Jon Rahm helps Scottie into his green jacket with a couple of celebratory slaps on the back … and that’s a wrap at the 2024 Masters. Here’s how the top of the leader board looked once it all came down. Thanks for reading all four days of this blog!
-11: Scheffler
-7: Åberg
-4: Fleetwood, Homa, Morikawa
-2: Smith, DeChambeau
-1: Schauffele
E: Zalatoris, Hatton, Young
+1: Pavon, Reed, Schenk, Davis
+2: Straka, Kirk, An, Hojgaard
Scottie Scheffler is welcomed back to the Butler Cabin. “I did my best to stay calm … I tried to stay patient … I made some key shots and putts … Ludvig played great, he made a great move there on the back nine … I was fortunate to hold him off … on 9 it was a nice to get that feeling of hitting a really well-struck shot … that kinda set me up to have a really nice back nine.”
A message for his wife Meredith, as the couple prepare to become parents: “I’m coming home! I’ll be home as quick as I can. I love you and I’m coming home!”
The Butler Cabin. First up, the low amateur Neal Shipley, who went round with Tiger Woods today. “It’s a day I’m going to cherish forever … he was great to me out there … to have all the patrons rooting both of us on was phenomenal … this week is going to be one of the best weeks of my life … something I will remember forever … especially being able to play with Tiger … the whole week in general!”
Scottie Scheffler falls into the arms of friends and family. All his loved ones. Max Homa! That was an outrageously good round of golf, not least because it took him most of the front nine to really get going. But the minute the chasing pack pulled up to his bumper, he sped off into the distance. Ludvig Aberg’s jaw-dropping birdie putt on 9 was the spark for a stunning response: nearly holing out for eagle at 9, the conquest of the notoriously difficult 10th, another kick-in birdie at 14 just when Aberg briefly threatened to revive his bid. Scheffler, the world number one, the reigning Players champion, now a two-time Masters champion, is simply the best in the world right now by some distance. Too good. Too many extra gears. What a round of golf!
Scottie Scheffler wins the 2024 Masters!
Scheffler tidies up for his par, and that’s a wonderful 68. He hugs his caddie then takes his cap off to salute the crowd that’s saluting him. Collin Morikawa congratulates him too. Scheffler raises both arms in triumph and a mixture of relief and joy washes over his face! What a performance!
-11: Scheffler (F)
-7: Aberg (F)
-4: Fleetwood (F), Homa (F), Morikawa (F)
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Collin Morikawa makes it! Lovely to see. It’d have been cruel had he slipped out of third place. Bogey, though, which means he now shares it with Tommy Fleetwood and Max Homa. All three deserve their podium finish.
… and he chips up to three feet. He’s about to win his second Masters, but first Collin Morikawa has to finish the hole. He splashes out to eight feet. A fine shot, but he needs to make this putt if he’s to avoid making a third double-bogey in the last ten holes. Not ideal behaviour on Masters Sunday.
The patrons of Augusta National stand as one to greet their champion-in-waiting. The applause continues to ripple as he prowls the green, sizing up his last chip. He’s home and hosed, yet he wouldn’t be human if he doesn’t remember his shaky four-putt on this green when he won two years ago. He’ll be taking nothing for granted …
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Morikawa is miles back. So far, in fact, that he can’t see the green. He lashes a fairway wood towards the target, but lands short, in the bunker at the front. Unless he holes out from there, Tommy Fleetwood and Max Homa will be guaranteed a share of third.
Ludvig Aberg is receiving one heck of a reception from the Augusta patrons. Everyone wants to slap his hand in congratulations. He looks relaxed and happy. The week could hardly have gone any better. Well, yes, of course, but y’know. He’ll be back! Meanwhile Collin Morikawa is in all sorts of tree-bound bother and can only chop out back down the hole. Before he can take his third, Scottie Scheffler carefully wedges out from the sand. A lay-up at a par four. Hey, if you’ve got the shots in hand, use them.
Two putts for Max Homa, who signs for a 73 and ends the week in a tie for fourth. Meanwhile Ludvig Aberg gets up and down from the sand, and receives the warmest of ovations after his 69. He’ll end the week in second spot. The last Masters debutant to do that? Jordan Spieth in 2014, and he won the thing 12 months later. Just sayin’!
Scottie’s tee shot at 18 finds Sandy’s Sand. Morikawa’s finds the trees down the right; he’ll need to take care if he wants to hold onto third place for himself.
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Scottie Scheffler finds the middle of 17 in two easy swipes, then nearly guides in the birdie putt. It’s the width of a dimple to the right of the cup. Par. Just the four-shot lead going up the last, then. Meanwhile up the 18th, Max Homa finds the green in regulation, while Ludvig Aberg sends his final approach of the week into greenside sand.
A bogey at the last for Xander Schauffele. He signs for a 73 and will end the week in the top ten of a major yet again. Par for Bryson DeChambeau, whose 73 leaves him in a tie for sixth with Cameron Smith.
Ludvig Aberg’s birdie putt on 17 is more like 30 feet than 12. Blame the camera angle. Blame bleary eyes after four days of blogging. Blame idiocy. You won’t be too far off if you plump for all three. So it’s asking a bit much of him to make it. Two putts and that’s a par. Max Homa can’t get up and down from greenside sand, though, and he slips back to -4.
