It rarely fails to deliver, does it? Ok, so the back nine didn’t quite match the drama of the first nine holes – but much of that was down to Scottie Scheffler’s brilliance and sheer bloody-mindedness.
‘You’re not going to beat me,’ was a message that was loud and clear throughout the day – and they didn’t.
This was more evidence that the American is the closest version there’s been of a Tiger Woods since the GOAT’s dominance ended over a decade ago.
That’s the number one takeaway from the 88th edition of the Masters, but there were several other key stories from another wonderful week in Georgia...
Scheffler The New Tiger?
Let’s start here, then. There will never be another Tiger Woods. Most of us have said it, and whilst no one will ever change the game quite like Woods did in his pomp, it does appear that Scheffler is the closest we’ve come to seeing a player capable of the same kind of consistent brilliance displayed by Woods throughout much of the 2000s.
Since Woods relinquished his World No.1 status for the 11th and final time in May 2014, 10 different players have occupied top spot. We’ve had Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth trading places; Jason Day and Spieth; Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas; Justin Rose and Brooks Koepka; and more recently Jon Rahm and Scheffler himself.
Some of these players have threatened to put daylight between themselves and the rest, but no has come close to doing so – not compared to the distance Woods put between himself and the chasing pack.
Scheffler’s victory on Sunday saw him join Woods as the only player to win both the PGA Tour’s flagship Players title and the Masters in the same season. He also won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a tournament Woods made his own.
Woods, of course, has 15 Major Championships to his name compared to Scheffler’s two – and 73 more PGA Tour titles. However, if we're merely talking about Tiger-like dominance, Scheffler has that same look about him.
Ludvig Aberg Really Is A 'Generational Talent'
Prior to the last Ryder Cup, even the postman was saying it. ‘Hey, how about that Aberg… he’s a generational talent.’ European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald’s description of the Swede, who he named as a wildcard for the contest in Rome, could have heaped extra pressure on some players, but not Ludvig – he’s made of strong stuff.
Another Aberg masterclass wasn’t really needed to prove how special a player he is – but he provided one anyway. This was the 24-year-old’s first-ever Major Championship. Had it not been for the World No.1 doing World No.1 things, Aberg would have become the first player to win on Masters debut since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.
82 And Out For Woods
When Woods calls it a day – and let’s hope he does that soon, for the good of his health – he’ll finish a remarkable career with 15 Major titles and 82 PGA Tour wins, a truly staggering haul.
However, it seems that his injury-plagued career is destined to come to a sad and premature end. No one, not even the most ardent Woods fans, can seriously believe he’ll be able to contest a 72-hole tournament again after his Masters showing.
That Woods made the cut at Augusta was a minor miracle. You have to believe the carrot of breaking the record streak of 23 successive cuts made at the Masters – which was held by his friend Fred Couples and South African legend Gary Player – was just too juicy (pipe down now, Gary).
Woods looked like he’d gone 12 rounds with Mike Tyson in his post-round interview. Only his stellar short game and experience of playing 100 competitive rounds at Augusta saw him into the weekend. Thereafter, he looked every bit his 48 years – a player who has been under the knife several times too many.
If it was just competitive rust, you could make a case that with more reps Woods could find a game good enough to tick off another title or two. His broken body, however, does not allow him to practice anywhere near as much as he used to. A wince and a grimace are never far away these days – he’ll forever be playing through the pain barrier for as long as he continues to play.
McIlroy In The Last Chance Saloon
My colleague Dan Parker wrote an interesting account of his afternoon watching Rory McIlroy play alongside Scheffler – which is well worth a read. In short, he believes the Ulsterman is currently light years away from the kind of standard being set by the American – and it’s hard to disagree with that opinion.
McIlroy, one of the game’s greatest ever drivers of a golf ball, has not won a Major Championship for a decade. When he won four in quick succession, he was widely tipped to get somewhere near Woods’ record. Now, the question is whether he will ever claim a fifth.
The Masters remains the one Major Championship that eludes the 34-year-old. At Augusta, though, once again he looked lost, mixing plenty of sublime with a bit too much ridiculous. Make no mistake, he’s still some player – just not the one he once was… at the moment.
He’s in the last chance saloon is McIlroy, certainly so far as winning Major titles are concerned. The good news is, he has Butch Harmon for company – and if one man can sort out his iron play issues, it’s Butch.
Butch was in as much pain as the rest of us when watching his student at the weekend. In between “Atta boy, Rory” and “Go get ‘em, Rors”, the great coach yelped in frustration when McIlroy tweaked an iron. “So quick from the top,” came one remark.
