They chased and they pushed and a Swedish comet flew impossibly high over Georgia, but across an absorbing final day, all comers succumbed to the inevitable eventually. Great Scottie Scheffler, master of Augusta once again.
For the second time in two years, this assassin with the frame and personality of a gentle giant found himself cloaked in a green jacket. He was the best golfer of the week and it is getting ever harder to argue against him being the finest of his era, too.
He was fabulous here in this four-shot victory. It’s not that he was impervious to nerves in compiling the 68 that gave him his winning mark of 11 under par. Nor that it was accomplished without missteps.
But it was fabulous in that way of all fabulous sportsmen. It was fabulous for his control of the time and the space around him. Fabulous for his ability to take those moments of the greatest stress, and the greatest threat, and bend events to his will.
And how he did that here, when his game was not quite as impregnable as it can be and when a magnificent young talent came for him.
American and world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has won The Masters Tournament for the second time in three years
Scheffler celebrated by throwing his hands into the air and then covering his face with them on the 18th green
Scheffler was tied for the 36-hole lead and had sole possession of the 54-hole lead going into Sunday’s final round
All that happened prior to Sunday – with Scheffler leading by only a single stroke over second-place Collin Morikawa
The American finished strong – carding seven birdies to end the tournament at 11-under par and four strokes ahead
Scheffler walks across the Nelson Bridge on the 13th hole during the final round of The Masters Tournament on Sunday
By the time that Scheffler lined up this putt on the 17th green, he was comfortably ahead of the rest of the pack
It’s the third win of the season so far for Scheffler – having won the Arnold Palmer and The Players in Florida this year
Which is the point where we will discuss Ludvig Aberg. Goodness, what a player, and we knew that already of course. We knew he only turned professional 10 months ago and has killed time with two wins and a victorious Ryder Cup in arguably the hottest breakthrough since Tiger Woods.
But this was his first major and by the close he was Scheffler’s nearest rival. After seven holes, Aberg had leapt from his starting blocks on four under to six. Scheffler had regressed from seven to the same mark and that is where they also discovered Collin Morikawa. There we had it – a three-way tie and some jeopardy. One of those sink or swim moments.
How did Scheffler respond? Three straight birdies from the eighth and the comfort of a two-stroke cushion again. That was when carnage befell the chasing pack – Max Homa, one of the overnight contenders, disappeared without a prayer at Amen Corner. Morikawa had double bogeys at nine and 11. Aberg got wet at 11 and by then the gap between them was four – Scheffler on nine under, Aberg at five.
The single point of consistency in all that turbulence? Scheffler. They had their wobbles and he just ploughed on. When Aberg went on another surge, getting back to within two with five to play, Scheffler found a little more gas for the engine and tucked away another three birdies in four holes.
Behind Scheffler was Ludvig Aberg, who performed well in his first ever major tournament appearance at Augusta
The 24-year-old finished second in his first ever Masters, carding a seven-under throughout his debut major tournament
The Swede showed he belonged at Augusta – carding five birdies and one double-bogey during Sunday’s final round
Aberg hits his approach shot on the 13th hole at the final round of The Masters Tournament on Sunday
Aberg reacts after missing a putt for eagle on the 13th hole during the final round of The Masters Tournament on Sunday
By the time he got to the 18th green, no one could catch him. That is what greatness looks like – turning the stressful into a stroll through a country club. Taking the blows of a brilliant chasing pack and just riding it out. It is what Woods used to do and Scheffler shares one particular quality with him, beyond a tee to green game that rarely misses – a mind that doesn’t fluster.
Which might sound excessive of a man who has only two majors to his name. But it isn’t. Now that his putting has been fixed, or fixed to an extent that it was only sporadically wobbly here, he can seem untouchable. We used to say the same of Rory McIlroy at his best, but his game and mind never seemed quite as convincing as this Texan native.