Scottie Scheffler strokes his gentle right-to-left slider into the cup. Did you expect to read anything else? Meanwhile it’s a two-putt par from distance for Collin Morikawa. This is over. To be honest, it’s been over since Scheffler birdied 10 while Aberg was finding water at 11. But for a wee while, we had a four-way fight back there!
-11: Scheffler (16)
-7: Aberg (16)
-5: Homa (16), Morikawa (16)
If Scottie Scheffler is nervous, there are no betraying jangles to be heard. He sends a gentle draw into 16, the tilt of the green setting up a ten-foot birdie opportunity. Up on 17, Ludvig Aberg caresses an 8-iron 12 feet past the flag. A couple of big putts coming up, if there’s to be any weird twist in the tale.
Aberg gets it close! He splashes 15 feet past the flag, hoping that the camber of the green will bring it back, Tiger-style. It does, but not by enough. He’ll rescue his par, though. That’s a clever up-and-down. He remains at -7. Meanwhile back on 15, Scheffler batters his long bunker shot 20 feet past the flag, but that’s about the best he could have hoped for. He races the first putt three feet past, but he’s not missing the one coming back. Par, and he’s one step closer to home. Birdie for Morikawa.
-10: Scheffler (15)
-7: Aberg (16)
-5: Homa (16), Morikawa (15)
-4: Fleetwood (F)
-2: Smith (F), DeChambeau (17), Schauffele (17)
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Scheffler sends his shot over water at 15 and into the bunker to the right of the green. Morikawa, who lays up having driven into trees down the right, wedges to 15 feet. Meanwhile up on 16, Aberg flirts with the water but his ball lands in the bunker. He’s super short-sided, though. Good luck getting that one close.
Some proper close-but-no-cigar stuff by Max Homa and Ludvig Aberg on 15. Homa had creamed his second into the green, only for the ball to topple off the back, just an inch or two too long. He can’t get his chip up close, no matter how delicate, and he’s got to settle for par. As does Aberg, who tickles his birdie putt down to the cup, only for it to drift right at the end and shave the lip.
-10: Scheffler (14)
-7: Aberg (15)
-5: Homa (15)
-4: Fleetwood (F), Morikawa (14)
A par for Tommy Fleetwood at the last. A final round of 69 and he ends the week at -4. Meanwhile a 71 for Cameron Smith; the 2022 Open champ will finish in the top ten at -2.
Yep, in goes Scottie’s putt. Meanwhile Aberg’s drive at 15 had gone into the trees, and so he punches back out. His third, a wedge over the flag, thinks about spinning back close, but snags in the fringe. He’ll have to make a difficult downhill tickler for birdie, and even then it’ll probably not be enough … especially as Scheffler has just battered his drive at this hole straight down the middle. Procession ahoy!
-10: Scheffler (14)
-7: Aberg (14)
-5: Homa (14)
-4: Fleetwood (17), Morikawa (14)
-3: DeChambeau (15)
-2: Smith (17), Schauffele (15)
-1: Davis (16)
Anything Ludvig Aberg can do, Scottie Scheffler can do even better. He lands his wedge at 14 behind the flag before spinning it back to kick-in distance. He’ll restore his three-shot lead. His performance since rediscovering his distance control on 9 has been little short of other-worldly. This is almost certainly a procession now, unless there’s a real kicker in the final chapter.
The other problem for Aberg is that perfection is pretty much required from now until the clubhouse if he’s to snatch this from Scheffler. So sending his tee shot down the left of 15 isn’t the smartest thing to do. He won’t be able to go for the green in two from there.
Ludvig Aberg, drawing on his supercool, rolls his birdie putt straight in at 14. His response to dunking his ball in the water at 11 has been quite outstanding. This is his major championship debut! That requires constant reminders. If you didn’t know for sure, you’d struggle to believe it. Only problem is, Scottie Scheffler is a force of nature himself, and he’s coming behind and not looking in the mood to make any mistakes. He blooters a big tee shot down 14 and you wouldn’t bet too much of the farm on his getting close with his approach and replicating Aberg’s birdie.
-9: Scheffler (13)
-7: Aberg (14)
-5: Homa (13)
-4: Fleetwood (17), Morikawa (13)
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Up on 14, Ludvig Aberg wedges over the flag and sets up a straight uphill five-footer for birdie. He’ll need that for sure, because back on 13, Scottie Scheffler makes his short putt for a fourth birdie in six holes. Collin Morikawa makes his birdie too.
-9: Scheffler (13)
-6: Aberg (13)
-5: Homa (13)
-4: Fleetwood (17), Morikawa (13)
It’s not clear who’s closer to the 13th pin: Collin Morikawa or Scottie Scheffler. They’re both miles away, this much we know. So they spin a tee to decide. Very causal. No biggie, they’re just competing for the Masters, is all. The tee falls and points at Morikawa, who goes first, and chips down gracefully to six feet. Scheffler then strokes a putt to similar distance. Both will have a great look at birdie.
