails. Clark bogeyed No. 10 and parred the 326-yard, par-4 twelfth that the sphere averaged 3.740 on. Schauffele misplaced management of his driver to bogey each 14 and 15, and left an eagle putt on 16 brief. And Clark excruciatingly missed that birdie putt on 18.
However Scottie, he went and grabbed it. He stepped to the twelfth tee, that brief par 4 that threatens with water left, and went for it. He launched a comically high-arcing drive into the air that hung there for seemingly minutes. It hit the inexperienced alongside the entrance proper slope, and nonetheless the group refused to cheer till it might verify its security. However then that tee shot settled within the middle of the inexperienced. And the followers erupted, giving him a full ovation as he walked to the inexperienced. By then the gallery knew. Scheffler was about to win the golf match.
He “solely” birdied yet one more gap to shoot his 8-under-par spherical of 64 — tied for the bottom successful closing spherical in Gamers historical past — however his work was finished. He did what Scheffler does. He hit targets. Arrange simple two-putts. Bought out of there with a lead that no one might catch.
He was requested if he might have envisioned holding that trophy Friday as physiotherapist Marnus Marais massaged his neck on the 14th tee.
“Yeah, I feel so,” Scheffler mentioned. “That’s most likely why I stored taking part in.”
That type of pondering is uncommon. Not simply the presence of thoughts to say it, however the wherewithal to do it. That’s the best way Tiger Woods thinks, and for higher or worse that’s now the type of firm Scheffler will hold. He has just one main. He is aware of that. However since he received that 2022 Masters, his final six majors have gone T2, T21, T10, 2, 3 and T23. Extra are coming.
What’s horrifying for the remainder of golf is that he might undergo the placing woes, he might undergo all of the irritating shut finishes when he couldn’t fairly win and are available out of the gantlet stronger. His ball placing retains getting inexplicably higher. He can run away with a signature occasion at Bay Hill after which win The Gamers with a nasty neck. The greatness of Scheffler isn’t how good he’s. It’s that he can sure over the hurdles and never lose his stride.
However what’s at all times made Scheffler so completely different with no golf membership in his hand is how unaffected he’s by fame and this greatness dialog. He typically jokes about dropping his inexperienced Masters jacket. He talks always about how he values his dwelling life and household excess of a foolish recreation like golf. He cares an ideal deal about golf, but it surely doesn’t outline him. And never permitting golf to outline him means not permitting his greatest and worst moments to take him off monitor.
“I actually do have an ideal help system,” Scheffler mentioned Sunday. “I’m very grateful for it. I’ve an ideal spouse, and if I began taking my trophies and placing them all around the home and strolling in all big-time, I feel she would smack me on the facet of the pinnacle and inform me to recover from myself fairly rapidly. Successful golf tournaments doesn’t give me any brownie factors at dwelling, so I simply try to do my greatest.”
And as Scheffler’s celebratory information convention wrapped up, one closing query arrived. It was about Tiger, who famously spent 281 straight weeks at world No. 1.
Scheffler heartily laughed as a result of simply three weeks in the past on the Genesis Invitational, a fan shouted: “Congrats on being No. 1, Scottie. Eleven extra years to go.”
“Eleven extra years to go,” Scheffler repeated quietly. In that second, he felt playfully humbled. And he heard a brand new objective.
(Prime photograph: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Pictures)