You’d worry for McIlroy if he hadn’t called Butch. They just need a bit of time together. That’s what we’re all hoping. A bit of time and a bit of love.
Sir Nick Knows His Onions
So far as Rahm’s Masters preparations were concerned, three-time Masters champion Sir Nick Faldo delivered a cutting verdict. Basically, the LIV Golf player was undercooked ahead of his Masters defence, having “been playing resort courses”.
Like many golf fans, I expected Rahm to contend on Sunday, but he never got going. Was this just one of those weeks, or was Faldo right – was the Spaniard lacking a competitive edge?
Woods was the last player to successfully defend his Masters title (2001-02) – so it’s certainly not straightforward. However, Rahm’s finishing score of +9 contained plenty of evidence to suggest that he was, as Faldo said, undercooked.
Augusta In A Class Of Its Own
No cell phones allowed. No running. No behaving like morons. If you’re ever lucky enough to get a ticket to the Masters, know this: there’s no other sporting event quite like it.
Augusta National is described as something of a Disneyland for golf fans. It’s perfect – perhaps a little too polished for some. There’s no litter; people talk to each other; alcohol is consumed in moderation (mostly); fans respect the police, volunteers and staff members; and there’s not a cell phone in sight.
This is live sport at its best – a place where you’re not going to be forced to spend hundreds of dollars as soon as you walk through the gates (the Concessions Menu is very moderately priced), unless of course you visit the Golf Shop – although the wonderful selection of golf goodies in here haven’t been priced up by a lunatic, either.
Best of all is the no cell phones policy on tournament days. People actually watch the action. No one is scrambling to take a selfie; no one is trying to angle their iPhone over the top of your head; and no one is WhatsApping whilst Woods is a stone’s throw away on Amen Corner. It’s mag-bloody-nificent.
Bryson’s Still Got It
It’s hard to know what kind of form LIV players are in when they aren't competing against the PGA Tour's best players in the world on a regular basis. However, we can safely say that DeChambeau remains a very fine talent – a player who looks more than capable of adding to his 2020 US Open title.
The American shot an incredible 58 en route to wining the LIV Golf Greenbrier last year, but it wasn’t until this week that many of us saw the big-hitting American back up against his old rivals.
Back at the scene where he famously declared Augusta was like a par 67, DeChambeau toned down his ultra aggressive strategy to just very aggressive in his bid for a second Major title – and he nearly pulled it off.
Justin Thomas’ Struggles Continue
Two-time Major champion Justin Thomas showed more than a few signs earlier this year that he was starting to turn a corner. However, his missed cut at the Masters was his fourth in his last five Major Championships.
The winner of two PGA Championship titles was going along nicely for most of his second round, before enduring a nightmare 50-minute spell during which time he carded back-to-back doubles at 15 and 16.
Clearly rattled, Thomas bogeyed 17 and then made another double on 18. It was a four-hole stretch that cost him seven shots and his weekend tee times. The 15-time PGA Tour champion, who has two top-10s to his name this season, will be hoping his Masters disappointment was just a blip as he goes in search of making it a hat-trick of victories at the PGA Championship.
Big Names Go Missing
When a tournament contains the world’s top 50 players, you’re going to see some big names miss the cut. US Open champion Wyndham Clark was was in bullish mood at Augusta, but went home early, as did Thomas, Johnson, Sam Burns and Open victor Brian Harman.
Other star names made the cut before struggling in what, to be fair, were very tough conditions. Hideki Matsuyama, Koepka and Rahm never got into the mix, and we saw very little of a player who contended deep into last year’s tournament, Viktor Hovland.
The Norwegian, one of the most-fancied players to claim the Green Jacket coming into the week despite an ordinary start to the season, also missed the cut. Hovland has been working with new swing coaches and his 71-81 at Augusta, and his withdrawal from this week’s RBC Heritage that followed, suggests that he has work to do before returning to the competitive arena.
It’s early days in the season, of course, and judging a player's performance at one of the game’s most demanding golf courses should probably contain as asterisk.
Class Is Permanent
There was no Bernhard Langer this year (due to injury) but Jose Maria Olazabal and Vijay Singh were the ones to roll back the years this time around.
The 1994 and 1999 champion Olazabal finished at a seriously impressive +9, which included a level par final round of 72. That's two lower than what Collin Morikawa shot on Sunday from the final group, three lower than Koepka and four better than defending champion Rahm.
Olly ended in T45 for his best Masters finish since 2014. Vamos. Singh, meanwhile, also carded a level par 72 on Sunday at the age of 61 to finish T58. Well played, chaps.
