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Scheffler caps monster year by cruising to victory at Tiger's Hero World Challenge
AAP • December 9th, 2024 2:00 pm
Photo: AAP
Scottie Scheffler returned from a two-month break and nothing had changed.
He won the Hero World Challenge on Monday (NZ time) with a nine-under 63 to tie the tournament record at Albany Golf Club and win by six shots.
Scheffler, the first player since Tiger Woods in 2009 to spend an entire calendar year at No.1 in the world, won for the ninth time in 21 starts, a tally that included a second Masters title, an Olympic gold medal and the FedEx Cup.
He started the final round one shot behind Justin Thomas, took the lead on the par-5 third, stayed in front with a 50-foot birdie putt on No.4 and never looked back.
Tom Kim tried to stay close until he missed a 19-inch par putt on the par-5 11th. He birdied the final hole for a 68 and was runner-up when Thomas, whose faint hopes ended with a bogey on the 18th, drove into the water on the 18th for another bogey. He shot 71 and finished third.
Scheffler finished at 25 under 263 to tie the tournament record at Albany set by Bubba Watson in 2015, and his six-shot victory was the largest in the nine years Tiger Woods' holiday tournament has been held in the Bahamas.
Jordan Spieth holds the tournament records for 72-hole score (262) and margin (10 shots) the one year it was held at Isleworth in 2014.
"Very satisfying," Scheffler said. "I did a lot of good stuff today on the course. It feels nice to take a break and come back and continue to play some really solid golf."
Already the best in golf, Scheffler brought a new "claw" putting grip to the tournament in a bid to get even better. He used the grip on putts from about 15 feet and in, and finished the week third in the key putting statistic against a 20-man field.
"He really doesn't do anything wrong," tournament host Tiger Woods said in the NBC booth during the final round.
What reminded Woods of his own great run was how few mistakes Scheffler makes during a round or a tournament. Albany was another example. He made only two bogeys over 72 holes.
Thomas, whose last victory was the 2022 PGA Championship, dropped two early shots on the par-3s and twice had duffed chips, one of them on the par-5 ninth that kept him from making birdie in a bid to keep up with Scheffler.
Scheffler had a three-shot lead with three holes to play when he made a rare mistake off the tee, finding a sandy area right of the fairway. He made clean contact out of the sand to 12 feet for birdie, while Thomas went just long and over the green, leading to bogey.
Still to come for Scheffler is teaming up with Rory McIlroy in a made-for-TV match at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas on December 17 to face LIV Golf stars Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka.
Scheffler earned $US1 million ($NZ1.71 million) for winning the unofficial tournament.
He joined Viktor Hovland as the only back-to-back winners at Albany. Woods won back-to-back, and a total of five times, when the tournament was held at Sherwood Country Club.
In the past 40 years, Scheffler's winning rate of 43 per cent worldwide is third behind Woods in 2006 (nine wins in 19 starts) and Woods in 2002 (10 wins in 22 starts).
"I never really played golf for legacy. That's not something I think about day to day. I play because I love the competition," Scheffler said.
"I don't think about records, I don't think about achievements, wins, losses, I just try and get the most out of myself and come out here and compete and have a good attitude."
