World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler follows Masters title with Heritage win
By Justin Jarrett
LowcoSports.com
Most of the crowds that stalked his every shot for four days with the glow of triumph at Augusta National still emanating had long since left Harbour Town Golf Links when Scottie Scheffler finally trudged to the 18th green after hammering a 3-wood into the wind on his approach to ensure he went anywhere but short or left.
The party that was unfolding alongside Scheffler’s march toward a fourth PGA Tour win in five starts was doused by buckets of rain as thunderstorms blew in Sunday afternoon, sending the raucous galleries scrambling and leaving Scheffler among the nine players left on the course when darkness fell.
After running in a knee-knocking par save in fading twilight on the par-5 15th, Scheffler went to the house with a five-shot lead with three holes to play, and the biggest drama when the stragglers returned to their places at 8 a.m. Monday was who would finish second. That turned out to be Sahith Theegala, who broke out of a five-way logjam at 15 under with a birdie at 16 to move a shot ahead of Wyndham Clark and Patrick Cantlay.
Scheffler was sitting at 20 under when play was suspended, which matched Brian Gay’s record score for a traditional April tournament and was two birdies shy of matching Webb Simpson’s overall Heritage record set in June 2020.
But with three holes between him and a tartan jacket to add to the two green ones and a chartered flight home to Dallas to rejoin his wife, Meredith, and the child they are expecting any day now, Scheffler was not in the mood to gamble. He made routine two-putt pars at 16 and 17, then played it safe heading toward the lighthouse, hitting a conservative chip and settling for a two-putt and a three-shot win.
“I’m counting 18 as a par, by the way, too,” Scheffler said, drawing a chorus of laughs. “That’s not a bogey. I hit driver, 3-wood in there, and I wasn’t about to try and chip it close to the pin and chip it over the green in the water, so I just chipped it out there about 20 feet and then lagged it up there.”
It was technically his first bogey since a double on the par-4 third in Thursday’s opening round, but it came well after the outcome seemed inevitable.
Challengers tried to emerge Sunday, mostly before Scheffler took the tee before a crowd packed several deep along the first fairway to steal a glimpse of greatness. Clark posted a scorching 7-under 29 on the front nine right around the moment Scheffler took the wind out of everyone’s sails.
A chip-in eagle from behind the green at the par-5 second hole vaulted Scheffler to 18 under, and he added a birdie at the par-5 fifth just as Clark moved to 8 under for the day with a birdie at 11, maintaining a two-shot cushion.
With the pressure mounting to go even lower if he wanted to win, Clark blocked his tee shot at the 12th to the right and clipped a tree trying to punch out. The ball caromed out of bounds, leading to a double-bogey 6.
The coronation was underway when the rain moved in. The delay and the drastically different course conditions provided a narrow window, but Scheffler slammed it shut with a dart to 6 feet for a birdie at No. 13, then flirted with disaster on his last two holes of the day but walked away with a pair of pars, setting himself up for a stress-free finish Monday morning.
And saving himself from any irritating dialogue when he gets home.
“If I came into yesterday with the lead and I wasn’t able to win, when you get home, people would be saying, ‘Hey, congrats, man,’ and then, ‘Sorry about last week.’ That would be pretty annoying. Just really for lack of a better — there’s no better way to say it than that would be annoying.”
All good vibes as he reports home to Dallas for extended daddy duty. The rest of the PGA Tour can breathe a little more easily for a few weeks, but you can guarantee Scheffler will be back.
“Golf is a game that drives people nuts and then all of a sudden you hit this great shot and it feels wonderful and flies right up there by the pin and it just gives everybody hope,” he said. “Sometimes that’s how I feel out there. I love the feeling of a well-struck golf shot. I love this game. I love going out and practicing by myself. I love playing golf, gambling at home with people, just messing around. The game of golf has been a huge part of my life now for a long time, and Lord-willing it’ll be part of my life for a long time going forward, as well.”
Justin Jarrett is the sports editor of The Island News and the founder of LowcoSports.com. He was the sports editor of the Island Packet and the Beaufort Gazette for 6½ years. He has a passion for sports and community journalism and a questionable sense of humor.