Ludvig Aberg clatters his drive miles down the track at 14. He’s responded really well to that double-bogey mistake at 11. But you suspect he really needed to make that eagle putt on 13 for a chance of gaining any real ground on Scottie Scheffler, because the world number one clacks his second into the 13th green. His ball’s back left, with the flag front right, and he’ll be a good 50 or 60 feet away from the flag. But if he makes it down in two careful putts, he’ll restore his three-stroke advantage at the top.
Max Homa’s birdie putt has a left-to-right swing. He sends it off along the perfect line, but doesn’t hit it. His ball stops one turn short. Par. Ludvig Aberg then buckles his knees in irritation as his eagle putt stays high on the left, not turning at all despite travelling on a fairly similar line. It’s a birdie, though, and for a couple of moments at least, Scottie Scheffler’s lead is down to two.
-8: Scheffler (12)
-6: Aberg (13)
-5: Homa (13)
Ludvig Aberg hasn’t given up, that’s for sure! He creams a 4-iron into the middle of 13, the camber of the green gathering his ball to 15 feet or so. He’ll have a relatively straight look at eagle. Max Homa lays up, then wedges to 25 feet. Coming behind, Scottie Scheffler sends his drive into the second cut to the right, but he’ll be able to fly one in from there. Collin Morikawa whistles his tee shot along the Tiger Line down the left.
This isn’t over yet … though the vibe around Augusta National at the moment suggests most of the patrons think it is. After a period of high drama, when Ludvig Aberg and Scottie Scheffler were trading outrageous birdies at 9, the atmosphere has gone a bit flat thanks to the series of mistakes made by the chasing pack. Scheffler and Collin Morikawa both take two careful putts for their pars on 12, while Max Homa and Ludvig Aberg find the fairway with their drives at 13. Aberg may be in a position to go for the green in two; not sure Homa, who sent his out to the right, will be able, or even minded, to do the same. Let’s see.
-8: Scheffler (12)
-5: Homa (12), Aberg (12)
-4: Fleetwood (16)
After a five-minute wait as Max Homa faffed around, Scottie Scheffler takes aim at the 12th. Into the heart of the green. Maybe 30 feet away, but the safe play. Collin Morikawa gets a bit closer and claps his hands together in determination, a desperate cry to himself to take it up a notch. The entire chasing pack in the last-chance saloon already, unless Scottie Scheffler gives them a helping hand. Hey, it’s happened before around Augusta National, nothing’s set in stone yet.
Max Homa takes a drop onto the pine straw, the best result he could hope for. But the chip is no good, duffed into the fringe and left short of the green. His next one sails six feet past, and he does very well to make the one coming back. But that’s a double-bogey five, and suddenly Scottie Scheffler has a three-stroke lead. Ludvig Aberg pars after a calm two-putt from distance.
-8: Scheffler (11)
-5: Homa (12), Aberg (12)
-4: Fleetwood (15)
-3: DeChambeau (13), Morikawa (11)
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… but he over-reads the left-to-right slider, and that’s Morikawa’s second double-bogey in three holes. A small consolation for him: Scheffler carelessly races his putt from just off the green eight feet past, and can’t make the one coming back. A bogey, but everyone in the chasing pack is doing so much worse.
-8: Scheffler (11)
-7: Homa (11)
-5: Aberg (11)
-4: Fleetwood (15)
-3: DeChambeau (12), Morikawa (11)
-2: Smith (14)
Homa has found his ball in the thick cabbage. It’s surely unplayable. As he works out where to drop, the cameras pan back to 11, where Morikawa takes a drop right by the side of the bank, as opposed to the drop zone. He grips down the shaft and bumps cleverly to six feet, giving himself a great chance of limiting the damage to bogey …
“Dammit!” Collin Morikawa hollers in anger as he pulls egregiously into Aberg’s lake. As young Ludvig has just demonstrated, he’ll need his A-game to limit the damage to bogey. Scottie Scheffler plays it safe by sending his second shot short and right. Meanwhile over on 12, Max Homa whistles a hot tee shot through the green, his ball disappearing into the vegetation behind. That’s disappeared. Where is it? We’ll soon find out. Aberg finds the dancefloor, but a good 50 feet away from the pin. All of a sudden, this is threatening to turn into a procession for Scheffler, as his challengers take turns to make big and potentially costly mistakes.
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Max Homa gives his birdie putt a good old rattle. Bold, and six feet past. But he pops in the one coming back. Meanwhile Ludvig Aberg drops and wedges to 20 feet, about as good as he could do from the zone. He nearly makes the bogey putt, but that’s an ever-so-costly double. He smiles widely, if ruefully, as he wanders over to his fate at the 12th.
-9: Scheffler (10)
-7: Homa (11)
-5: Aberg (11), Morikawa (10)
-4: Fleetwood (14)
A reflective but relatively cheery Rory McIlroy talks to Sky. “I still have a little bit of work to do on my game … it’s an amazing golf tournament … I’m super-grateful to compete in it … I’m going to keep coming back until it is my year!”
