The Masters, Day 4: Scottie Scheffler wins second green jacket, final leadboard, highlights
Scottie Scheffler has joined one of golf’s most elite groups as he surged to his second Masters triumph - with Australia’s best chances slipping away.
Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Welcome to the Scottie Scheffler era.
Staring down a pack of chasers at Augusta, the world No.1 confirmed his greatness by claiming a second green jacket in just three years at the Masters.
Having threatened to leave the tournament at a minute’s notice should his heavily-pregnant wife Meredith go into labour, Scheffler, 27, made a string of stunning birdies at the turn to put the tournament beyond doubt.
Asked if he had a message for Meredith, Scheffler said: “I’m coming home, I love you and I’m coming home. I can’t put into words what it feels like to win again and what it feels like to be a father. It’s a very special time for us”.
Only Tiger Woods has also won the Masters, Players’ Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational in the same year.
Only Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Seve Ballesteros were younger when saluting at Augusta National for the second time.
And only Woods has won the US Junior Amateur and multiple green jackets.
Scheffler saw off two-time major champion Collin Morikawa, fellow American Max Homa and Swedish young gun Ludvig Aberg, who all stumbled through Amen Corner - pocketing another $5.5 million in prize money.
And while the mega money is at LIV, Scheffler has now won more than $38m since its inception.
Aberg, playing in his first major, finished outright second firing a three under 69.
Starting six shots off Scheffler’s lead, Australian star Cameron Smith holed out for eagle from the bunker at hole No.2 to make a fleeting run, but struggled to get the putter going.
Scheffler won by four shots, posting 68.
Smith said time was running out on his dream to win at Augusta National.
“I mean I’m 30 years old now,” Smith said.
“I know that sounds crazy but there’s going to be a point in my career where things start to go the other way and I’d like to think that I am still on the up and can still compete with the best golfers in the world but it’s just, you know, time ticks on and there’s only one of these a year - so you’ve got to make the most of it.”
RE-LIVE ALL THE ACTION IN OUR BLOG BELOW
9.05AM: SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, TWO-TIME MASTERS CHAMPION
Scheffler is cool, calm and collected until the end.
With a smooth stroke and an iced putt, he is your 2024 Masters Champion – and at just 27, a two-time winner at Augusta.
He’s the world No.1 and an absolute mental monster, as he showed time and again during a nerveless back nine to hold off a fast-finishing Ludvig Aberg.
9.00AM: MORIKAWA FINDS TROUBLE ON 18
Morikawa’s final round has been a bit of a rollercoaster, and the final hole has given no respite from that.
He ends up in a terrible spot off the drive, forced to play backwards from underneath a holly bush.
Attempting something of a recovery shot, Morikawa thunders a wood down the fairway – only to just fall short of the green and end up in the bunker.
He finishes with a clutch putt to take a share of third-spot with Homa and Fleetwood.
No troubles for Scheffler, however, and he will soon putt for a second green jacket.
8.50AM: ABERG’S DREAM DAY HITS LATE HURDLE
Any hope of a miracle seems properly finished as Aberg finds the deepest bunker on the course with his approach on 18 – and hits out, only to find the other bunker.
The 24-year-old, on his Masters debut, has a two-shot gap on third-placed Collin Morikawa.
He recovers to grab par, carding a final-round 69 and a firm grip on second place at 7-under.
Now attention turns to Scheffler, and whether he can hold his nerve for one last hole... albeit with a four-stroke lead.
8.35AM: ICE IN HIS VEINS
He’s too good. Scheffler is basically emotionless out there – perfectly level as he surges towards a second Masters victory.
In front of a monster crowd on the 16th green Scheffler shows he has ice in his veins with a nerveless birdie putt.
He leads by four from Aberg with two to play.
8.20AM: SCHEFFLER ZEROES IN ON SECOND MASTERS WIN
It’s Scottie’s to lose from here.
He sinks back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14 to takes a three-shot lead with four to play.
The 24-year-old Ludvig Aberg is the only golfer putting pressure on. But Scheffler will need to make a serious stumble from here.
