AUGUSTA - The trip to the 18th green was a much quieter journey Sunday than it was a year ago for Scottie Scheffler.
Last April, on his march to the 2022 Masters championship, Scheffler was treated to big galleries, thunderous applause and huge cheers as he approached the final tee boxes and greens of the fourth round, his title becoming increasingly certain.
Sunday, with virtually no chance to make a run at a second green jacket in a row and his play further ensuring it, applause that could be described as polite or perhaps half-hearted greeted him as his time as reigning Masters champion ticked away. Scheffler and playing partner Matt Fitzpatrick of England were followed by a handful of fans. Booming roars occasionally popped up around them, with Scheffler and Fitzpatrick unable to contribute their own crowd-pleasing haymakers. It felt a little bit like being at the wrong party.
The 26-year-old Texan hardly disgraced himself, completing his four rounds in 284 strokes, 4-under par, good for a tie for 10th place. But, for the 83rd time in 86 attempts, the defending Masters champion departed Augusta National after an unsuccessful title defense.
“I did some really good things and some really bad things and made a few mental errors,” Scheffler said after his round. “I didn’t feel like I was far off from competing with a lot of weird stuff happening, and so that gives me some confidence moving forward. I obviously wished I would have played significantly better this week and had a chance going into Sunday.”
Scheffler had hoped to become only the fourth player in tournament history to win back-to-back titles and join greats Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods. Even arriving on the grounds with his game in excellent shape – he started the week as the world’s top-ranked player with two wins and four top-five finishes in his past five events – Scheffler demonstrated again how difficult it is to be the best player two years in a row in a tournament populated by the world’s top golfers, each hungering for arguably the most sought-after trophy in the sport.
The year-after results of the green-jacket recipients immediately preceding Scheffler tell the story. Of the 10 Masters champions 2012-21, three failed to make the cut the following year. Of the other seven, six finished nine or more shots behind the winner. Only Jordan Spieth in 2016 was a factor, tying for second, three shots behind champion Danny Willett. Sunday, Scheffler completed his 72 holes eight shots back of champion Jon Rahm.
“It’s just one of those weeks where I didn’t have my best stuff, and I still felt like I could have competed, and maybe if I would have stayed a little bit mentally tougher or hit a few more good shots and saw a few more putts go in, it could have been a much different week,” Scheffler said.
He was frustrated with his play, he added, “but I’m not going to sit here and mope. I did some good things this week along with some bad things.”
Among the aforementioned “weird stuff” was Scheffler’s work on the green. His 127 putts (1.76 per hole) were the most of the 53 players who played all four rounds. A year ago, Scheffler needed only 110 strokes with his putter (1.53 per hole).
Putting is not his strength. He entered the week ranked 98th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained via putting. You may remember that he won the Masters last year despite four-putting on the last hole of the tournament, cupping his hand over his mouth in disbelief after his third attempt.
In his four rounds this week, he had difficulty holing anything longer than tap-in range, and even had difficulty then. In his pivotal second round – when he followed a first-round 68 with a 75 that essentially loosened from his grasp any reasonable chance of winning – he four-putted the par-4 ninth and then three-putted the par-5 13th. On the latter, he had an eagle putt from a makeable 17 feet before walking off the green with a discouraging par.
“The first two days, I putted just awful,” Scheffler said. “It was one of those weird situations where my good ones weren’t going in and then my bad ones definitely weren’t going in.”
He did putt better in the final round, rolling in four birdie putts in the first 11 holes to get to 6 under. The score allowed Scheffler to entertain thoughts of posting a low score for leaders to have to better.
But, another pebble in his shoe this week, the par-3 12th, quickly extinguished any aspirations. For the second round in a row, Scheffler had to take a stroke penalty after flying his tee shot on the devilish par-3 over the green and into the shrub-laden hill above it. After chipping out from amidst the fauna, he took a double-bogey 5 and was out of the running.
Desperate, he ran aground on the par-5 13th, the hole extended this year by 35 yards to better defend it against bombers like Scheffler. Trying to reach the green in two with the pin 231 yards away, he didn’t give the ball his best swing and Rae’s Creek accepted his tribute. After a deft chip from his drop, he took par.
“I think I was 5-under going into that (12th) hole (actually, 6-under), so say I make par and then I’m in good position on 13, and I was trying to make up all the shots at once there, going for the green out of the rough, which situationally I probably would have treated it different,” Scheffler said. “But that was just me being a little immature, being out of the tournament.”
A year from now, Scheffler will presumably return to Augusta National more mature and hungry to take down the defending champion.