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The wind is picking up a little bit, just in time for the leaders as they traverse Amen Corner. Lovely! That’s not affecting the ice-cool Scottie Scheffler, though, who bashes a drive straight down the middle. Collin Morikawa follows him. Further up the hole, Max Homa sets his second well away from the drink that claimed Ludvig Aberg’s ball, and gently draws it in from the right. He finds the dancefloor, pin high, though he’ll have a long downhill putt for birdie.
Amen Corner takes its first victim at the business end of Masters Sunday! From the centre of the 11th fairway, Ludvig Aberg pulls his second dramatically left, the ball bouncing off the bank and plonking into the water. That birdie putt at 9, and all the associated bedlam, seems an awfully long time ago now.
It’s three birdies in a row for Scottie Scheffler, who strokes his right-to-left slider carefully down 10 and into the cup. All of a sudden, there’s a bit of separation at the top of the leader board. Par meanwhile for his playing partner Collin Morikawa. Meanwhile across the 13th green, Tommy Fleetwood nearly drains a monster 70-foot eagle effort, but has to settle for a kick-in birdie.
-9: Scheffler (10)
-7: Homa (10), Aberg (10)
-5: Morikawa (10)
-4: Fleetwood (13)
Scottie Scheffler took a while to warm up today, but he’s dialling them in now. He follows that sensational wedge on 9 with a glorious short iron at 10 from 146 yards to nine feet, pin high. Meanwhile up on 18, a par for Rory McIlroy. A 73 and he finishes at +4.
The 2024 Masters Tournament starts here and now. That’s because the final group has hit the turn. The back nine on Sunday! It. Is. On! Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa send their tee shots down the 10th fairway.
Max Homa, having been outdone in the drama stakes on 9 by Ludvig Aberg, Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa, gets involved by sending his approach at 10 from 160 yards to three feet. That’s one of the shots of the day! He makes his birdie while his playing partner Aberg cards a no-fuss par. This is really beginning to bubble now. Scottie Scheffler the favourite but good luck calling it with complete confidence!
-8: Scheffler (9)
-7: Homa (10), Aberg (10)
-5: Morikawa (9)
Morikawa can’t make the bogey putt, and it’s a double at the most costly of times. AFTERTHOUGHT DEPARTMENT: Max Homa parred the hole, by the way.
-8: Scheffler (9)
-7: Aberg (9)
-6: Homa (9)
-5: Morikawa (9)
-3: Fleetwood (12), DeChambeau (10)
-2: Smith (12)
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… when the 9th green is vacated, Scottie Scheffler, coming behind from 89 yards, lands his wedge ten feet past the flag and spins it back and … in? Nope. Not quite. It stops on the lip. But he taps in for birdie to regain the lead for himself. What a shot! The gallery went wild. And that’s rattled Collin Morikawa, who had carved his tee shot into the trees. He sends his second under the branches and into the left-hand bunker. He leaves the first splash in the sand, and doesn’t get close with his second attempt. He’ll have a long look at bogey. Blows and counter-blows all over the shop!
-8: Scheffler (9)
-7: Aberg (9), Morikawa (8)
-6: Homa (9)
Ludvig Aberg’s second into 9 is a bit careless, ending up 36 feet behind the flag. He’s faced with a tricky downhill putt on a treacherous and infamous green – putting back down the fairway is not beyond the realms – but dribbles a sensational right-to-left swinger that picks up pace and drops into the centre of the cup! Never (ahem) in doubt! He rolls his eyes and smiles broadly. Just as well that hit the cup, because it was travelling. But it’s a birdie! He claps hands with the patrons as he walks up to the 10th tee, one of them accidentally knocking the power bar he’s munching on out of his hand. Aberg stares at the gallery, then hangs his head in theatrical misery, before walking off laughing. He’s on cloud nine at the moment … and on top of the leader board alongside Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa at -7! But not for long, because …
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Danny Willett pars 18 and signs for a final round of 78. That’s a whole ten shots worse than his extremely impressive opening round, but the 2016 champion will be happy with his +9 finish nonetheless, coming back ahead of schedule from shoulder surgery as he is.
Scottie Scheffler tickles in his straight birdie putt and for a second is the sole leader of the Masters. Collin Morikawa joins him seconds later, though, with his first birdie of the day. Meanwhile the closing stretch looks like costing Tyrrell Hatton again; a bogey at 17 and he slips back to -1. Bogey also for Nicolai Hojgaard at 10.
-7: Scheffler (8), Morikawa (8)
-6: Homa (8), Aberg (8)
-3: Fleetwood (11), DeChambeau (9)
-2: Smith (10), Schauffele (9)
-1: Hatton (17), Davis (10), Hojgaard (10)
Collin Morikawa has been quietly parring his way around Augusta National. Seven in a row today. But he’s looking good to break that run at the par-five 8th. From 110 yards he screeches a wedge to a halt, pin high, four feet from the flag. Meanwhile Scottie Scheffler, having sent his second over the back right of the green, bumps a gentle chip seven feet past. He’ll have a pretty straight birdie putt coming back up the hill. Two big birdie putts coming up.
Ludvig Aberg catches his wedge up from the swale to the side of 8 a bit thin. The ball fails to bite on the green and topples over the back. It’s a tricky up and down to save par now. In the meantime, Max Homa lags a 53-foot eagle putt up to a couple of feet, and that’s his second birdie in seven holes after a 34-hole wait for the third. Aberg elects to putt up from the back, and though his first one breaks almost 90 degrees to the right and rolls a couple of shaky feet away, he makes the par saver. It’s a four-way tie at the top now!
