No doubt skill is a necessity here. But this also entails course management.
Here’s a list of Scheffler’s squirrely shots from 2024:
— First round
– No. 7, he missed the fairway to the left, but worked his ball to a greenside bunker and made par.
– No. 11, he came up short of the green on his second shot, but made par.
– No. 12, he hit over the green. But he chipped in for birdie.
– No. 13, he hit into the penalty area in front of the green, only to hit a chip to 3 feet and make birdie.
– No. 18, he hit into a left fairway bunker off the tee.
— Second round
– No. 4, he was short of the left greenside bunker, but he made par.
– No. 5, he missed a 4-footer for par.
– No. 6, he missed the green to the left, then chipped to a foot.
– No. 7, he missed the fairway to the right and bogeyed, then he birdied No. 8.
– No. 9, his second shot missed the green short, but he chipped to 5 feet and made his par.
– No. 12, he hit over the green, but he made par.
– No. 13, he found the water in front of the green and made bogey.
– No. 14, he hit over the green with his second shot, then chipped to a foot to save his par.
– No. 17, from 151 yards away and in the middle of the fairway, Scheffler hit short and was faced with just a 46-foot look for birdie.
— Third round
– No. 1, his second shot was left of the green, then he chipped in for birdie.
– No. 2, after a 378-yard drive, he hit into the front-left greenside bunker, but he made par.
– No. 10, he hit over the green with his second shot, then, from behind the green, he chipped all the way to the front of the green on his way to a double bogey. Three holes later, he made eagle.
– No. 11, he came up short of the green on his second shot, but made par.
– No. 12, he hit over the green, but he made par.
– No. 17, he missed the fairway off the tee on 17, then missed the green left and long with his second shot. He then made birdie on 18.
— Fourth round
– No. 1, he hit his second shot short of the green, but he made a par.
– No. 2, he hit his tee shot into the fairway bunker, and his third shot over the green, but he made par.
– No. 4, he hit over the green with his tee shot and bogeyed.
– No. 7, he missed the fairway to the right and bogeyed, then he birdied No. 8.
– No. 18, he hit into a left fairway bunker off the tee. Three shots later, he won the Masters.
2. What happens after the bad shots? Erasure
Bad shots or holes are almost immediately followed by something great.
— First round
– No. 12, he hit over the green. But he chipped in for birdie.
– No. 13, he hit into the penalty area in front of the green, only to hit a chip to 3 feet and make birdie.
— Second round
– No. 12, he hit over the green, but he made par.
— Third round
– No. 1, he missed the green left — then chipped in.
– No. 3, he drove left of the green and leaderboard, then made the putt.
– No. 10, he doubled 10, and No. 11, he bogeyed 11 — then he made his only eagle of the week on 13.
– No. 12, he hit over the green, but he made par.
– No. 17, he missed the fairway off the tee, then missed the green left and long with his second shot, before making birdie on 18.
— Fourth round
– No. 2, he hit two poor shots — tee shot into the right fairway bunker, third shot over the green — and made par, then birdied No. 3.
– No. 4 and 7, he bogeyed, then birdied 8, 9 and 10.
– No. 11, he bogeyed, then birdied 13, 14 and 16.
‘One shot at a time’ is a painful cliche — but this is it in action.
3. Augusta makes him pop it
Collin Morikawa, one of Scheffler’s final-round playing partners, noted that Scheffler outhit him off the tee — and Scheffler said that Augusta calls you to take bigger swings.
The fairways are “fairly wide,” he said. There isn’t much rough. And firm greens are much easier to hold with shorter clubs.
“And so I would say I was swinging a bit harder this week than I would in a normal PGA Tour event,” Scheffler said, “just because there’s a bit more room off the tee. At a regular Tour stop or U.S. Open or something like that, my tee height may be a little bit lower and I might be hitting more different types of shots, but a lot of the drives I hit this week, I was just teeing it high and hitting it hard. That’s pretty much it.”
Statistically, Scheffler hit 44 of 56 fairways, which tied for 10th in the field. He was 13th in driving distance, at 305.7 yards.