And just as you say that…. He finds the front bunker in front of 15 – and Aberg, moments later, lands in the greenside bunker on 16.
But they both recover to scramble for par.
8AM: SCHEFFLER CLOSES IN ON HISTORY
Scheffler has bounced back well from the bogey on 11 – picking that shot back up with a birdie on 13, to regain his cushion over the fast-finishing Aberg.
Aberg banks a birdie of his own on 14 - making it back-to-back birdies - to ensure it stays just a two-shot lead for Scheffler.
Five holes to play for Scheffler to become the fourth youngest multiple-Masters winner – joining Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Seve Ballesteros.
7.45AM: ABERG SNATCHES ONE BACK
A Superb approach from Aberg on 13, where he blazes his second shot onto the green to give himself a long look at eagle.
He can’t hole that, but sets up a birdie chance from a few feet and duly delivers. He moves clear of Homa into outright second and sits two shots behind the nerveless Scheffler.
Are there any more twists in this Masters race?
7.30AM: MORIKAWA FLAMES OUT OF CONTENTION
It looks like it’s all over for Collin Morikawa.
He goes left off the tee and finds the water on 11. That could well put an end to his hopes of a maiden Masters win.
It leads to another double-bogey and he has dropped back to 3-under.
Scottie Scheffler has had his first wobble on the back nine, dropping back to 8-under with a bogey on 11 after a missed putt.
Everyone else is slipping too, however. The back nine is unforgiving.
Max Homa was momentarily the nearest challenger, but a double bogey on 12 has put him back alongside Ludvig Aberg at 5-under.
7.15AM: AUSSIE WATCH – SMITH, DAVIS EYE TOP 10
The prospect of a green jacket has slipped away for Aussie pair Cameron Smith and Cameron Davis, but the duo are on track for top-10 finishes.
Smith eagled the second, then gave a shot back on the fifth and has been ultra-consistent ever since – knocking down eight straight pars.
He’s at 2-under, one ahead of Davis, to be outright seventh – but seven shots behind the leader Scottie Scheffler.
7AM: SCHEFFLER OPENS UP TWO-SHOT LEAD
We’re into the serious action now. The leading four are onto the back nine, where the magic happens at Augusta.
Scottie Scheffler’s outrageous approach on 9 gave him a one-shot lead, and a boost heading into the business end of the tournament.
And he backed it up with a clutch birdie on 10 to move to a two-shot lead from Max Homa and Ludvig Aberg, who are back on 7-under.
He’s the hottest player in golf and he has his eyes on a second green jacket.
6.45AM: MORIKAWA’S BUNKER HELL, SCHEFFLER RE-TAKES LEAD
Scheffler almost holes out for eagle – leaving his approach shot one foot from the pin on the 9th.
He puts that away calmly to re-take the outright lead at 8-under.
It’s a bad news story for Morikawa on the same hole, however. He finds the trees, then a bunker…. And takes two shots getting out of the sand.
He’s left with a long putt for bogey – which he misses, walking away with a double-bogey.
That’s a brutal three-shot swing for Morikawa, who slides to three behind Scheffler.
6.35AM: ABERG MONSTER PUTT KEEPS PACE ON
Could it be Ludvig Aberg’s day?
The young Swede, on Masters debut, is keeping pace with the heavyweights and showing nerves of steel – burying a long birdie putt on 9 to stay in a share of the lead.
He’s on 7-under with Scheffler and Morikawa as he prepares to attack the treacherous back nine.
The only thing not going his way? A mid-round snack, which was knocked out of his hand by an overzealous fan who wanted a high-five.
The 24-year-old walked off with a smile. He's in the zone.
6.20AM: FOUR-HEADED MONSTER LEADS MASTERS
It’s heating up at Augusta.
Scottie Scheffler has dropped a shot on 7 to fall back to join Collin Morikawa and Ludvig Aberg on six-under, in a three-way share of the lead.
Scheffler has been up and down this morning and is missing a few greens – he had a 10 foot putt for par on 7 but couldn’t deliver.
And Max Homa sinks a birdie putt to join them. Four share the lead with 10 holes to play - with a three-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau and Tommy Fleetwood.
