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Monday 15 april 2024

Scottie Scheffler unstoppable and wins another Masters green jacket

By DOUG FERGUSON dating to his first PGA Tour so long over the par-3 12th
AP Golf Writer title at the Phoenix Open the golf ball plunged deep
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Scot- just two years and two into bushes and left him no
tie Scheffler had no doubts months ago. choice but to take a pen-
about this Masters, and During that stretch, Schef- alty drop. His chip didn’t
neither did anyone watch- fler has finished in the top reach the green, and two
ing. He pulled ahead with 10 a staggering 65% of the putts later he had double
magnificent shots Sunday time. bogey.
around the turn and poured Scheffler had a lonely walk Morikawa already had be-
it on along the back nine toward the scoring area gun to slide by taking two
at Augusta National for a with his wife. His two sisters, shots to get out of a deep
4-under 68 to claim his sec- Sara and Molly, were the bunker left of the ninth
ond green jacket in three first to greet him, followed green for double bogey.
years. by his parents and Randy He all but sealed his fate
Scheffler is simply unstop- Smith, the only coach he with a shot into the water
pable at the moment, and has ever had. on the 11th and took dou-
he had help from a falter- Scottie Scheffler celebrates his win at the Masters golf tournament It was the fourth straight ble bogey.
ing cast of contenders to at Augusta National Golf Club Sunday, April 14, 2024, in Augusta, Masters when the winner Aberg was the only one
make it look easier than it Ga. came to the 18th green who battled back, and
was. Associated Press with one arm in the green Scheffler kept answering
Much like Tiger Woods he jacket. That doesn’t mean with birdies. He hit the 13th
made the outcome look in- Aberg, among four play- and the Masters — in his last Sunday was a walk in golf’s green in two and two-putt-
evitable with sublime con- ers who had a share of four starts. The other was a most gorgeous garden. ed for birdie. His approach
trol, the difference being a the lead at one point, lost runner-up finish in Houston. Four players had a share of to the 14th hit the slope to-
peach shirt instead of Sun- ground with his approach Woods closed with a 77 the lead at various points ward the back and rolled
day red, and no fist pumps went into the pond left of and finished at 16-over 304, along the front nine, and down to a foot from the
until it was over. the 11th hole and he made the highest 72-hole score of then Scheffler began to pin.
After sharing hugs with double bogey. Against a his career. assert himself with three His final birdie came from
caddie Ted Scott and Col- player like Scheffler, those Scheffler said he was in straight birdies around the just inside 10 feet on the
lin Morikawa, Scheffler mistakes are not easy to tears before the final round turn. 16th.
turned to face the crowd overcome. in 2022 when he had a He got up-and-down with Defending champion Jon
with both arms raised. Aberg closed with a 69 and three-shot lead going for a 10-foot birdie putt at the Rahm, now with Saudi-
“WOOOOOO!” he yelled, was the runner-up. his first major. His wife, Mere- par-5 eighth. He hit the per- funded LIV Golf, closed
slamming his fist. Morikawa, who had two dith, gave him the assuring fect wedge that caught with a 76 and tied for 45th,
Scheffler won by three double bogeys to fall out of words and he sailed to vic- the ridge and came inches 20 shots behind Scheffler.
shots in 2022 with a mean- the hunt, shot 74 and tied tory. His wife had to watch within going in on No. 9, He was in Butler Cabin
ingless four-putt on the final for third with Tommy Fleet- this one from home in Dal- leaving him a tap-in birdie. to help Scheffler into the
hole. There was no drama wood (69) and Max Homa las, where she is expecting And then he holed another green jacket.
this time, either. (73), whose hopes ended the couple’s first child at 10-foot birdie putt on the Rahm had not faced Schef-
No uphill climb in golf is on the par-3 12th with a the end of the month. 10th to build a two-shot fler all year and witnessed
sweeter than toward the double bogey from the Scheffler finished at 11-un- lead. what the PGA Tour players
18th green at Augusta Na- bushes, not Rae’s Creek. der 277 and earned $3.6 And then, just like in the are up against each week.
tional, thousands of spec- The 27-year-old Scheffler is million from the $20 million best days of Woods, he let His tee-to-green play is rem-
tators rising to their feet with the fourth-youngest player purse, pushing his season everyone else make the iniscent of Woods, though
every step to salute the best to have two green jack- total on the PGA Tour to big numbers. certainly not the emotion,
player in the game. Schef- ets. He stretches his lead at over $15 million in just nine In the group ahead, Ab- the worldwide appeal or
fler made a 3-foot par putt No. 1 in the world to levels tournaments. erg’s approach to the 11th the number of victories.
for a four-shot victory over not seen since the prime of Perhaps even more daunt- slammed off the bank and Scheffler stays in his own
Masters newcomer Ludvig Woods. Scheffler now has ing for the rest of golf is that into the water, leading to little world on the course,
Aberg of Sweden, who did three victories against the Scheffler still hasn’t had a double bogey. which might be just as well.
his best to make a battle strongest fields — Bay Hill, round over par this year. He Homa managed a tough No one is close to him in the
out of it. The Players Championship has 10 victories worldwide par on the 11th, only to hit it game at the moment.q

Carlos Alcaraz will miss the Barcelona Open with the same arm issue

that kept him out of Monte Carlo

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — won the title at the clay- The French Open begins
Carlos Alcaraz pulled out court Barcelona Open in May 26. Alcaraz reached
of the Barcelona Open on 2022 and 2023. the semifinals there last
Sunday with the same injury He hasn’t played in a tour- year before losing to even-
in his right forearm that kept nament since losing to tual champion Novak
him out of the Monte Carlo Grigor Dimitrov in the Mi- Djokovic.q
Masters, leaving his French ami Open quarterfinals last
Open preparation on hold. month. Carlos Alcaraz of Spain is
unable to reach a shot by
Alcaraz is a two-time Grand Alcaraz won the U.S. Open Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria
Slam champion and former in 2022 and Wimbledon last during the Miami Open tennis
No. 1-ranked player who is year. His lone trophy so far tournament, Thursday, March
currently No. 3. this season came at Indian 28, 2024, in Miami Gardens,
The 20-year-old from Spain Wells, California, in March. Fla.
Associated Press