4. How many times is he FAR off the fairway off the tee?
Scheffler isn’t immune, though, to going WAY left or right off the tee right.
That happened once in each of the first three rounds.
— Round 1
– No. 7, Scheffler hit his tee shot about 25 yards left of the fairway, into the trees and onto pine straw.
— Round 2
– No. 7, again. Scheffler hit his tee shot about 30 yards right of the fairway and into the trees.
— Round 3
– No. 3, Scheffler hit his tee shot 328 yards and left of the greenside bunker AND left of the leaderboard. He was among the trees and on the pine straw.
5. Knowing where “the biggest trouble” is
One of Immelman’s Augusta takeaways is that a player mustn’t miss left on any hole — “the biggest trouble” lives there. Last year, Scheffler was off the fairway left on non-par-3 holes six times:
-Hole 3, round 2
-Hole 3, round 3
-Hole 3, round 4
-Hole 7, round 1
-Hole 18, round 1
-Hole 18, round 4
On the third hole, though, left was manageable for him — during the second and fourth rounds, he was in the left bunkers, and during the third round, he was nearly pin-high. Going into the left fairway bunker on 18 during the final round was also OK, given his lead at the time.
6. “You can’t just sit up there and play overly defensive“
Scheffler isn’t playing defensively. In fact, he says you shouldn’t at Augusta.
“Like 12 is a good example of a hole where if you play overly defensive, like where the pin is today, you’re trying to hit right over that bunker, right in the middle of the green,” Scheffler said after last year’s final round. “And if you pull it, for a righty, it goes further.
“You could see Max Homa in the group in front of us maybe pulled his a touch, and it flies into the bushes long. I’ve hit it in the bushes long there multiple times. You can’t just sit up there and play overly defensive. You have to play to the correct spot and hit really good golf shots.”
So can you label it aggressive? Kind of. Scheffler’s aggressive — to conservative targets. His ball may get close, but the thought is safety.
“If you look at the aggressive,” Immelman said, “I think if you really wanna get into the nitty-gritty of it, he might hit it close, but where is it close in relation to the most dangerous side of the target? Because he will take the dangerous side of the target out. When he’s missing, it’s always, unless he’s misstruck a shot, it’s always on the safe side of the hole. It might be 6 feet, but it’s not on the dangerous side.”
Here’s a look at the times when Scheffler appeared to get aggressive:
— First round
– No, 6, the tee shot to the back-left pin
– No. 9, the approach shot, from 155 yards away
– No. 10, definitely the approach shot, which was protected by the greenside bunker
– No. 12, the tee shot on No. 12, which finished over the green
– No. 13, the second shot, which finished in the penalty area in front of the green
– No. 14, the second shot, from 119 yards away
– No. 15, definitely the second shot, which finishes 12 feet from the hole
– No. 16, definitely the tee shot, which finishes 3 feet from the hole
– No. 17, the second shot, from 137 yards away
— Second round
– No. 1, the second shot, which finished 9 feet away
– No. 3, the second shot, from 84 yards out, from the sand
– No. 9, the second shot, from 89 yards out
– No. 10, definitely the second shot, which finished 6 feet away
– No. 13, definitely the second shot, which finished in the water in front of the green
— Third round
– No. 3, the tee shot, which was hit left of the fairway bunker and leaderboard
– No. 5, the second shot, which finished 25 feet away
– No. 7, the second shot, from 137 yards out
– No. 9, the second shot, from 97 yards away
– No. 10, definitely the second shot, which flew over the green
– No. 13, definitely the second shot, which set up an eagle
– No. 15, the second shot, which he hit just over the green
– No. 18, definitely the second shot, which set up a closing birdie
— Fourth round
– No. 3, the tee shot, which was hit into the left greenside bunker
– No. 5, the second shot, which finished 11 feet away
– No. 8, the second shot, which he hit over the green, setting up a birdie
– No. 9, definitely the second shot, which finished a foot away from the hole
– No. 10, the second shot, which finished 9 feet away
– No. 13, the second shot, which finished on the green, leading to a birdie
– No. 14, definitely the second shot, which finished a foot away
– No. 15, the second shot, which he hit into the greenside bunker
– No. 16, the tee shot, which he hit to 7 feet
– No. 17, which he hit to 15 feet
7. On the greens, he has looks
What does Scheffler have on the greens? Quality looks. Last season on the PGA Tour, he ranked second in proximity to the hole and fifth in scrambling, and he was at his finest at Augusta, whose curvy and quick greens are arguably its best defense. For Scheffler, that means aggressive iron shots to safe targets. And if he misses — again, he’s not perfect — a short game that gives him a reasonable, if not makeable, putt.
