From leading by 3 to winning by 3, Scotty Schoffler didn't let people expect the Sunday scuffle to happen. With four birds on the first 15 holes, he killed all suspense and justified his world number one title with his first Grand Slam title of his career and his fourth PGA Tour trophy in the last six weeks.
This is only the second time in history that a new champion has won the Masters in his first game after "ascending the throne", and the only one who has done it before was Ian Woosnan in 1991. Schoffler also achieved an achievement that even Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus could not match – winning the 4th victory of the PGA Tour that year at the Masters! The last to do so was arnold Palmer in 1960, and even in the golden bears and tigers' peak, they only achieved the third crown of the season at Augusta.
This is only Schoffler's third time in the Masters, but the first two times have been in the top 20, indicating that the Texas Rising Star has no run-in for the first Grand Slam of the year. In the fourth round of this year, he cut the second most birdies in the game (21), the 1st and 76.79% tee fairway rate (8th), the 68.06% bidoff rate (5th), and the third-fewest average putters in the game, giving him a firm grip on the title race from the second round. But on the last hole, he surprised three pushes within two yards, which still explained the nervousness of the 25-year-old Xinke king - in fact, Schaufler admitted that he was "in a bad mood" before the final round, and even cried under pressure after getting up on Sunday!
"I was very tired last night. On the way home, I knocked over the dinner I had just bought in the car, which made me particularly depressed. Meredith (wife) thought it was funny, but I didn't think it was funny at the time. Schoffler said after the game, "I cried like a child this morning. I was so stressed that I didn't know what to do. I said to Meredith, "I don't feel like I'm ready to accept what's coming, and I feel overwhelmed. ”
Fortunately, the comfort of his wife helped Schoffler to fight with peace of mind. "She told me: 'What qualifications do you have to say you're not ready?' Only God will guide everything: if today belongs to you, that's your moment; if you hit 82 today, it's another kind of guidance god gives you. Schoffler sighed, "Oh my God, it's been a long morning. It's too long. ”
After Shawler won the championship, he embraced his wife Meredith
Fortunately, in the end, Schoffler withstood the test and became the fourth in the history of the Masters to hold a 54-hole lead and finally win the championship after Wu Sinan, Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson. "My dream since I was a child was to participate in the Masters, I was very grateful for the privilege of playing here when I was in college, and when I first received an invitation after changing careers, I used to cry with joy. If there's one game I want to win the most, it's here! Schoffler, who took the green jacket from Hideki Matsuyama, said, "Now that I'm a Masters champion and can play this game for the rest of my life, I really can't put into words what it means to me!" ”
Just 8 weeks ago, Schoffler was recognized as "the best player who has never won an PGA Tour title", but in just 52 days, he completed the magical transformation of "PGA Tour Champion World Championship Grand Slam Champion", as if 2022 has become the "Schaufler era". In fact, behind the rise of the speed of light from ordinary players to the world's number one, there is a long road...
Scotty Schaufler was born on June 21, 1996 in New Jersey, USA, but moved to Dallas with his family as a young child, so Texas is his true "hometown." In middle school, Schoffler was selected on both basketball and golf teams, and in the end, he was named AJGA Player of the Year, chose the latter, and in 2014, he entered the University of Texas Golf Varsity Team, helping the team win three Big 12 League championships, and in 2015, he was named "NCAA Rookie King of the Year". ”
Schoffler and Alison Lee were named AJGA Players of the Year
Jordan Spieth, also from Dallas and a senior at the University of Texas, has known Schoffler since he was 8 years old, and he labels "pure" as the latter: "On the court, he is very competitive, but off the court, he is actually very relaxed, and he can get along with everyone." 」 Even if he becomes 'world number one', it is just a cool label for him, and he will still purely like golf. ”
Schoffler first learned to fans around the world at the 2016 U.S. Open, when the U.S. Junior Championship winner shot a 69 in the first round and rushed to the clubhouse lead. Unfortunately, at the age of 19, he was inexperienced and missed the final with a 78-stroke difference in the second round. The following year, he reached the U.S. Open again through a qualifying extra hole and became one of only two amateurs to qualify with Cameron Champ.
