Scottie Scheffler captures his 2nd Green Jacket in 3 Years | The Sunday Swing

The Sunday Swing
April 14th, 2024 

Welcome back to a Masters edition of the Sunday Swing. This week in the professional golfing world, all eyes were on Augusta National for the playing of the 88th Masters Tournament- a tradition unlike any other.

The Masters - Tournament History 

For 87 years, The Masters has been regarded as the greatest tournament in the history of the game. There is no event with deeper history and tradition than The Masters at Augusta National. Starting with the Champions Dinner on Tuesday evening, followed by the Par 3 Contest on Wednesday, to the honorary starters on Thursday morning- The Masters is truly a tradition unlike any other.

One of the most exclusive clubs in the world, Augusta National is home to some of the most iconic scenes in golf. From the tall pines surrounded by pine straw, to the lush green grass and pure white bunkers, Augusta is forever a fan and player favorite for obvious reasons. Throughout the years we’ve seen some of the most memorable shots in golf highlight the most exciting moments in golf’s history. The five most recent champions at The Masters are:

2024 - Scottie Scheffler (-11)
2023 - Jon Rahm (-12)
2022 - Scottie Scheffler (-10)
2021 - Hideki Matsuyama (-10)
2020 - Dustin Johnson (-20) 

The Big Swing 

This week for the third time in the past month, the big swing belongs to Scottie Scheffler. The 2022 Masters champion is arguably in the best form of his career, and has been improving dramatically on the greens since making a change to a mallet putter a few weeks ago. Prior to Augusta week, Scheffler’s previous three starts included two wins and a runner-up finish – so it’s no surprise that he was considered a heavy favorite.

When play was slated to begin Thursday morning, ominous weather moved in, causing tee time delays and uncertainty about the conditions of the course for the week. Heavy winds plagued golfers through the first two rounds, particularly during the second round on Friday.

Five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods used his profound experience to plod his away around the tricky Augusta National setup methodically, posting +1 after 36 holes which was well inside the cut line. Even more remarkable was the opening round from Bryson DeChambeau, who carded a 7-under 65 on Thursday. Close behind him was Scheffler, who somehow played a bogey-free round of 66 and looked like he did it with ease in difficult conditions. DeChambeau and Scheffler remained near the top through the second round and were joined by more contenders, such as Max Homa, Masters rookie Ludvig Aberg, and 2-time major champion Collin Morikawa. 

As conditions remained tough on Saturday, Woods seemingly ran out of gas after carding a Saturday 82. Even so, Tiger made history making his 24th consecutive cut at the Masters, and went on to play in his 100th round at the Masters on Sunday. Though it wasn’t the result he and fans were hoping for, making the cut and completing all four rounds was great for the game all the same. 

Woods wasn’t the only one to struggle on Saturday, as most of the field had to grind to shoot anything around par. Collin Morikawa was one of the few to break 70, carding an impressive 69 to move to 6-under par just one back heading into Sunday. Scheffler hung around even par all day, until he converted a great birdie at the last hole to give himself a one shot cushion over Morikawa. 

Homa and DeChambeau made up Saturday’s final pairing, and each had to grind to keep up with Scheffler and Morikawa. Homa was 1-over on his round and hadn’t carded a single birdie, but was hanging around just two back at 5-under. A closing par kept him within striking distance of Scheffler ahead of the final round. After a double bogey on No. 15 and a bogey on No. 16, DeChambeau found himself in trouble at 4-over and five back of the lead. After punching out of the trees right of the 18th fairway, DeChambeau struck a beautiful shot that landed just right of the flag and spun back into the cup for a closing birdie. While improbable, the birdie was huge for Bryson and sent a jolt of energy through the crowd as anticipation for Sunday was building. 

Sunday brought calmer conditions to Augusta National, giving those chasing the contenders with just enough hope that perhaps they could make an improbable run at a green jacket. Tom Kim served as a good example of the opportunity that lay ahead for the leaders, as he went out early and posted a 6-under round of 66 to fly up the leaderboard and get himself into a tie for 30th. 

Kim’s round would end up being the low round of the day. Those near the top of the leaderboard struggled to get anything going on the front nine. Scheffler played the first 7 holes in 1-over while his playing partner Morikawa played them in even par. 

Scheffler’s biggest threat seemingly was Masters rookie Ludvig Aberg. The Swede started the day a couple shots back, but shot an opening-nine 33 to briefly jump into a tie for the lead. But Scheffler responded, igniting a run of three birdies in a row on Nos. 8, 9, and 10 to reclaim a comfortable lead. 

Meanwhile, the difficult par-4 11th hole and par-3 12th hole are where Scheffler’s challengers made their biggest mistakes. Aberg and Morikawa each made double bogeys on No. 11, pulling their approach shots into the pond guarding the left side of the green. Homa’s tee shot on No. 12 took an unlucky bounce and found the middle of a thick bush behind the green, forcing him to take an unplayable lie penalty. The result was a double bogey, and suddenly, Scheffler led by three.

Then, Scheffler turned up the heat even more. He made birdies on Nos. 13, 14, and 16 down the stretch to remove any doubt that he would be the 2024 Masters champion. With one arm in the green jacket already, Scheffler and caddie Ted Scott strode their way up the 17th and 18th holes with a comfortable four-shot lead. 

Two closing pars gave Scheffler his second green jacket in three years, his third big victory of the young season, and asserted his dominance over the rest of the world once again.

Winner’s Bag - Scottie Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler’s winning formula just keeps getting the job done. His bag of clubs has remained the same for a while outside of the putter change he made about a month ago. At the top of the bag, Scheffler plays the TaylorMade Qi10 driver (8 degrees). He only carries one fairway wood, also the TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees). Scottie plays a pair of Srixon ZU85 utility irons (3 and 4), along with a set of TaylorMade P7TWs (5-PW). Around the greens, Scheffler plays two Titleist Vokey Design SM8 wedges (50 and 56 degrees), accompanied by a Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto lob wedge (60 degrees). Arguably the most important club in his bag, Scottie plays a TaylorMade Spider Tour X on the greens, which has been a huge help in picking up three victories in the last month.

Key stats- 

Strokes gained: off the tee- 2nd

Strokes gained: Approach to green- 14th

Strokes gained: Around the green- 1st

Strokes gained: putting- 22nd

Strokes gained: tee to green- 1st

Strokes gained: total- 1st