PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA | In the moment, as the cheers echo and the snapshots of all that happened over four brilliant days at the 50th Players Championship flash by like cards being shuffled, the magnitude of what Scottie Scheffler is doing is still too fresh to fully appreciate.
But the great ones do more than win golf tournaments. They create stories that resonate and linger and separate the special ones from everyone else.
That’s the territory Scheffler finds himself living in these days, the latest chapter in his still-unfolding story coming in the form of a final-round 64 at TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course that earned him a second consecutive Players title that included dodging three point-blank shots on the final hole that could have forced a playoff and changed the outcome.
Barely two years ago, hours before he went out and won the Masters, Scheffler conceded that he was in tears, openly questioning whether he was ready for what was about to happen.
Clutching another gold Players trophy early Sunday evening, Scheffler is the best player in the game and there’s no one close to him.
Wyndham Clark or Brian Harman or Xander Schauffele could have beaten Scheffler on Sunday – all three will spend the next few days thinking about the shot or two that broke their hearts – while Scheffler has conquered the challenge of always being there.
That’s part one of the equation and golf’s version of the Woody Allen line that “90 percent of success in life is just showing up.” Scheffler always shows up. That’s why starting the final round five strokes behind and with five players in front of him, he still was close enough to see what was possible, and he became the first back-to-back winner in the event’s star-driven history.
Behind Scheffler’s gentle demeanor and the beard is a competitive fire that burns as hot as a south Texas summer. There is a toughness that has been tanned into Scheffler, whether it’s trusting his unconventional footwork fundamentals or refusing to surrender to the recent narrative that an extended stretch of poor putting was diminishing his brilliance.
Others might have considered withdrawing. Scheffler, who had made two early birdies, was still thinking about winning the tournament.
On Friday morning, Scheffler sat on a chair behind the 14th tee while a therapist worked on a literal pain in the neck that struck like a bee sting two holes earlier. Hitting a short wedge shot had sent a pulse of pain through him, and the simple act of turning his head to see a putt roll was difficult.
“That's probably why I kept playing,” said Scheffler, who finished at 20-under-par 268 over four ideal weather days.
Of the many things Scheffler has achieved over the past several months including winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational the week before the Players Championship, the most impressive may be the fact that he has played 28 competitive rounds on the PGA Tour this year and has shot below par in every one of those.
Little wonder that when Clark looked at a Sunday leaderboard for the first time on the 11th hole, he saw Scheffler’s name near the top.
“I kind of chuckled and I said, yeah, of course. I mean, he's the best player in the world,” said Clark, whose 17-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole horseshoed back toward him when it might have fallen in to force a playoff.
It helped Scheffler that when others had a chance to change the outcome, they couldn’t. Harman, the reigning Open champion, couldn’t muster a birdie on any of the three closing holes after having played Nos. 7-15 in 5-under. Schauffele, the fifth-ranked player in the world, found himself desperately trying to overcome bogeys at the 14th and 15th holes that spoiled his chances. Clark, the U.S. Open champion, birdied 16 and 17 only to endure the cruel tease at 18.
By then, however, Scheffler had set the standard. Knowing that he needed to start fast in hopes of posting a score the others would have to chase, he did just that. He got a bonus bump when he holed his 92-yard approach shot for an eagle on the par-4 fourth hole, starting a 5-under par 31 outward nine.
Scheffler’s bogey-free 64 equaled the lowest final round by a winner in the tournament’s 50-year history, and it practically glistened, giving the Players Championship another story worth telling down the line.
This is why the Players is what it is. The longer the final round went, the better it got.
If the payback for three weather-torn tournaments earlier this year is what we got at the Players Championship, it feels like a worthy tradeoff. Sunscreen, shorts and star power feel like a springtime solution to the distracting noise engulfing the game at the moment.
As the conversation continues about how to fix what is broken in professional golf, the sun-splashed answer revealed itself at the Stadium Course:
“Anytime you can be compared to Tiger, I think is really special, but, I mean, the guy stands alone, I think, in our game.”
Scottie Scheffler
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It’s about the golf, silly.
As Scheffler flew home to Texas on Sunday evening, perhaps celebrating with a taste or two of tequila, he has shouldered himself deeper into the conversation about the best players of their generations.
When Tiger Woods’ name was mentioned, Scheffler flashed his Texas-sized smile and brushed away the suggestion.
“I'm not going to remember the exact numbers, but like we're playing at Riv [for the Genesis Invitational] this year, and I hit my tee ball and this guy yells out, like, ‘Congrats on being No. 1 Scottie. Eleven more years to go. Eleven more years to go,’” Scheffler said. “Anytime you can be compared to Tiger, I think is really special, but, I mean, the guy stands alone, I think, in our game. He really does. This is my eighth tournament win now out here. I've tied him in Players Championships. Outside of that, I’ve got 14 more majors and 70-some PGA Tour events to catch up. So, I think I'm going to stick to my routine and just continue to plod along, try and stay as even-keeled as I can.”
Perhaps what Scottie Scheffler does best is be himself. Everything else takes care of itself.
E-MAIL RON
Top: Scottie Scheffler storms back from a five-stroke final-round deficit.
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