Scheffler happy to be 'mentioned in same breath' as Nicklaus and Woods at Masters

American aiming for back-to-back wins at Augusta

Scottie Scheffler plays his shot from the third tee during a practice round ahead of The Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 05, 2023. Getty

If all those satellites have mapped it right, the 87th Masters could well be a repeat of last year.

Of course, Scottie Scheffler was sublime in cantering to a three-shot win. On a hot run after winning three tournaments in five starts before reaching Augusta National, the unassuming American started his campaign with rounds of 69 and 67, but the highlight for him a one-under 71 on Saturday.

That was the day when the mercury and scores plummeted. Four degrees felt sub-zero because of rain and wind and frosty morning conditions. The best round that day was a 70 by Tommy Fleetwood, but the most important was a battling 71 by Scheffler.

It helped him open a five-shot lead and even though Rory McIlroy mounted a massive late charge with a course record-equalling 64, the 26-year-old American had enough breathing space to win by three in the end.

Meteorologists are predicting another weather front moving into Augusta this weekend, with Saturday looking particularly dark, windy, wet and cold.

In such a scenario, it helps that the world No 1 comes into the tournament in sizzling hot form. In a near repeat of last year, Scheffler has won the twice – the Players Championship and the Phoenix Open – in his last five starts.

If there ever was a contender to join the rare club of Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as back-to-back winner of the Masters, it is Scheffler.

“Any time you can get mentioned in the same breath as a Tiger and a Jack and a Nick Faldo, it is really special,” Scheffler said.

“However, it’s not a motivating factor for me to come out here and play. It’s so special and cool when it happens, but it doesn’t motivate me out here. I’m just trying to come out here and do my best and play good golf and have fun. Outside of that, I’m just hoping to have a good attitude. Wherever that ends up in my career, I will be happy with.”

Not much has changed for Scheffler, he insists, since that momentous second Sunday of April last year. And that includes the fact that he is still ranked the world No 1. But Scheffler is not paying much attention to that stat.

“I wouldn’t say it gives me any sort of special confidence. I mean, it’s just a math algorithm. For me, to sit here and tell you guys I’m the best player in the world, that is not my style,” said Scheffler.

“I think I learn a lot from all the people out here. I’ve learned a lot from all the guys that kind of came before me. I'm a student of the game and I’ve learned a lot from playing with guys like Jordan [Spieth] growing up.

"I like to continue to learn and improve. That’s what is fun for me and what I love about this game; that you can never perfect it, and hopefully I’ll keep getting closer. However, being No 1 is better than being No 2 in that algorithm.”

Meanwhile, world No 3 Jon Rahm said the key to Augusta National Golf Club is how players negotiate the peculiarities on and around the greens.

“Historically, it’s not a golf course where people, when they go on to win, they hit a ton of fairways or a ton of greens. Somebody told me the average green hit percentage was 60-some per cent here,” said Rahm, the 2022 DP World Tour champion who has won three titles on the PGA Tour already this year.

“But what every Masters champion has in common is what’s happening around the greens. If you can limit those mistakes and turn those into pars, sometimes birdies, that’s modern major championships.

“If you go back and see Scottie’s round last year, how many times did he miss a green, make up-and-down and make a par and keep the round going and make a few birdies and distanced himself from the entire field.

“I think like that’s a key aspect of the game. I have talked to Phil [Mickelson] many times about this, and he’s told me the reason he’s comfortable here is because with his short game, he feels like he can be more aggressive than anyone and still get pars and birdies out of it. Same about Jordan Spieth’s short game, right?”

Scheffler is paired with Max Homa and amateur Sam Bennett the first two rounds. He tees-off on Thursday at 1.36pm local time (9.36pm UAE). Rahm will start his campaign with Justin Thomas and Cameron Young at 10.42am local time (6.42pm UAE).