-6: Homa (8), Aberg (8), Scheffler (7), Morikawa (7)
-3: Fleetwood (10), DeChambeau (8)
Ludvig Aberg crashes his tee shot 312 yards down 8, then sends his fairway wood wide right of the green from 250 or so. He’ll have quite a task getting up and down from that swale if he wants a birdie that’d take him into the lead on his own. Meanwhile here’s Simon McMahon. “If DeChambeau remains under par through 72 holes, he’ll have been in red figures for the entire tournament, having birdied the first on Thursday, and then remaining under par ever since (I think). That’s probably happened more often than I imagine, but still, it’d be some effort from the big man, especially at Augusta.
Scottie Scheffler’s tee shot at 7 sails towards the trees down the left, then pings across to the second cut on the right. He’s forced to clack a low second under some branches and into the bunker at the front of the green, hoping to get up and down the percentage play. He can only splash out to ten feet, though, and the left-to-right slider stays high on the left-hand side. Yet another near-miss birdie effort for the par-crazy Collin Morikawa, and suddenly there’s a three-way lead at the top. What a Masters we have here!
-6: Aberg (7), Scheffler (7), Morikawa (7)
-5: Homa (7)
-3: Fleetwood (10), DeChambeau (8)
-2: Hatton (15), Smith (9), Hojgaard (8), Schauffele (8)
Time to remind ourselves that Ludvig Aberg is making his major-championship debut here. Nobody has won a major on debut since 2011, when Keegan Bradley made off with the PGA; before that it was Ben Curtis at the Open in 2003. Meanwhile nobody’s won the Masters on debut since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. The only other two debutants to win the Masters don’t really count if we’re being honest with ourselves: Horton Smith in 1934, the first tournament, so somebody had to, and Gene Sarazen one year later, when it wasn’t exactly a statistical jaw-dropper. If Aberg does this … well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. But y’know.
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Back on 7, Max Homa whips his second over the trees to the front of green. He utilises the bowl surrounding the flag to bring his chip in to eight feet, but his par saver lips out. Passing him on the leaderboard the other way, his partner Ludvig Aberg, who wedges calmly from 100 yards to four feet, and tidies up for his second birdie of the day!
-7: Scheffler (6)
-6: Aberg (7), Morikawa (6)
-5: Homa (5)
-3: Fleetwood (9), DeChambeau (7)
-2: Hatton (14), Smith (8), Hojgaard (8)
Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa take turns to nearly drain mid-range birdie putts on 6. Neither of these major winners seems to have located their A-game yet. Meanwhile there’s a four-putt for Rory McIlroy on 13. Admittedly it was from the best part of 75 feet, but still. A bogey, having technically putted for eagle. We’ve all done it countless times, right? (The four-putt part, that is, not the putting-for-eagle bit.)
A fine par for Cameron Smith at the par-five 8th. Fine considering he had to play his second shot out of the trees on his knees. He remains at -2. Meanwhile up on 18, par for the defending champion Jon Rahm. A final round of 76 and he ends the week at +9. Not much of a defence, but at least he made the cut, which he didn’t look like doing for a while.
Max Homa has been so steady all week. A first-round 67, since when he’s made three birdies, two bogeys, and 37 pars. He won’t want to get out of that rhythm now, so a snap-hook into the trees down 7 is most unwelcome. Ludvig Aberg meanwhile whistles one straight down the middle.
Scottie Scheffler finds the heart of the difficult 5th with two fine whacks. His second, from 193 yards to ten feet, sets up a fine birdie chance, but the gentle left-to-right slider stays out on the left. Collin Morikawa continues his run of pars. Meanwhile up on 14, Tyrrell Hatton creams his second pin high to six feet, but misreads the chance to move to -3, where he remains after tapping home.
A wonderful two-putt par from Ludvig Aberg on the par-three 6th. He’d landed his tee shot on the ridge running through the green, the ball turning away from the flag and rolling 70 feet away. He has to give the uphill putt a good old whack, and sends it ten feet past. But cool as you like, he strokes it into the centre of the cup. A proper momentum-saver. Whether that’s rattled Max Homa or not is unclear … but Homa’s shorter birdie effort is always staying high on the right. Pars for the pair of them, but one man will be feeling much better than the other.
One of the shots of the week at the par-three 6th by Max Homa. The pin’s tucked away back right; he bumps his tee shot off the bank to the right of the green, the ball gathering round and stopping eight feet behind the flag. Sensational, and a great chance to snatch a share of the lead. Meanwhile at 13, Tyrrell Hatton goes for it with his second shot. His ball falls off the back of the green, but he lags up from the fringe, a 60-foot putt that rolls gently across 59 of them. In goes the birdie putt and he’s -2.
Scottie Scheffler sends his tee shot at 4 over the back of the par-three. He underhits the chip coming back up, the ball only just squeaking onto the green, and there’s to be no scrambled par this time.
