10 April 2022: A hot streak is a valuable currency in professional golf, and when you have it you need to spend it.
“We all wish we had that two, three-month window when we get hot, and hopefully majors fall somewhere along in that window,” said Tiger Woods. “We take care of it in those windows.”
Woods’s opportunities sometimes seemed like picture windows to everyone else’s portholes, so sustained was his success, but even for him they still came and went.
At the 86th Masters Tournament, Scottie Scheffler came to Augusta National on a roll and has kept it going through 54 holes, persevering through a challenging Saturday to take a three-stroke lead over Cameron Smith in a bid to win his first major championship.
It was a hot-apple-cider day in the Peach State, with temperatures not rising above the low 50s accompanied by a persistent, shot-altering wind that brought out neck gaiters and ski caps. Putting on a vest as he walked between shots to ward off the chill, Scheffler shot 71, one of only nine scores under par, for a nine-under 207 total.
Smith, an Australian who won the Players Championship last month, thriving in a cool and windy final round at TPC Sawgrass, again showed a knack for such days. A joint runner-up in the 2020 Masters, Smith had Saturday’s best score, 68, and was the only golfer to break 70.
“Had hand warmers all day, but I don’t think they helped to be honest,” said Smith. “It was brutal.”
Sungjae Im of South Korea showed his resolve by playing the last 11 holes in five under, without a bogey, to shoot 71 and go into the final round in third place at four-under 212. Shane Lowry of Ireland and 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa are tied for fourth at 214 after shooting 73s. Schwartzel had Saturday’s highlight-reel shot, holing out from 136 yards for a 2 on the par-4 10th hole, the 10th eagle on the most difficult hole in Masters history.
Scheffler, the 25-year-old Texan with three victories in his last five starts, began the third round with a five-stroke lead. He increased his advantage to six on the first nine but saw his margin narrowed after four bogeys on the second nine. The last of those, on No. 18, might well have been a higher number.
He hit a quick hook off the tee, his ball flying into the trees. There were some anxious moments before it was found under a holly. Scheffler took an unplayable lie and then, from 242 yards, flew a 3-iron onto the green. The shot released to the back apron, but he got up and down for a hard-earned 5.
“We saw the guy with the flag that always finds the balls kind of panicking. I was like, oh, crap, wonder what’s going on here,” Scheffler said. “Fortunately, they found the ball. And then all I was trying to do was figure out how I was going to get it on the green for my third shot. And, fortunately, I was able to take an unplayable out of the bush and still have a swing.”
Victories at Phoenix, Orlando and Austin since mid-February vaulted Scheffler to No. 1 in the world. If he is able to convert his 54-hole lead into a victory Sunday, he would join Ian Woosnam (1991), Fred Couples (1992), Woods (2001, 2002) and Dustin Johnson (2020) in arriving as a No. 1 and leaving with a Green Jacket.
There are similarities between Scheffler and Couples, who claimed the top spot early in 1992 before winning at Augusta National. “Scottie’s doing the same thing,” said Woods, who shot 78 to fall into a tie for 41st in a comeback from his serious car crash in February 2021. “He took care of it from the West Coast through Florida.”
Scheffler has gone about this flurry of success showing he has plenty of shots and a lot of cool, the latter trait something he admits has been a work in progress. “I’ve learned over time,” he said. “I have matured a lot since I played junior golf and college golf, and I feel like I’m learning a lot out here. I was a bit of a hothead, I think, in high school and college, so to be able to just stay patient and realize mistakes are going to come . . . winning golf tournaments out here is not easy.”
He has just made it seem that way, with help from veteran caddie Ted Scott, who formerly worked for two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson.
“The golf he’s played the last couple months, it’s nuts,” said Justin Thomas, whose 72 left him eight shots back. “It seems effortless, at least when I’ve watched. It’s not like anything he’s doing is like, ‘Oh, my gosh, that’s unbelievable.’ It’s just he gets it around so well and he’s so mature in his golf age.”
On a day when his lead was trimmed but not taken away, Scheffler didn’t focus on where he stood. “No, I didn’t really look at the leader boards,” he said. “I mean, you can see them every few holes, but I wasn’t putting too much thought into it. I was trying to stay in my own lane.”
Smith took a different approach as he climbed into second place and a spot in the final pairing Sunday. “Every hole, every chance there was,” Smith said. “I believe in just looking at what you need to do. So, yeah, the goal was today to keep making birdies. Scottie was making birdies, so just trying to keep up.”
The two rising young stars are where they want to be. Since 1991, only five Masters winners were not in the final pairing on Sunday: Zach Johnson (2007), Schwartzel (2011), Watson (2012), Adam Scott (2013) and Danny Willett (2016).
Scheffler’s post-third round plans included some laughs. He was going to settle in for some episodes of “The Office,” his favorite show, with wife Meredith, having recently convinced her to give the sitcom a chance. “She loves it and she’s cracking up,” Scheffler said. “I’m just looking forward to sitting back and giggling a little bit and eating some good food.”
It could be the prelude to having the last laugh on the biggest Sunday of his burgeoning young career.
Bill Fields on themasters.com
