Scottie Scheffler emphatically underlined his status as world number one by claiming his first major title in the 86th Masters at Augusta National.
Scottie Scheffler emphatically underlined his status as world number one by claiming his first major title in the 86th Masters at Augusta National.
Scheffler survived early pressure from Cameron Smith and then kept a charging Rory McIlroy at bay to win for a remarkable fourth time in his last six events.
The 25-year-old American suffered the embarrassment of four-putting the 18th, but a closing 71 saw him finish 10 under par.
He was three shots clear of McIlroy, whose stunning 64 equalled the lowest final round in tournament history.
Smith rallied from a devastating triple-bogey on the 12th to finish in a tie for third on five under. He was alongside Ireland’s Shane Lowry, the former Open champion recovering from his own triple bogey on the fourth to return a 69.
Scheffler took a three-shot lead into the final round.
He saw his advantage cut to a single stroke as Smith birdied the first two holes and chipped in for an unlikely birdie on the third.
This helped to restore his overnight cushion as Smith bogeyed the same hole. Smith also dropped a shot on the difficult par-three fourth hole.
The gap remained four shots at the turn before the Australian made a superb birdie on the 11th, the most difficult hole on the course.
Bidding to join Tiger Woods as the only players to win the Masters and Players Championship in the same year, Smith’s chances promptly ended.
This was when he hit a terrible tee shot on the 12th into Rae’s Creek.
That left an inspired McIlroy alone in second, four shots behind Scheffler until the Northern Irishman produced a stunning birdie from a greenside bunker on the 18th.
That completed a brilliant 64, just one shot outside the course record and eclipsing McIlroy’s previous lowest score of 65 in the opening round in 2011.
McIlroy felt his heroics would not be enough with Scheffler sizing up a birdie putt on the 14th as he spoke.
The American duly converted there and picked up another shot on the next to effectively seal a commanding victory.
McIlroy had birdied the first and drove the green on the third to set up another, perhaps fuelled by missing out on the par-five second.
This was after hitting a 376-yard drive but then pushing his approach into a bunker.
The four-time major winner also picked up shots on the seventh and eighth before missing another good chance on the ninth.
(NAN)
