Scottie Scheffler backed up his ranking as a No. 1 golf player in the world with a win at the 2022 Masters Tournament on Sunday. This was the first major win for the 25-year-old player and the fourth event he had won in the past six starts.
Scheffler’s road to the coveted green jacket looked straightforward as he built up a sizeable lead in the first three rounds. He was -12 under and well clear of his closest opponents at one point. Things changed on Sunday when Scheffler saw some late pressure from Cameron Smith and Rory McIlroy.
Smith birdied the first two holes, causing Scheffler’s lead to shrink to one. However, the Australian missed the par putt on the third and bogeyed on the fourth to fall behind again.
On the other hand, McIlroy was 10 shots behind at the beginning of the final round but managed to pull back impressively. He made four birdies on his front nine and eagled on the 13th. The former No. 1 ended up with 64 (–8), which was the record-tying score for the final round in Masters history.
But this wasn’t enough to upset Scheffler, who managed to finish three shots ahead despite a double bogey on the 18th. McIlroy was second, his best result at Masters, while Smith tied for 3rd.
“If you’re going to choose a golf tournament to win, this would be the tournament,” said Scheffler at his press conference. “You don’t know how many chances you’re going to get.
