AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 14: Scottie Scheffler of the United States celebrates on the 18th green after winning the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 14, 2024 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Before the 2024 Masters even started, something about "Scottie Scheffler Masters Champion" just felt right.
He's been the best golfer in the world for a while now, and even though Jon Rahm won it last year, you could make a reasonable case that the 2022 winner Scheffler felt more inevitable.
Scheffler shook off a wobbly start to his final round, and won his second Green Jacket after shooting an impressive 68 to win The Masters at 11-under, four shots clear of second place.
A host of other golfers had reasonable shots to contend here today. At one point there was even a three-way tie for first. But one by one they started to fall off as the back 9 took over.
First was Collin Morikawa, who started in the final pairing with Scheffler. He got to 7-under after 8 holes, but a disastrous double-bogey on 9, and a rough dip into the water on 11 took him out of play. Things got so rough, he actually had to hit a shot back toward the tee on the 18th hole. He finished tied for third.
Next was Masters rookie Ludvig Aberg, who got up to 7-under and looked composed. But he played around with the water on 11 as well, and that double bogey killed the momentum. He did scratch back to 7-under again to finish in second place. Not bad for a first time out.
Max Homa seemed most poised to attack as well, but an unfortunate bounce into the bushes on 12 started a slide he couldn't recover from. He finished 4-under.
About the only thing that reasonably had a chance to slow down Scheffler was a 3-hour flight away in Dallas, Texas. Scottie's wife Meredith is 9-months pregnant, and due in the next couple of weeks. He had already said he would absolutely leave the tournament if she went into labor, even if he was winning. Fortunately, he never had to put that promise to the test.
An Interesting Week
The win for Scheffler capped off an interesting week in Augusta.
The first round was delayed several hours because of overnight rains through the area. That set up a chain reaction that had 30 golfers having to finish their first rounds early Friday morning, and then head right back out to play their second rounds.
That group included Tiger Woods, who found himself having to play 23 holes on Friday. But he managed. He put together solid rounds of 73 and 72, and made the cut at 1-over. That was a record-breaking achievement, as he now has the record for 24 straight Masters cuts made. He's only missed the cut once in his career, back in his second year.
Woods didn't stay in contention long, as he stumbled to his worst round ever at Augusta National, with an 82 in the third round. He finished the tournament 16-over, worst among those who made the cut.
Rahm Never in the Hunt
The defending champion Rahm was never in the hunt this year. While he finished his first 9 at 2-under, he never got it together to show the magic he had from last year.
He finished tied for 45th at 9-over.
Scottie Scheffler Masters Champion - Again
And so it was all about Scottie Scheffler. The most consistent golfer in the world right now did just that over four rounds at Augusta National.
And that led to a flip of last year's Butler Cabin Green Jacket ceremony. Last year Scheffler put it on Rahm. This year Rahm had to put it on Scottie.
Now he can safely get home to his pregnant wife, with a second Green Jacket to wrap his new baby in when they get here.
