On Friday, Scottie Scheffler was having his neck worked on part way through his second round at The Players Championship at the TPC at Sawgrass. He actually thought, at least for a couple of holes, about pulling out of the tournament.
“I didn’t really know if I was going to be able to swing,” Scheffler said. “Basically looking up to see the line on my putt was pretty difficult. It was hard to hit putts because right when I turned my head to look at the hole my brain’s sending pain signals or however that works, getting pain signals to my brain. It’s not easy to focus on making a putt when you’re in pain.”
Scheffler pulled it off through a historic final round, shooting 8-under-64 in the final round to better a group chasing him, including U.S. Open champ Wyndham Clark, who looked like he had it locked down after shooting 14-under through the first two rounds, along with British Open champ Brian Harman and Xander Schauffele. Schauffele, Harman, and Clark all came up a shot short. Clark came the closest to matching Scheffler when his final putt looped around the cup in the 18th hole and stayed out.
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“I don’t know how that putt doesn’t go in,” Clark said. “It was kind of right center with like a foot to go, and I knew it was going to keep breaking, but it had speed and I thought it was going to go inside left, and even when it kind of lipped, I thought it would lip in. I’m pretty gutted it didn’t go in.”
Scheffler by the numbers
Repeating: Scheffler became the first player to defend at the Players. The last one to come close was Hal Sutton, who finished 5th in 2001.
Cash: Scheffler took home $4.5 million for winning the tournament.
All-time: Scheffler is now the 9th highest earner of all-time on the PGA Tour.
No. 8: The number of wins Scheffler has on the PGA Tour to date, including back-to-back victories at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players.
What’s in the bag?
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10
Irons: Srixon ZU85 (3, 4), TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (50-12F, 56-14F), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-06K, 60.5-T)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X
The Canucks
Seven Canadians were in the field, and two were in the mix heading into the weekend. In the end, Corey Conners was the top Canadian, having another fine Players Championship by shooting 4-under in the final round and finishing in a tie for 13th. Nick Taylor cruised into the weekend at 10-under, but the wheels came off with a 4-over 76 on Saturday. He finished in a tie for 26th, alongside fellow Canadian Mackenzie Hughes.
TPC at Sawgrass—Not so tough?
Typically known as a shotmaker’s course, the TPC of Sawgrass is typically a difficult week for most players. But not this week. Instead, the PGA Tour appeared to set the course up easily, including a collar of rough on the island green 17th to keep balls from spinning back into the water.
Some key facts from the week
Tom Hoge shot the tournament single-round record with a 10-under 62. Hoge narrowly made the cut, and shot the incredible bogey-free round on Saturday. Nine players had previously shot 9-under.
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The 17th hole, arguably one of the most famous in the world, played slightly over par for the week, but did see an ace from Ryan Fox, who spun the ball back into the cup in the opening round.
Rory McIlroy made 26 birdies in the tournament, but somehow finished 19th, a testament to his continued struggles. And, in fact, Sam Ryder bettered him with 27 birdies, setting a new tournament record. McIlroy has now made nine double-bogeys this year, two more than he made in the entirety of last season.
totally love this tournament. Each hole has to be played with precision or excellent scrambling. fun to watch.