Scottie Scheffler won his second green jacket by four shots at the 88th Masters. A superlative back nine that saw his competitors flail for life around him, allowed the American to pull clear and cruise to his second major title, and third title already this year.
Only eight players ended under par this week. Scheffler was ahead of major champion debutant Luvig Aberg by four shots and a darted iron shot into the 14th hole pretty much sealed the deal on the day.
Yes, it was somewhat predictable - but it can't take away from the brilliance offered up on a searing day at Augusta National. After following him alongside Rory McIlroy on Friday, we could see the gulf in class between those two and it appears that gulf extended to pretty much the rest of the field.
Scheffler's mindset appears to be levels ahead of the rest of the field too. Asked about what golf (and winning) means to him, he seems to be able to separate it from the rest of his life and his focusses off the course.
'My buddies told me this morning, my victory was secure on the cross. And that's a pretty special feeling to know that I'm secure for forever and it doesn't matter if I win this tournament or lose this tournament. My identity is secure for forever.'
'I get to come out here and compete, have fun, enjoy it; and then at the end of the day, win or lose, my identity is secure.'
With his wife Meredith is just weeks away from giving birth to their first child, it's amazing Scheffler was even able to focus on the job at hand today. He even joked with the media that he was struggling to properly answer questions, such was his urge to get back to his heavily pregnant wife who hasn't been at the property with him all week. 'In my head, all I can think about right now is getting home. I'm not thinking about the tournament. I'm not thinking about the green jacket. I'm trying to answer your questions and I'm trying to get home,' he said with a smile.
The way he played the back nine today is proof that his ability to separate golf and his personal life is a mixture for success. Birdies on 8, 9 and 10 saw him start to clear from the pack, but it was his bounce back from a bogey on 11 with birdies on 13 and 14 which saw him cruise to victory. The group of well equipped challengers - Ludvig Aberg, Max Homa and Collin Morikawa - just couldn't keep up with him. Grave errors from Aberg and Morikawa on 11 - both found the pond on the left - didn't do enough to punish Scheffler's bogey on that hole.
Homa's challenge came to an end on the par-3 12th. He only pulled his tee shot by a fraction, but it took a big hop off the back of the green, and he had to take an unplayable which lead to a double bogey. No one could touch Scottie Scheffler after he birdied 13 and 14. His mind clearly set on what it needed to do, and his body joining up the dots to do the rest.
Amazingly, the RBC Heritage - one of the PGA Tour's signature events - starts on Thursday. 'I feel like I'm playing really good golf right now. I feel like I'm in control of my emotions as I've ever been, which is a good place to be. I feel like I'm maturing as a person on the golf course, which is a good place to be. I think it's hard to argue with the results of the last few weeks. I've been playing some nice golf. But I really try to not focus too much on the past. I'm going to go home this week and reflect on this week and soak it in as best I can. Like I said, it's not -- it's not a very satisfying sport because I'm supposed to tee it up again on Thursday.'
