2022 Masters

Scottie Scheffler -10, Rory McIlroy -7, Shane Lowry/Cam Smith -5, Collin Morikawa -4

Thursday was kinda easy-going, everyone was watching Tiger and no one really stood out on day #1. Then on Friday, just as I thinking to myself, 'Well, no one is gonna run away with it this year', that was right about the time that Scheffler went hognutty on the back nine and took a stranglehold on the lead for the rest of the weekend. A hell of a performance: while everyone else was figuring out the wind and the greens, Scheffler was just making plays. 

Saturday was all about wind and the tightness around the holes (man, can't remember so many near-miss putts that just skittered over the hole). Scheffler was able to withstand the elements, hold his big lead and that was exactly the right play. Going into Sunday, everyone was gonna need Scheffler to seriously falter to have a shot at a win, but a top-5 finish was on the table for a lot of dudes. Turned out to be McIlroy going -8 on the final day to streak up the board (though at no point was he a real threat to Scheffler). 

Two holes on Sunday made the difference. On #3, Scheffler and Smith both yanked the ball into the woods, then both just missed catching the green and rolled back down the hill right next to each other. Scheffler chipped in for bird, Smith two-putted for bogey. That was a major tone-setter early on.

Then on #12, Smith (like so many before him) went for the big play on Amen Corner, went in the drink, dropped a +3 and that was it for Smith. Game effort, for the most part Smith hung with Scheffler but couldn't make the big move on the back nine. I was impressed with Smith almost as Scheffler, I expect both of those dudes to have monstrous seasons.

The big story (sorry, Scheffler) was the return of Tiger Woods. He played damn good on Thursday, kinda sucked on Friday, was not bad on Saturday and then kinda sucked again on Sunday. He was clearly laboring, but it was impressive the way he gutted out a tough set. He wanted to play four rounds and he did it and the audience loved every second of his performance. He limped a lot, dipped his shoulder on his drive and never looked dangerous to win anything, but he's gonna slip right into the Arnie/Jack fan favorite role that Golf features so prominently. (So....Tiger will just be playing the Majors from now on, right?)

Another element overshadowing Scheffler's coming out party was a load of really good highlights. This one was my fave of the final round, McIlroy and Morikawa both chipping for birds on the 18th.

I love the Masters, pretty much the only golf I watch all year, the way it nestles between March Madness and the NBA playoffs is perfect early spring comfort food. Some might be disappointed that Scheffler so firmly clamped down this touney, but I don't mind a dominant performance--dude was awesome! Ice cold, knocking down shots, recovered from mistakes very well, Scheffler did it all, a great performance.