Schaufler during the NCAA period
From the age of 14 to 19, Schoffler's height soared from 1.57 meters to 1.91 meters, and the rapid growth of the body injured his waist, so coach Randy Smith adjusted the entire swing rhythm and posture of Schoffler, trying to avoid too much pressure on his lower body, which also created a more peculiar swing action of today's new club king.
In 2018, Schoffler turned professional and passed the year-end qualifying exam to gain membership on the Korn Ferry Tour. The following year, he first won the first professional championship in the Evans Invitational in May, and then won another game at the Children's Hospital Open in the Playoffs in August, thus surpassing the regular season points king Zhang Xinjun and becoming the 2019 Light Tour's playoff + total points double overall champion, and obtaining the only valuable PGA Tour "Full Card" qualification.
Schoffler was crowned The Light Tour
Schoffler, who threw himself into the PGA Tour stage, gradually demonstrated the potential of a super-first-class golfer. He scored in the top 10 in 4 of his first 8 games, finished 4th in the 2020 PGA Championship, won the first top 10 of a Grand Slam, and all the next four major tournaments. What shocked the world even more was the first game of the playoffs, the Northern Trust, where Schoffler slashed 12 birdies in the second round without any throws, and flew out the 12th "59" scorecard ever on the PGA Tour! Although he did not win the championship that year, his god-level performance of no. 5 points in the Federation Cup made him beat Victor Hoflander and won the "Rookie King" of the 2020-21 PGA Tour!
The following year, Schoffler reached the top 10 in 10 PGA Tour matches, including three Grand Slams, was named to the Ryder Cup squad for the first time, and beat World No. 1 Joan Ram twice at the World Championships at Holes and Wuthering Heights, but never won a title. Before this year's Masters, he had twice entered the PGA Tour final as the leader of the 54 holes, but he was defeated and embarrassed to become the only top player in the year-end world's top 12 who had not touched the PGA Tour championship.
However, at this year's Phoenix Open during the Lunar New Year, Shawlega knocked down another "stable male" Federal Cup champion, Cantley, and finally broke the "championship drought" in his 71st PGA Tour! Then, like suddenly cracking the "winning code", he won two more wins at the Palmer Invitational tournament and the World Championship-Hole Match in March, and rushed from the world's top ten to the world's first place in just 42 days, surpassing Tiger Woods' record of the fastest in history and becoming the 34th "ball king" in the history of the world rankings!
Now, in just the 10th Grand Slam match of his career, Schoffler has reached the pinnacle of his life. But even with the Green Jacket, he was as pure as ever, making the distinction between golf and life clear: "I think the hardest thing is off the court. Really, when I'm on the pitch, I feel calm. Once we got into the game and almost finished the first hole, I was at ease. I would feel good. ”
At dusk at Augusta, Bryson De Chambreu, Baba Watson and other players who had long since finished their Masters journey joined thousands of spectators as they waited for the return of their hero, Tiger Woods, alongside the 18th-hole green.
Despite only shooting 78 — two consecutive days, handing over the worst score of his Masters career; a total of +13 — the worst record of his career in four rounds at Augusta; and 47th — he was also the worst in the first Grand Slam of the year except for his amateur years. However, returning to the race 14 months after the tragic car accident and being able to qualify for the Masters is still enough for the 46-year-old Woods to enjoy the respect and admiration of the whole world - he is Augusta's "spiritual leader"!
