AUGUSTA, Ga. — Scottie Scheffler might not possess the star power that Tiger Woods had in his prime.

Scheffler might not look as physically imposing as Woods did when he was outdriving the world by a country mile, so much so that iconic golf courses like Augusta National began to “Tiger-proof’’ their tracks to combat his length.

Scheffler might not carry the same intimidation factor that Woods did when he was collecting major championships the way Masters patrons collect those Masters gnomes from the Walmart-sized merchandise building.

But there’s something unmistakably Tiger-like about Scheffler right now as he further cemented his place as the best golfer in the world by winning the Masters by four shots Sunday at Augusta National.


  Scottie Scheffler puts on the green jacket after winning the Masters on Sunday. AP Scottie Scheffler puts on the green jacket after winning the Masters on Sunday. AP

  Scottie Scheffler celebrates after winning the Masters on Sunday. AP Scottie Scheffler celebrates after winning the Masters on Sunday. AP

It’s his second green jacket in the past three years.

And he wants more.

“I was sitting around with my buddies this morning, I was a bit overwhelmed, I told them, ‘I wish I didn’t want to win as badly as I do,’ ’’ Scheffler said. “I think it would make the mornings easier. But I love winning. I hate losing. When you’re here in the biggest moments, when I’m sitting there with the lead on Sunday, I really, really want to win badly.

“And my buddies told me this morning, my victory was secure on the cross,’’ Scheffler, a devout Christian, went on. “And that’s a pretty special feeling to know that I’m secure for forever and it doesn’t matter if I win this tournament or lose this tournament. My identity is secure for forever.’’

So is his place in the game right now.

The 27-year-old Texan via New Jersey has been ranked No. 1 in the world for more than 80 weeks.


  Scottie Scheffler finished at 11-under to win the Masters on Sunday. AP Scottie Scheffler finished at 11-under to win the Masters on Sunday. AP

  Scottie Scheffler celebrates after his winning putt at the Masters on Sunday. Getty Images Scottie Scheffler celebrates after his winning putt at the Masters on Sunday. Getty Images

He’s won eight times on the PGA Tour since February 2022, a stretch in which he became the first golfer ever to win the Players Championship in back-to-back years.

Scheffler, who outlasted Collin Morikawa, Max Homa and Ludvig Aberg en route to a final-round 68, finished the week at 11-under par.

He finished four shots clear of Aberg at 7-under and three better than Homa, Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood, who all finished 4-under.


  Scottie Scheffler won the Masters for the second time in three years. Getty Images Scottie Scheffler won the Masters for the second time in three years. Getty Images

Part of Scheffler’s Woods-like dominance is evident in the way players around him perform when he’s in contention.

They seem to crumble in his presence.

Same way they used to at the sight of Woods.

When Woods won his fifth green jacket in 2019, Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau, Ian Poulter and Francesco Molinari famously all melted down at Amen Corner, hitting their tee shots on the 12th hole into Rae’s Creek in the final round as Woods sprinted from them to victory.

On Sunday, in an uncanny parallel to Woods’ 2019 victory, Scheffler was the beneficiary of similar meltdowns by his pursuers at Amen Corner.


  Scottie Scheffler pulled away from the other contenders on the final day of the Masters. REUTERS Scottie Scheffler pulled away from the other contenders on the final day of the Masters. REUTERS

With Scheffler and Morikawa through seven holes, there was a four-way tie between Scheffler, Morikawa, Homa and Aberg at 6-under par.

As Scheffler and Morikawa both birdied No. 8 and Aberg birdied No. 9, they were in a three-way tie at 7-under.

Then all hell broke loose — for everyone but Scheffler.

While Scheffler was seizing control of the tournament with birdies on Nos. 8, 9 and 10 to get to 9-under par:


  Scottie Scheffler attempts a putt during the final round of the Masters on Sunday. Getty Images Scottie Scheffler attempts a putt during the final round of the Masters on Sunday. Getty Images
  • Morikawa, Scheffler’s playing partner in the final pairing, left a shot in the greenside bunker on No. 9 and took double bogey to fall to 5-under, four behind the lead. It was a debilitating three-shot swing from which Morikawa, a two-time major winner, never recovered.
  • Moments later, Aberg rinsed his approach shot to the 11th green in the water and took double bogey to fall to 5-under par, four back.
  •  Then Morikawa hit his approach shot into the water on 11, took another double bogey and fell to 3-under par, six behind Scheffler and done.

“I got greedy,’’ Morikawa said. “When you’re playing really good, you don’t get greedy. And I got greedy on 9 and I got greedy on 11. I just was trying to hit it a little bit too close. Greed can get the best of us.’’

Morikawa’s mistakes appeared to leave Homa, at 7-under, as Scheffler’s lone challenger.

But Homa got a terrible bounce off a bank on the back of the 12th green and his ball ended up in the azaleas behind the green.


  Ludvig Åberg finished behind Scottie Scheffler for the Masters title. REUTERS Ludvig Åberg finished behind Scottie Scheffler for the Masters title. REUTERS

He had to take an unplayable drop, then left a chip short and took double bogey to fall to 5-under, now three shots behind Scheffler, who’d bogeyed 11.

“The honest answer is it didn’t feel fair,’’ Homa said of the bad bounce off his 9-iron on 12. “I hit a really good golf shot, and it didn’t feel fair. I’ve seen far worse just roll back down the hill.’’

Aberg would rally briefly with birdies on Nos. 13 and 14 to climb back to 7-under, two shots behind Scheffler.

But Scheffler, unaffected and undaunted by the pressure, stuffed and spun his approach shot to within tap-in distance for birdie on No. 14 to get to 10-under.


  Ludvig Åberg acknowledges the crowd Sunday during the final round of the Masters. USA TODAY Sports Ludvig Åberg acknowledges the crowd Sunday during the final round of the Masters. USA TODAY Sports

That gave him a three-shot lead with four holes to play.

Ballgame.

In a final analysis of the week, Scheffler did what Scheffler does best.

He hung around, stayed in touch with the lead and seized control of the tournament when it counted most.

Just like Woods always did.

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy