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Scottie Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler holds on to Masters lead to secure his first Major championship

Scottie Scheffler showed ice cold consistency on the final day of The Masters to win his first green jacket – proving just why he’s world No.1.

The American started the day on 10- under, three shots ahead of Australia’s Cameron Smith. It was the Queenslander who got off to a promising start with a pair of birdies on the first two holes. But after sinking a spectacular chip on the third, Scheffler never really looked back.

There was a hint of a rally when Smith birdied the 11th. But a score of six on the par three 12th effectively ended his chances. In the end he was overtaken by Rory McIlroy, himself chasing a Grand Slam of Major victories. The Northern Irishman hit an astonishing round of 64, his magical bunker shot on the 18th one of the day’s highlights.

The day, though, belonged to Scheffler, whose final round of 71 – including four birdies – was pure class.

Smith finished third on 5- under, tied with Ireland’s Shane Lowry. America’s Colin Morikawa finished fourth on 4- under.

Elsewhere, Australia’s Min Woo Lee ended the weekend 14th; Marc Leishman finished 31; Cameron Davis 46th. Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, tied 48th.

Tiger Woods, who dominated so many of this week’s headlines, finished on 13- over. Not quite the fairytale comeback fans hoped for, but the fact the five-time champion completed 72 holes was remarkable; just 14 months ago he underwent extensive emergency surgery to save his right leg following a car accident.

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Scottie Scheffler is still your leader after Round 3 (-9) when he may have been a bit off the pace today at -1, 71 shots. However, his improved 1st half spell from Thursday & Friday shows that Scheffler’s got it all to stay consistent & pull off in a bid to wear the green jacket tomorrow. His best finish here in Augusta was tied 18th last year, but he did improve in the other majors (8th in 2021 & 4th in 2020 at the PGA Championship, 8th in 2021 at the British Open & 7th at the 2021 US Open) as this could be Scheffler’s first major title.

When it comes to competitors who are also chasing the green jacket for the first time, it’s good to see Australia’s Cameron Smith rebound today like it was from Round 1 on Thursday with five birdies at -4, 68 shots. He’s only three shots behind Scheffler now in 2nd at -6, as all Smith can pray now is for the leader to be inconsistent before he can potentially be the 2nd Aussie after Adam Scott to win The Masters.

The same goes with South Korean Sungjae-Im in 3rd, who isn’t far behind Smith and Scheffler. Now he still needs to work on the first nine holes that would help him bridge the gap between 3rd and the Top 2. However, Im still has that strong edge when it comes to the back nine holes after he finished his Round 3 spell with five birdies at -1, 71 shots.

Ireland’s Shane Lowry is still in a position at tied 4th despite only collecting two birdies during the 1st half. South African Charl Schwartzel also endured the same consistency as Lowry, but we can’t forget his terrific brace with the eagle in the 10th hole. Both players credited Round 2 yesterday with the improved leaderboard positions as their turning point, as they hope to split Smith & Im before it’s a race against time to catch Scheffler.

Will we see another first-time winner tomorrow from either Scheffler or someone else like Smith, Im, or Lowry? Otherwise, can Schwartzel secure a fairytale 11-year reunion with the green jacket?

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It’s good to see an Australian in Cameron Smith doing so well, who is currently in 2nd after the 1st Day of the 2022 Masters in Augusta, GA. He may fired off poorly when Smith shot six in the first hole through Par 4, but he gradually improved as it goes where he racked up three eagles & four birdies at -4 (68 shots).

At the end of the day, the leader you’re looking at is Sunjae Im from South Korea; he was very consistent with plenty of 3s & 4s that earned him a whopping six birdies apart from the three bogeys at -5 (67 shots).

Then there are also a lot of 3rd place runners catching right up to Smith and Im’s radar, with Dustin Johnson, Scottie Scheffler, Danny Willett & Joaquin Niemann all tied at -3 (69 shots).

Johnson fired off well where he sniffed around Smith & Im earlier on for the lead. Although his form may have dipped going into the 2nd half spell that began to slip away from joint 1st with Smith & Im, there’s still room for improvement to catch up tomorrow if he wants to regain the lead & try to snatch that green jacket for the second time. Meanwhile, Willett, Scheffler & Niemann always kept their eye within the Top 3, having never been out of shape throughout the opening day as they look to hold back Johnson & split this front-row battle of Smith & Im on Day 2 tomorrow.

Jason Kokrak & Corey Conners sat comfortably outside the Top 6 throughout the opening day alongside Patrick Cantlay, who improved lately with four birdies in the 2nd half spell. And we also can’t forget the return of Tiger Woods after a freak accident earlier last year; he shot a lot of pars alongside three birdies in joint 10th at -1 (71 shots).

It will be interesting to see which two runner-ups from the 2020 Masters Tournaments will be up in front by the end of Day 2 tomorrow at Augusta National Golf Course.

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