Scottie Scheffler proved to be Rory McIlroy’s closest challenger after another turbulent Sunday at The Masters, with the world number one finishing second at Augusta National.
Scheffler extended his incredible run of top 10 finishes at the first major of the year, with his fifth in a row coming this week in Georgia.
The 29-year-old finished second, just one shot behind McIlroy. The Northern Irishman has joined Scheffler in winning the event for a second time.
It was, however, so nearly a remarkable fightback from Scheffler.
Scottie Scheffler reacts after finishing one shot behind Rory McIlroy at The Masters
Scheffler reached the halfway stage at The Masters 12 shots back of the lead. It seemed that his rusty start to the season was going to continue.
But Scheffler was sensational over the final two rounds. He did not make a single bogey on the weekend to bring himself back into contention.
It was not quite enough. And speaking after his final round, Scheffler explained what he felt cost him the opportunity to win The Masters for a third time.
“The first two days I played what I felt was really solid on Thursday, and then Friday with the softer greens, that round really hurt, especially mistakes I made on the back nine. But overall over the weekend I put up a good fight, did a lot of good stuff in order to give myself a chance and ultimately came up a couple shots short,” he said.
Scheffler’s performance at Augusta National should scare all of his rivals
Scheffler spent the first two days in neutral. He allowed McIlroy to build up a sizeable advantage.
And yet, as McIlroy came down the 72nd hole, he knew that anything more than one mistake would leave him in yet another playoff at Augusta National.
The spotlight will be on McIlroy in the days that follow. But Scheffler has sent out such a strong warning to his peers ahead of the final three majors of the year.
Without his A game, he came within one shot of making it into a playoff with McIlroy. He is going to be incredibly difficult to beat in the months to come.
