Scottie Scheffler, Meredith Scheffler’s spouse, is a warrior, according to Meredith Scheffler.
“Did you watch today, I suppose?” That was an excellent example.”
When they were high school sweethearts, she recalls coming to the Schefflers’ house and watching three-hour long games of Scrabble.
Scheffler’s mother, Dianne, stated, “If he lost, he wanted to play again, and if I lost, I wanted to play again.”
This weekend, he needed to be tough since a U.S. Open erupted at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club and Lodge a few months early.
“Trying to play this course is a total beat-down,” Scheffler remarked.
Scores surged on a lively, fickle breeze that puffed about the course, shoving golf balls in various places, on another warm, bright day that roasted greens to a yellowish tint of split pea soup. In the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, only four of the 77 participants broke par, while six shot 80 or higher. On Sunday, the field shot 266 over par, the highest shooting average in a round (75.5) at this tournament since 1981. It was also the first time the Tour had a single-digit under-par victor since Jon Rahm at the 2021 U.S. Open in June. Rory McIlroy, who battled to shoot a pair of 76s over the weekend, encapsulated many people’s thoughts.
“To be honest, I’m punch drunk,” McIlroy remarked. “It’s aggravating. It’s difficult to maintain your patience out there.”
Scheffler was the best of the bunch, shooting an even-par 72 for a total of 5-under 283, one stroke ahead of Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton, and Billy Horschel.
Scheffler, the 2020 Arnold Palmer Award winner for Rookie of the Year on the PGA Tour, won for the second time in three tournaments at Arnie’s Place, and the champion’s alpaca red sweater fit him perfectly. It took a while to get the first win, but it took scarcely any time to confirm it.
Scheffler started with rounds of 70-73 before recording one of the tournament’s best rounds on Saturday, a 4-under 68 on the inward nine that included three birdies and an eagle.
“After the way yesterday went, I assumed they’d ease up on the golf course a little bit,” Scheffler said. “However, the setup was harder today than it was yesterday, which surprised me a little bit.”
Scottie Scheffler won today despite hitting only 5 fairways and 9 GIR.
Last player to win on PGA Tour with a final round hitting 5 or fewer fairways, 9 or fewer greens in regulation:
Tiger Woods, 2013 Farmers Insurance Open
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) March 6, 2022
Scheffler, 25, overcame a sluggish start in the final round, making bogeys on two of his first three holes and missing a 5-foot par putt at nine to finish one stroke behind Hovland at the turn. But, when others stumbled in the screaming wind, Scheffler remained unfazed. He finished on 5 under par with a birdie at the par-5 12th and pars the rest of the way, including a 69-foot two-putt at the 18th. It was as much a triumph of willpower as it was of athletic prowess.
Gary Woodland demonstrated how rapidly fortunes can shift. The 2019 U.S. Open champion hit his second shot to 24 feet at the par-5 16th and sank the eagle putt to take the lead for the first time all week at 6 under. Woodland, however, snagged the front greenside bunker on the next hole and failed to escape on his first attempt.
“I tried to make a cut in there, but the wind ate me up,” Woodland explained. “The untruth was a little unfortunate. The lie was extracted from the pitch mark, but it was still partially plugged. So I tried chunking it, and I chunked it way too much.”