“If you said to McIlroy, brother, I’m going to give you 30 feet on every hole for 72 holes,” Immelman said, “he’ll bite your hand off. Even if he’s in a bad spot, sign me up. So my question is, why aren’t you playing like it?”
Below is a look at the distance of his first putt on every hole, along with how his ball got there and the score on the hole:
– Hole 1
Round 1: 36 feet (approach shot, misses birdie putt)
Round 2: 9 feet (approach shot, misses birdie putt)
Round 3: Chip-in for birdie
Round 4: 4 feet (chip, makes par putt)
Total: 12.25 feet
– Hole 2
Round 1: 9 feet (chip, makes birdie putt)
Round 2: 3 feet (pitch, makes birdie putt)
Round 3: 8 feet (bunker shot, misses birdie putt)
Round 4: 5 feet (chip, makes par putt)
Total: 6.25 feet
– Hole 3
Round 1: 4 feet (pitch, misses birdie putt)
Round 2: 15 feet (bunker shot, misses birdie putt)
Round 3: 34 feet (pitch, makes birdie putt)
Round 4: 3 feet (bunker shot, makes birdie putt)
Total: 14 feet
– Hole 4
Round 1: 27 feet (tee shot, misses birdie putt)
Round 2: 6 feet (chip shot, makes par putt)
Round 3: 8 feet (bunker shot, misses par putt)
Round 4: 14 feet (chip shot, misses par putt)
Total: 13.75 feet
– Hole 5
Round 1: 59 feet (approach shot, misses birdie putt)
Round 2: 25 feet (approach shot, misses birdie putt)
Round 3: 13 feet (approach shot, misses birdie putt)
Round 4: 11 feet (approach shot, misses birdie putt)
Total: 27 feet
– Hole 6
-Round 1: 18 feet (tee shot, makes birdie putt)
-Round 2: 1 foot (chip shot, makes par putt)
-Round 3: 25 feet (tee shot, misses birdie putt)
-Round 4: 22 feet (tee shot, misses birdie putt)
Total: 16.5 feet
– Hole 7
-Round 1: 3 feet (bunker shot, makes par putt)
-Round 2: 15 feet (bunker shot, misses par putt)
-Round 3: 30 feet (approach shot, misses birdie putt)
-Round 4: 10 feet (bunker shot, misses par putt)
Total: 14.5 feet
– Hole 8
-Round 1: 37 feet (pitch shot, misses birdie putt)
-Round 2: 3 feet (pitch shot, makes birdie putt)
-Round 3: 6 feet (chip shot, misses birdie putt)
-Round 4: 10 feet (chip shot, makes birdie putt)
Total: 14 feet
– Hole 9
-Round 1: 18 feet (approach shot, misses birdie putt)
-Round 2: 5 feet (chip shot, makes par putt)
-Round 3: 9 feet (approach shot, misses birdie putt)
-Round 4: 1 foot (approach shot, makes birdie putt)
Total: 8.25 feet
– Hole 10
-Round 1: 8 feet (approach shot, misses birdie putt)
-Round 2: 6 feet (approach shot, makes birdie putt)
-Round 3 60 feet (chip shot, misses par putt)
-Round 4 9 feet (approach shot, makes birdie putt)
Total: 20.75 feet
– Hole 11
-Round 1: 4 feet (pitch shot, makes his par putt)
-Round 2: 39 feet (approach shot, misses his birdie putt)
-Round 3: 8 feet (chip shot, misses his par putt)
-Round 4: 8 feet (chip shot, misses his par putt)
Total: 14.75 feet
– Hole 12
-Round 1: Hole-out from bunker
-Round 2: 7 feet (putt from off the green, makes par putt)
-Round 3: 5 feet (chip, makes par putt)
-Round 4: 50 feet (tee shot, misses birdie putt)
Total: 15.5 feet
– Hole 13
-Round 1: 3 feet (chip shot, makes birdie putt)
-Round 2: 10 feet (pitch shot, misses par putt)
-Round 3: 31 feet (approach shot, makes eagle putt)