Consider for a moment how he dwarfed Morikawa, his playing partner. They started the final round in the same group and, with two majors to his name, Morikawa knows how to swallow pressure. In Scheffler’s shadow, his US Ryder Cup team-mate only carded a 74 to tie for third with Tommy Fleetwood, who snatched a brilliant backdoor finish with a 69. They and Max Homa were three behind Aberg. Cameron Smith led the LIV brigade with Bryson DeChambeau at two under.
Earlier, Woods shot a 77 to finish dead last among those who made the cut. A final tally of 16 over was one of those numbers that goes to prove sport loves nothing more than following a tickle with a smack in the chops. In time he might reflect that success has many guises and not always in the form of trophies, but probably not for a while. That said, making the weekend here on 24 consecutive occasions is really quite remarkable.
Behind Aberg was a three-way tie for third at four-under – beginning with Collin Morikawa who struggled with consistency
Morikawa entered Sunday at six-under, just one stroke back of Scheffler’s seven-under mark and his eyes on a green jacket
But any chance to improve his score (birdies at holes 8, 13, 15) were set back by big mistakes (double bogeys at 9, 11)
American Max Homa carded a one-over final round on Sunday to also finish tied for third place at four-under-par
Homa had a solid performance on the front-nine, finishing the first leg at one-under-par and hoping for a strong back-nine
But Homa over-shot the green into the bushes on No. 12 – resulting in a double-bogey setback that proved to be a big mistake
After that double on 12, Homa finished the final six holes at one-over with five pars and a bogey on the 17th hole
Rory McIlroy had no such gloss from a campaign that never ignited – his closing 73 for four over did nothing but prolong a curse, though it was at least superior to the defending champion Jon Rahm. His 76 dragged him down to nine over and a place deep among the also-rans.
And yet we have known for days that they were not going to be the story. They were nowhere near the dogfight at the top, in which Scheffler started his last loop at seven under and with Morikawa, Homa and Aberg in close company.
The question was whether the vulnerabilities Scheffler had shown in his third-round 71 might signal some hope, especially around his mid-range putting, which had relapsed a little on Saturday.
Here, he was initially a little unsteady and was forced to survive both a drive into sand and an overhit approach into the crowd to par the second. A birdie via the sand at the third brought him to eight under and a two-stroke lead, but that slipped with another hit into the gallery at the fourth, which caused a bogey.
The final member of the tie for third was Tommy Fleetwood, who performed well on Sunday afternoon at Augusta
Fleetwood carded 15 pars and three birdies to finish blemish free for the final round in an impressive performance
Fleetwood lines up a putt on the eighth green during the final round of The Masters Tournament on Sunday at Augusta
Sunday also saw the end to the worst ever 72-hole performance at Augusta National by 15-time major winner Tiger Woods
After carding an 82 Saturday, Woods carded a 77 Sunday for a 16-over to finish with 304 strokes through the week
Woods saluted the fans on the 18th green as the 48-year-old Florida native walked off the course early Sunday afternoon
When Scheffler then bogeyed seven with trips into the trees and sand, it became particularly interesting as Aberg was looking exceptional in all departments, especially off the tee. A 22-foot birdie on the second and a 100-yard wedge to four feet at seven were highlights of a 24-year-old who somehow manages to exceed his hype.
So how did Scheffler respond? He birdied three in a row from the eighth to reach nine under, including a pair of 10-footers after failing to take a couple of earlier opportunities from similar distance. In truth, the chasers never recovered, with calamities befalling all except Scheffler. Spare a thought for Morikawa – he had a great week, as did Homa, but his bid effectively ended when it took two shots to escape a bunker on the ninth. That double was followed by another at 11 when he fired in the same greenside lake which swallowed Aberg a few moments earlier.
They all had trials and tribulations and stumbles because it was Masters Sunday. So did Scheffler, who collected a third bogey on the 11th, but his tremors were small and usually followed by a quick response. That is no accident. Strength of mind is a skill and Scheffler’s mind is as strong.
Aberg would prod at him once more with birdies at 16 and 17, but nothing could get in his head. Nothing could yank his ball too far off line. Nothing or no one could stop the world No 1 from chasing down another jacket.