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This bender Scottie Scheffler is on. How long might it last?
How long can he continue to do this — win big golf tournaments, pocket massive winner’s checks and make it all look so damned easy?
Make no mistake: Winning the Masters was not easy for the 25-year-old Scheffler. He simply made it look that way, seizing the lead on Friday at Augusta National, building it to as many as six shots on Sunday and never letting it go.
His work was so methodically and thoroughly taken care of by the time he reached the 72nd hole that Scheffler was able to four-putt the 18th green, missing two bunnies inside 4 feet, and still win by three shots.
There’s a word for that: Dominant.
And yet, Scheffler even conceded to having an emotional meltdown on Sunday morning with his wife, Meredith, having to talk his blood pressure down and calm his nerves before he would go to the golf course and win his fourth tournament in the past six in which he has played.
When Scheffler revealed in the post-tournament press conference that he “cried like a baby” because he didn’t think he was “ready” to be a major championship winner, the likes of Cam Smith, Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas and the other players who had an outside chance to chase him down surely had to wonder to themselves why that moment of doubt couldn’t have taken place while he was standing on the 12th tee on Sunday.
Scheffler looks unstoppable right now. His game is stout — he’s long, he’s accurate, he can putt. His on-course demeanor is unflappable. He’s a 25-year-old who carries himself like a seasoned and accomplished 35-year-old.
Here’s the thing, though: If you think Scheffler is going to waltz onto Southern Hills for the PGA Championship next month, throw his sticks onto the first tee and win a second major with his eyes closed, you haven’t been paying enough attention to the PGA Tour of late.
Dominance is fleeting. Those who look like they’re about to sustain runs like Tiger Woods once did, taking it deep for months and years at a time, never seem to do so.
You might remember a time when Jon Rahm, who Scheffler just wrested the No. 1 world ranking from last month, was the betting favorite at every tournament he played. Rahm was reduced to a spectator in the Tiger Woods fishbowl on Sunday, miles from contention, and has lost his mojo.
Before Rahm, there was a period of time when it looked like Brooks Koepka would never lose another major championship as he picked off four of them in nine tries from 2017-19. Koepka missed the Masters cut on Friday and his world ranking has dipped to 16th.
Remember when Jordan Spieth looked like he might win every Masters, winning in 2015 and finishing runner-up in 2014 and 2016? Spieth missed the cut last week and has been searching for his game for a few years now.
Rory McIlroy had four major championship victories by 2014 and appeared to be on cruise control toward double-digit majors for his career. He hasn’t won a major since 2014 and remains stuck on four.
Remember when Rickie Fowler finished in the top five of all four majors in 2014? His world ranking has plummeted to 138th and he failed to qualify for the Masters.
The last time a player was on a winning run like the one Scheffler’s on now was Jason Day in 2015, when he won four of six events, including the 2015 PGA Championship.
Day not only hasn’t won another major championship since that ’15 PGA, he didn’t even qualify to get into the field for this past Masters and is ranked 124th in the world at the moment.
This Masters was the 24th major since the start of 2016 and Scheffler was the 19th different winner.
The moral to this story is this: Strike while your irons are hot.
Scheffler is in what players call “a window.’’ It’s a window in which he probably feels like he can do no wrong on the golf course. He knows that feeling won’t last forever. The trick is figuring out a way to make it last as long as possible.
“We take care of it in those windows,” Woods said. “Scottie seems to be in that window right now.”
Woods’ “window’’ stayed open longer than anyone’s in the history of the game. Scheffler’s surely won’t. So, enjoy it while it lasts.
“I’ve never been a guy that likes to look too far into the future,” Scheffler said. “For me, just staying present is what works best for me.”
Good answer. Proper outlook.
Source: NYPOST
