Scottie Scheffler wins 2022 Masters for first career major originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Scottie Scheffler came into Augusta National owning the No. 1 ranking on the PGA Tour. Now, he also owns a green jacket.
The 25-year-old won the 2022 Masters on Sunday with an overall tournament score of 10-under. The victory gives Scheffler his first major and fourth PGA Tour win. His three prior triumphs have all come since February, as he came out on top at the WM Phoenix Open, Arnold Palmer Invitational and WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.
Scheffler entered Sunday with a three-hole lead over Cameron Smith. The two made up the final pair to hit the course in the fourth round, and early on it was shaping up to be a competitive day as Smith closed the lead to one after just two holes.
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That was as close as the score would get, though, as Scheffler quickly increased his lead again on the third hole with one of the shots of the tournament:
Scheffler didn’t get his first bogey on Sunday until the back nine. He shot a five on the par-4 10th hole, but he kept his four-hole lead thanks to Smith’s bogey. Smith made up a stroke on the next hole, sinking a rare birdie on 11.
Disaster struck for Smith on the par-3 12th hole. The Australian hit his tee shot into the water, missed the green on his next shot and had to two-putt, giving him a triple-bogey and putting him six strokes behind Scheffler heading into the final six holes. Smith wound up tying Shane Lowry for third place at 5-under.
As Scheffler and Smith were completing the 13th hole, the eventual second-place finisher ended his round with an astonishing shot. Rory McIlroy brought his overall score to 7-under with a chip-in from the right bunker on the 18th hole:
By shooting an 8-under 64 on Sunday, McIlroy matched the lowest final-round score in Masters history.
The pandemonium at the 18th hole continued when Collin Morikawa, the eventual fifth-place finisher, also finished his round with a chip-in from the same bunker:
With five holes to play, Scheffler used the rest of his round to remind everyone who the actual winner was going to be.
He birdied the 14th and 15th holes, bringing his score to 12-under for the tournament. He got par on the 16th and 17th holes before cementing his win with a double-bogey on 18:
Scheffler shot under par in all four rounds at Augusta National. He went 3-under on Thursday, 5-under on Friday, 1-under on Saturday and wrapped the win up with a 1-under on Sunday.
Along with a new jacket, Scheffler also won himself quite the payday this weekend. The winning prize for the 2022 Masters winner is $2.7 million. McIlroy ($1.62 million) will also leave Augusta with a seven-figure prize.
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Elsewhere on the leaderboard, reigning champion Hideki Matsuyama tied for 14th place at 2-over par. Dustin Johnson, who won the prior Masters, tied for 12th at 1-over. Five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods placed 47th with a 13-over across his four rounds.