-7: Scheffler (4)
-6: Homa (5), Morikawa (4)
-5: Aberg (5)
-3: Fleetwood (7), DeChambeau (6)
Tyrrell Hatton is going along very nicely. Birdies at 2, 6, 10 and now 12, and he’s moved into red figures at -1. Only problem is, he’s not enjoyed the closing stretch here this week: he’s dropped eight strokes over the five closing holes, a record that includes two double bogeys. If he manages to break that trend and hold it together today, he’s on for his best finish here, easily beating his tie for 18th three years ago. Godspeed.
Bryson DeChambeau’s recovery continues apace! He hole a 30-foot putt from the fringe at 5 and that’s back-to-back birdies to wipe out the early pair of bogeys! If he’s taken a policy decision to play the rest of this round in a devil-may-care attitude with the handbrake off, the rest of the field watch out. Either way, this will surely be entertaining. He’s back to -3.
Tommy Fleetwood is doing all he can to haul himself into contention. He creams his approach at 7 from 106 yards to five feet, and in goes the putt for his second birdie of the day. He’s -3. Back on 4, pars for Ludvig Aberg and Max Homa, the latter saving the day with a perfectly weighted long bunker shot. And on 3, Scottie Scheffler drives into the bunker at the front of the green, then splashes out to three feet. In goes the putt, and despite nearly shipping shots on the first two holes, he’s saved his par on both of them before extending his lead. That’s steadied things nicely.
-8: Scheffler (3)
-6: Homa (4), Morikawa (3)
-5: Aberg (4)
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A par at the 18th for last year’s joint runner-up Phil Mickelson. He signs for a 74 today and finishes the week at +8. That’s a shot better than the man he shared second spot with 12 months ago. A 75 today for Brooks Koepka, who made four bogeys in the last six holes, and he ends the week at +9.
He’s yet to experience the back nine on Sunday, of course, but Ludvig Aberg seems unflappable. His chip into 3 topples off the side of the green, but a calm up and down keeps him at -5. Max Homa nearly makes it two birdies in a row, in London Buses fashion, but his 15-foot right-to-left curler dies an inch before the hole. Tap-in par, and he stays in a share of second. A backwards move meanwhile for Cam Smith at 5, as he fails to make a sandy par.
-7: Scheffler (2)
-6: Homa (3), Morikawa (2)
-5: Aberg (3)
-3: Schauffele (4)
-2: Fleetwood (6), Smith (6), DeChambeau (4)
Scottie Scheffler’s nerves betray him as he touches his ball while addressing the chip. He asks the gallery if it moved. Several patrons assure him that it did not. He bumps a gentle chip down to six feet, and tidies up for par. Meanwhile a three-putt par for his partner Collin Morikawa, and it’s been a steady but unspectacular start for the final pair. Meanwhile have we (OK, I) written off Bryson DeChambeau too soon? He rakes in a long birdie putt on 4 to return to -2.
Scottie Scheffler doesn’t seem on it at all during these early stages. He’s forced to take his medicine out of the fairway bunker at 2 … then flies the green with his third shot. He ends up in the patrons, and there’s not a lot of green to play with coming back.
Bryson DeChambeau looks a broken docket. He batters a drive down 3, but misjudges his chip up from the bottom of the big bank, and the ball rolls back down the slope and subsequently the fairway. He holds the green with his second attempt, but two putts later, that’s another shot gone. A 5-5-5 start, and his dreams of adding a green jacket to his 2020 US Open title must surely wait another year.
Homa had gone to school on Ludvig Aberg’s chip seconds earlier from the same spot. Aberg also landed his ball softly on the green, but it didn’t roll out. Homa chipped a bit further and flatter and, well, there we are. But no matter! Because Aberg calmly rolls his birdie putt in from 30 feet, having taken turns to go to school on Homa’s chip, which will have given him the line. Homa then tidies up and he’s back in birdieland! His first in 34! Could that release a logjam at the ideal time? It’s a boost all right. The pair walk off in high spirits, having given each other a leg up, whether they realise it right now or not.
-7: Scheffler (1)
-6: Homa (2), Morikawa (1)
-5: Aberg (2)
-3: Smith (4), Schauffele (3)
Max Homa has gone 33 holes without a birdie. He nearly breaks that sequence by making an eagle from the back of 2. A delicate chip from the back that only just lands on the green before rolling out and shaving the left-hand lip. If he doesn’t make the two-footer coming back, he may never make a birdie again. Meanwhile up ahead, it’s back-to-back birdies for Rory McIlroy at 8 and 9, and he rises to +2.
Hats off to Nicolai Hojgaard! A disastrous double-bogey start, but he’s responded spectacularly, with back-to-back birdies at 2 and 3. He returns to -2 in short order. Meanwhile on 2, Scottie Scheffler drives into a fairway bunker down the right; a slightly uncertain start from the world number one.
Xander Schauffele can’t make his eagle putt on 2. But it’s a tap-in birdie and the Californian moves to -3. Bryson DeChambeau can’t get close enough with his chip from the gallery, though, and two putts later it’s a disappointing 5-5 start for the big man. Back on 1, Collin Morikawa doesn’t give his birdie putt enough, like Ludvig Aberg before him, and is forced to settle for par. Scottie Scheffler is much happier with his par, chipping up to four feet after that poor approach.
