(Ponte Vedra Beach) Scottie Scheffler was fearless on a TPC Sawgrass course that can get on the nerves on every hole. The wind was picking up, the targets seemed smaller and all he wanted was to make sure his lead grew at the PGA Players Championship.
“You can’t go halfway on this field,” he said. You have to hit the big shots. »
He did just that on Sunday, in a masterful performance that only added to his reputation as a golfer who plays his best when playing against the best in the world.
Scheffler had five straight birdies midway through his round, built a six-shot lead and held the other golfers in suspense on his round of 69 (-3) to win the tournament and the largest purse on the PGA Tour by five strokes.
While six players tried to make things interesting, Scheffler tackled the course as if he were alone.
And that’s the way he made it look.
“He just gives the impression that he’s calm, that he’s doing his thing, that he doesn’t worry about what other people are doing and he’s birding,” said Cam Davis.
The win was worth US$4.5 million and returned Scheffler to No. 1 in the world for a second time this year. He now has six wins in 27 PGA Tour starts, including four last year, including the prestigious Masters Tournament.
When he putt from 20 feet for a par at 18e hole, Scheffler earned the biggest margin of victory at The Players Championship since 2006, when Stephen Ames triumphed by six shots.
“I had a good streak in the middle of the round and tried to put things together as quickly as possible,” said Scheffler.
The American was leading by five shots and he was standing on 16e green when he saw from across the stretch of water that Davis had sent his tee shot on the island which serves as the green on the 17the hole and that Tommy Fleetwood had come up short.
That was the goal. Give himself a lead so big that even if he sent his ball in the water at 17e hole, Sunday, it would not be expensive. As was the case all day, Scheffler sent his tee shot 10 feet from the cup and he went par.
And then there were the celebrations with his wife, parents, sister and 87-year-old grandmother, which kept the momentum going for most of the day.
Something the best competition of the year failed to accomplish.
Tyrell Hatton birdied on his last five holes and shot 65, ending his round as Scheffler started his second nine. Viktor Hovland (68) and Tom Hoge (70) tied for third, seven strokes behind Scheffler.
Scheffler, who went minus-17 overall, became only the third player to win at TPC Sawgrass with each of his four rounds in his 60s.
Australian Min Woo Lee, making his PGA Players Championship debut, briefly tied for the top, but ended his day with a 76 on his card.
Lee made too many mistakes, but that wouldn’t have changed the way Scheffler lit up the TPC Sawgrass course. One of the errors came on the par-4 of the fourth hole, when Lee was tied for the lead. He escaped the tall grass only for his third shot to land in the water, leading to a triple bogey.
When Lee started to pull himself together, Scheffler was already way off.
The wind was blowing at nearly 50 kilometers per hour, which did not help matters on this course. Scheffler remained aggressive, however, and birdied from 18 feet on the 10e hole, he made two putts to cover the 70 feet separating him from the hole at 11e and he placed his ball at the height of the pennant at 12e. The table was set for a fifth straight birdie and a six shot lead.
Hideki Matsuyama was only one stroke behind — before Scheffler knew his birdie streak — and he double-bogeyed on 14e pennant. He settled for a round of 68 after bogeying at 18e hole.
Canadians Adam Svensson, who led the tournament after two rounds, and Adam Hadwin both shot 71 and both finished the event tied at 13e rung. Their compatriot Taylor Pendrith had a disastrous round of 80 to tumble to a tie in 69e place.
Scheffler won for the sixth time in 13 months. Commissioner Jay Monahan named him the 2022 PGA Tour Player of the Year and now the 2023 Players Championship winner.
“He’s in a good position to be able to keep doing this for a while,” Jordan Spieth said.