6AM: World No.1 Scottie Scheffler was clinging to the lead early on the final day of the Masters.
But fellow Americans Collin Morikawa and Max Homa and Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg were breathing down his neck.
Starting six shots off Scheffler’s lead, Australian star Cameron Smith Smith holed out for eagle from the bunker at hole No.2 to make a fleeting run before a bogey at the 5th.
England’s Tommy Fleetwood and LIV defector Bryson DeChambeau are also in the mix.
But unsung Australian Cam Davis has fallen out of contention.
Tiger Woods, playing in his 100th competitive Masters round, finished at 16 over after a final round 77.
Woods had a touching moment at the par-three 16th when he stopped to shake hands with retiring Masters broadcaster Verne Lundquist, the man behind the mic at the same hole 19 years ago when the golfing great made his miraculous “Oh Wow” chip-in for birdie enroute to another green jacket.
Woods revealed post round that negotiations between the rival LIV and PGA Tours were “heading in the right direction”.
Woods met with the head of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, in the Bahamas last month.
“That was a very positive meeting, and I think both sides came away from the meeting feeling positive,” Woods said.
The 15-time major champion also made clear that he intended to play in this year’s remaining three majors.
“I’m going to do my homework going forward at Pinehurst, Valhalla and Troon, but that’s kind of the game plan,” Woods said.
“I heard there’s some changes at the next couple sites. So got to get up there early and check them out.
“Just keep lifting, keep the motor going, keep the body moving, keep getting stronger, keep progressing. Hopefully the practice sessions will keep getting longer.
“It was a good week. It was a good week all around. I think that coming in here, not having played a full tournament in a very long time, it was a good fight on Thursday and Friday. Unfortunately yesterday it didn’t quite turn out the way I wanted it to.”
12AM: RISKY GAMBLE PAYS OFF FOR MORIKAWA
Collin Morikawa’s decision to switch to a different putter before the second round of the Masters raised some eyebrows but paid off with the Californian heading into Sunday’s final round just a stroke off the lead.
Morikawa shot a three-under 69 on a Saturday in which putting on the notoriously difficult greens at Augusta got harder and faster to sit just a shot behind leader Scottie Scheffler.
After Thursday’s opening round, when he shot 71, Morikawa switched from his recently adopted mallet head putter back to a more familiar blade putter.
While it is not unusual for top professionals to switch putters, it is rare for them to do so in the middle of a major championship.
“I came into this week not putting well or not feeling comfortable with the putter that I had in my hands. Went full 180, switched to the mallet and was feeling great, to be honest,” he said.
“I felt better than I’ve kind of felt all year. But sometimes you don’t know how it’s going to feel in the tournament. Through that (first) round... I just wanted to get the putter out of my hands because I couldn’t get comfortable with it.
“Thankfully I had a backup, something – a copy of what I’ve putted with in the past, pretty much the past year and a half. Felt like old times and nice to have that in the back again.
“I didn’t make the putts I necessarily wanted today. Missed a few out there, but everything still feels comfortable. That’s the biggest thing is feeling comfortable going into tomorrow.”
Morikawa looked comfortable on a day that was far from so for most of his rivals atop the leaderboard – starting off with three straight birdies before his solitary bogey on the sixth and a bounce-back birdie on the eighth.
While others struggled through the back nine, during an enthralling final two hours of play, the two-time major winner kept his cool, collecting nine straight pars.
Cameron Davis (73) is the best-placed of the five Australians, five shots off the pace.
Fellow Aussie Cameron Smith made a costly bogey at the final hole to card an even par 72 – but gives himself a fighting chance.
More Coverage
Originally published as The Masters, Day 4: Scottie Scheffler wins second green jacket, final leadboard, highlights
Athlete stripped of gold over banned flag
An Paralympic athlete has been sensationally stripped of his gold medal after he unfurled a banned flag during his celebrations.
Revealed: The panel which will oversee Dees’ review after backflip
After rejecting the need for a full-scale review of the club all through 2024, Melbourne has backflipped. JAY CLARK reveals the three men who’ll conduct the sweeping review.