-Round 4: 75 feet (approach shot, misses eagle putt)
Total: 29.75 feet
– Hole 14
-Round 1: 25 feet (approach shot, misses birdie putt)
-Round 2: 1 foot (chip shot, makes par putt)
-Round 3: 19 feet (approach shot, misses birdie putt)
-Round 4: 1 foot (approach shot, makes birdie putt)
Total: 11.5 feet
– Hole 15
-Round 1: 12 feet (approach shot, misses eagle putt)
-Round 2: 8 feet (approach shot, misses birdie putt)
-Round 3: 10 feet (chip shot, makes birdie putt)
-Round 4: 24 feet (bunker shot, misses birdie putt)
Total: 13.5 feet
– Hole 16
-Round 1: 3 feet (tee shot, makes birdie putt)
-Round 2: 45 feet (tee shot, misses birdie putt)
-Round 3: 35 feet (tee shot, misses birdie putt)
-Round 4: 7 feet (tee shot, makes birdie putt)
Total: 22.5 feet
– Hole 17
-Round 1: 19 feet (approach shot, misses birdie putt)
-Round 2: 46 feet (approach shot, misses birdie putt)
-Round 3: 8 feet (pitch shot, misses par putt)
-Round 4: 15 feet (approach shot, misses birdie putt)
Total: 22 feet
– Hole 18
-Round 1: 80 feet (bunker shot, misses birdie putt)
-Round 2: 45 feet (approach shot, misses birdie putt)
-Round 3: 8 feet (approach shot, makes birdie putt)
-Round 4: 3 feet (pitch shot, makes par putt)
Total: 34 feet
8. What about Rory McIlroy?
There was great play from McIlroy over the two rounds played with Scheffler last year. He should win the Masters, given his ability. But through the lens of “Scottie Scheffler Ball,” there were errors.
— First round
– On No. 2, McIlroy hit into the right rough off the tee, then made two more mistakes — from 100 yards out, he hit over the green with his third shot; and he missed a 6-footer for par. For someone of McIlroy’s length, a six on a par-5 is disastrous, especially on his second hole of the tournament.
– On No. 6, as Scheffler was aggressive with his tee shot, McIlroy had a 54-footer for birdie.
– On No. 13, he hit a lay-up and made par.
– On No. 17, a McIlroy bogey stopped momentum. On the hole, he hit into the left rough off the tee, and over the green with his second shot. He had been three-under over his last nine holes. “Probably turned a three-under into a one-under there at the end,” McIlroy said after the round.
— Second round
– On No. 1, he hit into the right fairway bunker. Scheffler avoided the sand, saying on the Masters video that getting the ball in play is essential, given how undulated the green is.
– On No. 2, McIlroy hit his tee shot into the right fairway bunker, forcing a layup. He finished with a par.
– On No. 5, he hit his tee shot into the left trees and pitched over the green with his third shot. On the Masters video, Scheffler said a shot into the left fairway bunker was a no-no — and McIlroy went left of it.
– On No. 7, from just off the green, he came up 10 feet on his third shot, leading to bogey.
– On No. 8, he hit his tee shot into the fairway bunker, denying him the chance to go for the green in two.
– On 9, after hitting a 382-yard tee shot and an approach to 9 feet, he made par.
– On 10, he made another par after another approach to 9 feet. And then?
– On 11, he made a double bogey after hitting into the water to the left of the flag that Scheffler forcibly avoided.
