AUGUSTA, Ga. — There’s always an air of Why not? on Friday at the Masters. Why not Talor Gooch, who stripes it oh so well. Why not Kevin Kisner, the Southern grinder who can roll it as well as anyone. Why not … the best iron player to ever live, Tiger Woods?
Midday at Augusta National we couldn’t deny these hopeful dreamers. A couple hours later, it felt like we had to, all thanks to Scottie Scheffler.
The No. 1 player in the world is showing he’s exactly that, even if you’re still unfamiliar with the man. He’s won three times since Super Bowl Sunday and is halfway to an epic fourth, thanks to a five-under 67, the low round of the day at Augusta National. A high-ball player like Scheffler shouldn’t dominate in these conditions — with 30 mph gusts swirling around the property — but when the high ball goes long and straight, and with authority, it’s still undefeated.
“I’ve prepared for a long time to be in moments like this and to win golf tournaments,” he said after the round. “And like I said at the beginning of the week, I’ve done all the preparation I can do. And if I win this golf tournament, then great; and if I don’t, that’s okay, too, because I did everything I could and I’m prepared and the rest isn’t up to me.”
Scheffler made two bogeys in his first three holes but settled in to play his final 12 holes in six under. He’s posted at eight under for the week and holding a five-shot lead. If he didn’t have your attention before, he better have it now. A win on Sunday would essentially lock up Player of the Year honors with four months left in the season — the kind of thing Tiger Woods used to do.
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But unlike Woods in his prime, a certain discourse has followed Scheffler in recent months, as everyone in golf keeps wondering the same thing: how long can he keep this up?
He has a swashbuckling nature to his game. He won’t find every fairway, and his swing is anything but conventional. But he hasn’t blinked once during the last nine weeks, winning on a variety of courses and grasses in Arizona, Texas and Florida.
Georgia is the next frontier.
Whether this run lasts two more weeks or two more years doesn’t matter. He needs just two more days. Thirty-six holes.
Mother Nature will have something to say about the outcome.
The reason there was so much Why Not on Friday is because, after four inches of rain and some wicked winds, the rest of the leaderboard had been a bit normalized. Three under is great, but in these conditions three over is pretty good, too. Justin Thomas shot perhaps the most disappointing round on Thursday, a 76, but nullified it Friday with a 67 of his own. He’s one under and sitting tied for 10th.
Fans felt the wind, too, Friday, returning to their empty lawnchairs tipped over, or with divot debris flying into their faces on the practice range. It damn-near blew slender-framed Will Zalatoris off the 10th tee, the highest point on the property. It confused the hell out of Tiger Woods on the 12th, where his approach flew 15 yards by the hole, into the bushes. You never quite know what a good score is going to be. The players don’t always know either. Charl Schwartzel finished early enough to set our standard for the afternoon:
“Par is a great score,” he said plainly. “I think if you shoot level par around here in these conditions, you are playing good golf.”
His golf was great, then. A three-under 69 helped push him into the final pairing Saturday afternoon. He missed six straight cuts before this week. Good luck explaining that.
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As a result of this madness, leaves drape the fairways and pine needles cover the property. Just 15 names are in the red thus far (that’s good), 74 in the green (less good). Thirty-six players are within five shots of second place. One of those in second is Shane Lowry, wind-player extraordinaire. Keep an eye on him.
Second place might not matter at this rate, but it’s a fair place to start analyzing how this all could play out. First place can be a lonely place with two full rounds left. Two nights to lay in bed, starting at the ceiling, pondering the possibilities. Two evenings of seeing yourself on SportsCenter. Two mornings trying to sleep in longer than normal. And at least one more day of wicked wind.
The mercury will rise from the mid-40s to mid-50s Saturday afternoon. Things are bound to get weird, really weird, or straight up boring.
It all starts with one man.