Scottie Scheffler claimed a one-shot victory over Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman in a thrilling finish to The Players; Scheffler becomes the first back-to-back winner at TPC Sawgrass after a historic week on the PGA Tour
Tuesday 19 March 2024 09:01, UK
In a week where pre-tournament conversation focused on some of the high-profile players missing from the PGA Tour’s flagship event, it was fitting that many of the sport’s bigger stars delivered to produce a final round worthy of any major.
There were a host of major champions in contention and potential storylines to follow, with Scottie Scheffler charging into contention from five back and Matt Fitzpatrick briefly flirting with a victory push after starting his final round with a birdie-birdie.
World No 1 Scheffler enjoyed a Sunday tussle with reigning US Open champion Wyndham Clark and Open champion Brian Harman as they looked to chase Xander Schauffele, with the quartet - all in the world's top 10 - providing a dramatic final day in Florida.
Scheffler had pulled level by the turn after a brilliant front-nine 31 and continued to push forward, taking the solo lead when he followed back-to-back birdies from the 11th by adding another at the 16th, with the run putting pressure on his title rivals.
Schauffele, Harman and Clark never faded and all stayed in contention right through to the 72nd hole of the tournament, all requiring a final-hole birdie to match Scheffler's target of 20 under, with the drama lasting right through to the last putt of the contest.
Clark's 17-foot birdie putt seemed destined for the hole and looked like forcing the tournament into its first play-off since 2015, only for the ball to agonisingly horseshoe out of the cup and mean Scheffler took the title.
The top 10 also included Fitzpatrick, former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and Ryder Cup rookie Ludvig Åberg, while Rory McIlroy finished inside the top 20 despite another inconsistent week on the PGA Tour.
Would The Players field have been stronger if all four reigning major champions were eligible to feature? Of course, and the same could be said for several others from the LIV Golf League, but that takes nothing away from a stacked leaderboard and a Sunday for the ages.
Scheffler wasn't even sure he would finish the tournament when he picked up a neck injury on Friday, but he battled through the pain to become the first back-to-back winner of The Players.
The 27-year-old played the last 31 holes bogey-free and matched the lowest final-day comeback in the tournament's history to claim a second PGA Tour title in as many weeks, with another tee-to-green masterclass seeing him continue his dominant streak.
The list of superlatives continues to grow for Scheffler, who has now won eight times in just over 25 months on the PGA Tour and has built a commanding lead at the top of the world rankings, with attention now turning to whether he can add to his major tally this year.
Scheffler's remarkable consistency has seen him post top-five finishes in over half his PGA Tour starts over the past two years, although he has tried to play down the ever-growing comparisons over his form with a prime Tiger Woods.
He will be the pre-tournament favourite for The Masters next month and any event he tees it up in for the foreseeable, with Scheffler in line to have a huge year ahead if he can continue his ball-striking brilliance.
McIlroy has had a frustrating start to the year on the PGA Tour, with his latest mistake-filled week meaning he remains without a top-10 finish after five starts in the USA.
The four-time major champion carded 26 birdies at The Players yet still finished 11 strokes behind Scheffler in tied-19th, with McIlroy conceding that the final three days were a struggle after fading from his share of the early lead.
Even the opening-round 65 contained a bogey and double bogey, with errors in all facets of his game leaving him heading straight to the range and declining to speak to the media after his middle two rounds.
McIlroy's final round brought more of the same, carding five birdies and as many bogeys, although he insisted that his game was "heading in the right direction" as we head towards major season.
He currently only has one more scheduled start ahead of The Masters, teeing it up at the Valero Texas Open, with his form a concern ahead of his latest bid to complete the career Grand Slam.
The wait for the first English winner of The Players continues, with only three of the nine Englishman in the field making the cut, although Matt Fitzpatrick threatened to end that drought.
Fitzpatrick came into the final round within four of the lead and halved that deficit with a birdie-birdie start to his Sunday, but came undone by the same hole he has struggled at throughout the tournament.
A bogey at the fourth completed a miserable week on the 390-yard par four, which he played in a combined five-over for the week, although Fitzpatrick rallied with a four-birdie finish to finish inside the top five.
Fitzpatrick's result is his best on the PGA Tour season, having revealed changes to his driver after an oversight earlier this week, with the former US Open champion now wanting to build on his performance heading into the major season.
The par-three 17th is one of the most iconic in the sport, with the list of players to make a hole-in-one there growing on the opening day when New Zealand's Ryan Fox made a brilliant ace.
The benign conditions meant the hole didn't offer quite the same challenge over the first three days as it can in strong winds, then was the hardest-ranked hole during the final day as 18 players made bogey or worse.
Balls in the water continued to be a theme, with Chris Kirk's streak of 41 shots without finding the hazard over the weekend, while halfway leader Clark lost his advantage when he chunked his tee shot into the drink late in the third round.
Clark birdied the hole on the final day to keep his late victory hopes alive, while Schauffele squandered a glorious opportunity there during the final round that would have given him a share of the lead with Scheffler.
Scheffler himself negotiated the hole bogey-free, picking up a shot as part of his three-birdie finish to the third round and then safely two-putting for par on the final day. The 137-yard hole always brings huge drama and interest.
The PGA Tour season stays in Florida for the Valspar Championship, with early action live on Thursday from 11.30am on Sky Sports Golf and full coverage beginning at 6pm. The men's major season begins with The Masters from April 11-14, also exclusively live. Stream the PGA Tour and more with NOW.
