Scheffler has the green jacket

Scottie Scheffler had no doubts in this Masters, no one who saw him did. He pulled ahead with some magnificent shots on Sunday and did so over the back nine at Augusta National for a 4-under 68, earning his second green jacket in three years.

Scheffler is unstoppable, and he had the help of his contenders to make it look easier than it really was.

He won by three strokes in 2022 with a four-putt on the final hole. This time he won by four, allowing for a nicer uphill climb to the green on the final hole.

The Swede Ludvig Aberg, a rookie in the Masters, presented him with his toughest challenge, losing ground after being close to the water on the 11th hole due to a double bogey. Against a player like Scheffler, those mistakes are not easy to overcome.

Aberg closed with a round of 69 and was the runner-up.

Scheffler, 27, is the fourth-youngest player to hold two green jackets, stretching his lead at world No. 1 to levels not seen since Tiger Woods’ heyday. Scheffler now has three wins on the strongest fields in his last four tournaments. The other was a second place finish in Houston.

No shine

Tiger Woods finished the Masters on Sunday with a record he would like to forget and left with a score of 304 and 16 over par, his highest total after 72 holes in three decades.

Woods’ previous high was a 302 at Memorial in 2015. Only one other time has he topped 300, and that was two years ago at the Masters when he had two rounds of 78-78 over the weekend to finish with a 301.

Despite the score, Woods called this “a good week” and said he will begin his preparation for the other three majors, including the PGA Championship in May, the US Open in June and the British Open in July.

“This is a golf course I knew about, so I’m going to do my homework later on Pinehurst, Valhalla and Troon,” Woods said. “But that’s the plan.”

I actually wasn’t happy with how he played.

“Coming in, having not played a full tournament in a long time, it was a good fight on Thursday and Friday,” he admitted. “Unfortunately (Saturday) didn’t go the way I wanted.”

That didn’t matter to the fans.

Woods, 48, who continues to deal with the aftermath of his surgeries that have impacted his body and limited his playing time on the PGA Tour, received a standing ovation from the fans when he teed off on the 18th hole and finished with pair

Wearing his traditional Sunday red, Woods raised his cap toward the fans.

Tiger has only played 24 holes in a tournament before the Masters. He finished last among the 60 golfers who made the cut. The last time he finished last was at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in 2020.

But, attendees flocked to the man who brought golf to unprecedented popularity, even as he is no longer as dominant as he used to be at Augusta National.

The once dominant Woods played the final round alongside Neal Shipley, the only amateur to make the cut.

The age difference is also notable.

Woods has made the cut in 24 consecutive Masters, the first occurring before Shipley, 23, was even born.

But even if Woods is out of contention, he will certainly attract a lot of fans, especially as one of the few golfers who are on the course so early and close to the crowd.— AP