– On No. 13, McIlroy hit a lay-up and made par.
– On No. 14, a tee shot left led to a bogey.
– On No. 15, his third shot, from 72 yards away, finished off the green.
– Of note, he also didn’t make a birdie in the second round.
“Scottie misses on the smart side of the target way more often than Rory,” Immelman said. “And I think at times, Rory, when he gets behind the eight ball in years’ past, has gotten a little too aggressive too early. That’s why he shoots himself in the foot, that’s why he shoots himself out of the event early because he makes a few bogeys. Then he uber-attacks as opposed to just going, yeah, let’s just drop the anchor, let’s just find a little momentum, you know, stabilize things a little bit instead of going instantly on the offense.”
But how hard is it to drop the anchor? To stabilize things?
Very, Immelman said.
“So I asked Rory about this: Well, tell me about this managerial, Scottie style that you play,” Immelman said. “And he said to me, he goes, it’s against my natural impulse, but I’m sticking to it. You see, he’s got so many weapons, he can just bludgeon a golf course to death. When now he’s like, you know, I got 14 clubs, and I got a brain. I’m going to use all of them, and I’m going to use these prolific skills where it’s not just blast it, blast it.”
9. The fast start
There’s more on McIlroy. The 71 on Thursday was his best opening round since 2018, and only three times in 16 appearances had he gone lower.
Then there was Scheffler. Do yourself a favor and track down the highlights of his opening day. His play was masterful. Six birdies. No bogeys. Thirteen greens hit. Twelve fairways hit.
The 66 was also his best opening round in five appearances. (His others were 71, 73, 69 and 68.)
“Scottie does such a good job of — it doesn’t look like it’s six-under par, and then at the end of the day, it’s six-under par,” McIlroy said. “He’s just so efficient with everything.”
10. Not turned to dust in the wind
In round two, the winds picked up. Scores ballooned. McIlroy’s did. Behind three bogeys, a double and a number of mistakes, he shot a 77, and while he made the weekend, his tournament was essentially over.
But Scheffler held steady. He rebounded — his bogeys on 5 and 7 were followed by birdies on 8 and 10. He avoided blow-ups. He played steady. There wasn’t much aggression. On 1, he missed a 9-footer for birdie. On 2, he put himself in front of the green in two and made birdie. On 3, he made a two-putt par after hitting into a fairway bunker. On 4, he overcame a terrible tee shot. On 6, he missed the green, but chipped to a foot. On 9, his second shot trickled off the green, but he recovered. After the 10th, he played one-over golf. Two-putt par on 11. Two putts on 12 for par. Into the water on 13, but just a bogey. Overcame hitting it over the green on 14. Hit a lay-up short of the water on 15. Two-putt par on 16. Two-putt par on 17. Two-putt par on 18.
Survive and advance.
“I think for me mostly it was just trying to manage my way around the golf course, and that’s pretty much it,” Scheffler said afterward. “Just trying to make as many pars as you could and trying to leave it in the right spots. But it’s just so difficult when you can’t tell where the wind is coming from. You can only make really an educated guess and try to go from there. For the most part, I think we did a pretty good job today.”
11. Ted Scott
In caddie Ted Scott, Scottie Scheffler has a scout (he’ll walk Augusta ahead of the Masters), a coordinator (he’s a part of the decision-making), an ear (he’ll both calm and encourage his man) and a bookie (they have a running hole-out bet). Scot is also well-versed at Augusta, having also won two Masters with Bubba Watson.
It wasn’t surprising then that as Scheffler walked to scoring after his win, he wanted Scott by his side. It was a team victory.
“Ted is a fantastic cat. Perfect for Scottie,” Immelman said. “They connect on a spiritual level. They connect on a physical level. They’re like buddies, and Ted is just a really good golf guy who’s seen the comings and the goings. And if you manage Bubba, you can manage anything. And I’ve asked Ted about it. Ted says to me, Mark, he goes, I’ll say to him, hit it 250 at that stick. And you go, the ball will land right over there. So he goes, it’s easy to carry for Scottie.