-7: Scheffler (1)
-6: Morikawa (1)
-5: Homa (1)
-4: Aberg (1)
-3: Smith (4), Schauffele (2)
-2: Fleetwood (4), Hojgaard (3), DeChambeau (2)
An uncharacteristically weak iron into the 1st from Scottie Scheffler. His ball barely reaches the green, then topples back off it. Not too far down the fairway, but he’ll face a testing up and down to salvage his par. Collin Morikawa meanwhile finds the heart of the green. Of the two men, Morikawa’s the one trending in the right direction over the three days.
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Ludvig Aberg sets up a 15-foot birdie chance on 1, but fails to hit the putt. Never getting there, but never mind, he taps in for an easy par. He remains at -4. Meanwhile on 2, Xander Schauffele sends a gorgeous approach into the heart of the green. It takes the Louis Oosthuizen Highway, the slope of the green taking the ball around the bunker guarding front right and closer to the flag … but there’s never a danger of a repeat of Oosthuizen’s 2011 albatross, the ball stopping a good 15 feet short. But he’ll have a great look at eagle. Bryson DeChambeau meanwhile flies the green on the other side, his ball ending up in among some startled patrons.
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The final group of the 2024 Masters Tournament takes to the tee. The leader Scottie Scheffler sends his opening drive down the middle. He’s aiming to become only the second player to win the Masters twice in his first five starts (after Horton Smith, 1934 and 1936). He’s heading round today with Collin Morikawa, who wants to join Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as a winner of the Masters, the PGA and the Open before the age of 30. He whistles his tee shot off nicely too. Everyone out! Here we go!
Tiger - his own-brand red shirt absolutely saturated in sweat, having fought the good fight this week - speaks to Sky Sports, and confirms he plans to play in the other three majors this year. “Hopefully I was going to shoot something in the 60s today … I thought I had that in my system … I hit a bad tee shot at 5 and never got it back … the rest of the majors is definitely doable … that’s about it … I said last year once a month, hopefully my body will co-operate.”
DeChambeau sends his second from the fairway bunker long and right. His chip up from the swale at the back is way too heavy, and he’s up and out of the long putt coming back with indecent speed. An opening bogey and there goes all that momentum from his dramatic hole-out on 18 yesterday. He’s back to -2. Meanwhile a birdie for Cameron Young at 3.
Cameron Smith makes the first big move of the day! He finds the bunker guarding the front of the par-five 2 in a couple of big hits … then gently splashes out and in for eagle! He springs up to -3. Birdie there too for the 2009 US Open champion Lucas Glover, who moves into red figures. Meanwhile back on the 1st tee, the penultimate group sets off. Both Max Homa and Ludvig Aberg split the fairway. Not long before everyone’s out!
-7: Scheffler
-6: Morikawa
-5: Homa
-4: Aberg
-3: Smith (2). DeChambeau
-2: Young (3), Fleetwood (3), Schauffele (1)
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It’s the worst possible start for Nicolai Hojgaard. He’s forced to chip out from the trees and doesn’t get particularly close with his wedge in. Three putts later, and that’s a double bogey. He’s level par. It’s gone horribly wrong for this week’s shortest-serving leader, who perhaps made it to the top without really being ready. (No Liz Truss comparisons, please; he doesn’t deserve those, and in any case you sense young Hojgaard will learn from his mistakes and prosper.)
Things are getting real now. Here comes Bryson DeChambeau, who looked to have thrown away any realistic chance of winning with that absurd double bogey on 15 last night. But holing out from 77 yards for birdie at the last changes everything. He’s just four back at -3, and hoping to become the first player to win from that position since Charl Schwartzel in 2011. Sending one’s opening drive into a fairway bunker isn’t the greatest start, though. He’s going round today with Xander Schauffele, who has notions of his own, with three top-ten finishes here already on his CV, including a tie for second and tie for third. He starts at -2, and finds the fairway with his opening shot.
Nicolai Hojgaard led the Masters for the briefest moment yesterday afternoon. But after rolling in a monster birdie putt on 10 to move to -7, the 23-year-old Danish debutant quickly became overwhelmed by his achievement, and proceeded to make five bogeys in a row. Whether he got any decent sleep last night as a result has not been reported, though the signs aren’t good, as he’s just snap-hooked his opening drive. As wild a tee shot as we’ve seen all week. Here’s hoping he gets a big break and regains his equilibrium toot sweet.
Tommy Fleetwood sends his wedge into 1 before giving it a contented twirl. His ball lands safely in the heart of the green. Then he rakes in a 25-footer for an opening birdie. The perfect start for the Evertonian, who will perhaps benefit from a little extra spring in the step in the wake of one of this afternoon’s football results. He’s -2. Also heading in the right way: Matt Fitzpatrick with birdie at 3. He’s level par.
Tom Kim shoots 66
The young Korean couldn’t get home unscathed. He went over the back of 17 and that’s never a good place to be, especially with the pin tucked on the narrowest section of the putting surface. He failed to hold the green with his chip back, though he did well to get up and down from the front for bogey. Par at the last, and that’s an excellent 66. He ends the week at +5, and for what it’s worth, he’s the new clubhouse leader. That particular crown is currently worth the square root of bugger all, of course, but it could be worth something later on should somebody further up the leader board make a break from the pack, and the greens harden in the late-afternoon sun as heartbeats begin to race.