Fans applauded to pay tribute to the Tiger King
"I don't care how many shots he hits, the tiger itself is touching!" Baba Watson said, "He not only managed to qualify, but he also insisted on going through 72 holes, which is amazing!" ”
After 511 days, Augusta saw the tiger's "Sunday red" again. Despite his tired face, Tiger raised his hat and greeted the audience on Hole 18 with thunderous applause: "Their support for me this week has been incredible. ”
"Only those close to me know the hardships of recovery." Summing up his comeback trip, Tiger said after the game, "because they've seen it with their own eyes." Some of the players I know well have also seen some of the photos and understood the things I had to bear. ”
"It's one thing to play happily with your son, but it's another thing to play in a Grand Slam, it's long and tough. I'm really thankful to be able to get back to the Masters kick-off after all those 14 months. The 46-year-old said.
The Tiger World Ranking jumped more than 200 people
Woods admits that his body is not enough for him to support the four rounds of the game: "I played very well in the first round, but my body was not able to withstand it to the end. A few weeks ago, though, I wasn't sure if I could play the game. So, overall, it's a very positive thing and I'm satisfied. I'm going to keep working hard and looking forward to the next game. ”
So where will Tiger's next game be? He bluntly said that he would not participate in the full PGA TOUR season again, and would only "pick big games to play." And the next appearance that is clearly given is not the PGA Championship a month later, but the British Open in mid-July – the British Open at the old St Andrews Stadium!
The Tigers will play St Annol's Again
"I'm not sure if I'll be able to play South Hill (PGA Championship), but I'm looking forward to St Andrews. So that's the most feasible thing in my mind. I won two British Opens there and it's home to golf and is my favorite golf course in the world. So I'm going to go there and compete. But anything before that, I'm not easy to say. ”
For tiger fans around the world, the focus has never been on grades and numbers, as long as that "he" can continue to appear, everything else is insignificant.
Finally, Rory McIlroy hit Augusta's highlight moment. Only this time, the players in the same group also interacted with him.
On the final hole, Wheat kicked in the bunker and the second shot into the bunker on the right side of the green. However, facing the hole cup 18 yards away, the King of Northern Ireland staged a stunning cut, and the ball used the slope of the green to draw a wonderful arc and roll into the cup in front of the audience!
It was Wheat's sixth birdie of the day, and along with the Eagle on the 13th hole, he delivered a 64 (-8) – equalling the lowest single-round finish in the final round in Masters history! In the end, McIlroy finished as a solo runner-up, setting his best record of 14 appearances in Augusta, and his best performance in the four major competitions since the 2018 British Open.
Wheat took the lead in the bunker 18 yards to cut birds
And less than two minutes after wheat cut into the birdie, Colin Morikawa, who was in the same group as him, in the same bunker, at a later 8 yard position, aimed directly in front of the flagpole, deftly everything, the ball after bouncing a little, accelerated rolling, rolled directly into the hole cup! Two consecutive bunker cut birds, in the same group of Augusta were lucky enough to perform!
"There's never a shortage of surprises at the Masters, isn't there?" McIlroy said after the game, "It was my happiest moment of the week, Colin and I both played really well and cut into the birdies together, it was incredible. I've never heard such deafening cheers on Hole 18 Augusta, it's all so cool! ”
Morikawa then staged a 26-yard bird cut in the same bunker
Although, once again, missed the historic opportunity to impact the "Grand Slam", but from the start of the 10 strokes behind to only 3 strokes behind, so that next month will turn 33 years old McIlroy, still proud of Sunday's performance: "I have tried my best, there is nothing to complain about." I played my best stroke and finish at Augusta, and while it's still a little bit off, I'll be back next year and keep trying. ”
As for Colin Morikawa, he also won the best place in the Masters three times - 5th place alone. In Monday's latest world rankings, he overtook Joan Ram to move back up to second place in the world.
The end of the four rounds of the Masters heralded the joint quiz event between Birdlife and PING Golf, and the results were about to be announced.
Canadian Olympic player Corey Conners relied on a 70 in the final round to tie for 6th place and finally stood out among the 13 members of the "PING Team" as the best-ranked golfer.
Cornez was ranked best in the Masters
Cornez also became the Canadian player's best record at the Masters after Mike Vere in 2005. And this is the third consecutive year that Cornez has been in the top ten of Augusta – he is so good at playing Masters, you guessed it?
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