Tommy Fleetwood is probably too far off the pace to win, six back at -1. Then again, Nick Faldo came from six back to slay Greg Norman in 1996, Gary Player won the 1978 tournament from seven behind, and eventual 1956 winner Jack Burke Jr. was eight adrift going into Sunday but ended a shot clear of Ken Venturi. So rule nothing out yet. Fleetwood cracks his tee shot down the middle of Tea Olive, and a fast start is essential if he’s to post something that’ll rattle the leading bunch.
At Tea Olive, the story of Rory McIlroy’s week in microcosm unfolds. A big booming drive down the middle. An approach that leaks left. A heavy handed chip. A bogey. His first move on every single day has been a backwards step, something that’s simply not sustainable at Augusta National. He’s since parred 2, 3 and 4 and is currently +4 overall.
Neal Shipley wins Silver Cup
Tiger traipses up 18. That 23-hole marathon on Friday emptied the well, and the weekend hasn’t been so good, but the great man feels the love from the patrons anyway. What an ovation! He nearly repays them with a little Tiger magic, this close to chipping in from the front of the green. He’ll have to make do with par and a final round of 77. He finishes +16 and currently 60th out of 60, but he’s become the only man to make 24 consecutive cuts in Masters history, and he’ll be back next year, health permitting. Neal Shipley meanwhile ends with bogey, but he’ll sign for a fine 73 before he takes receipt of the Silver Cup later on. Oh, and he’ll have a few stories to tell the grandkids, whatever the rest of his career brings.
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Is there a score out there today? Yes sir, yes there is, and Tom Kim is setting about proving it. The 21-year-old Korean is making his second Masters appearance, having finished in a tie for 16th last year on debut. He won’t finish so high this year – successive rounds of 78 and 77 have put paid to that – but he’s repairing the damage in sensational style today. Level par for his round through 6, he’s since birdied 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15 and now 16. He’s seven under so far with a round he could sell to one of the leading contenders for cash money. He’s +4 and not finished yet. A green jacket in waiting? You’d surely think so. Mind you, we said the same about Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Ernie Els, Tom Kite and Greg Norman, so you never can tell.
As for Tiger … well, qualifying for the weekend ensured he’d survived the Masters cut for a 24th consecutive time, a new record. But yesterday’s 82 was an awful struggle, and he’s not been going so well today either. A bogey at 15 when his young amateur playing partner was making birdie; a triple-bogey at the 5th. And yet there’s been a little glimpse of the old magic on 16. After he dumped his tee shot in the bunker at the front, he splashed out 20 feet past the flag, using the slope of the green to u-turn his ball and very nearly tickle it back into the cup, which is at its traditional Sunday location at the bottom of the sloping green. Such a shame it didn’t topple in, because it was vaguely reminiscent of …
… and guess who was sat on a greenside picnic chair watching on? None other than Verne Lundquist, whose IN YOUR LIFE! commentary paired perfectly with one of the greatest moments in Masters history, and who is hanging up his mic after this year’s event. Tiger spots Verne as he walks off the green having tapped in for par and there’s a warm handshake. In your life have you seen anything as sweet as that?
Thank you, Verne. #themasters pic.twitter.com/YJJTXgIfXd
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 14, 2024
One way or another, there’s going to be a lot of heightened emotion today. So let’s start with one of the most romantic stories of the week. Neal Shipley, 23 years old from Pittsburgh, is the only amateur to have made it through to the weekend, thanks in no small part to a one-under first round of 71. That guaranteed him the Silver Cup and title of low amateur, but if his head hadn’t already been swimming, being paired with Tiger Woods on Masters Sunday would have done the trick. And how he’s performed. He’s level par for his round through 16, having just birdied 15 and nearly slam-dunked an ace on the following hole. What a fine performance by last year’s US Amateur runner-up. He’s +11 overall.
Here we go, then!
Preamble
Welcome, patrons! If the final round of the 88th Masters tournament is even half as wild and wonderful as Moving Day …
… we’ll be in for a cracker. Will world No 1 Scottie Scheffler win his second green jacket? Will either Collin Morikawa or Bryson DeChambeau add to their major-championship resumé? Will Max Homa, Xander Schauffele or Tommy Fleetwood make their major breakthrough? Will Ludvig Aberg or Nicolai Hojgaard become the first player since 1979 to win on debut? Will something else happen? We’ll find out soon enough! Here’s the top of the leader board after 54 holes …
-7: Scheffler
-6: Morikawa
-5: Homa
-4: Aberg
-3: DeChambeau
-2: Schauffele, Davis, Hojgaard
-1: An, Smith, Young, Fleetwood
E: Cantlay, Glover, Schenk
+1: Kirk, Fitzpatrick, Reed, Pavon
+2: Straka
+3: McIlroy, Niemann, Zalatoris, Hatton, Willett
… and here’s when everybody tees off today. We’ll get going here at 6pm BST. It’s on!
