Scottie Scheffler (-10) wins the 2022 Masters Tournament (4-10-22)
By: Victor Herrera
Headline photo Courtesy: PGA Twitter Page
The 2022 Masters had many challenges and surprises. The first challenge was the weather. The golf gods were smiling on Augusta because the rain that was expected throughout the tournament seemed to vanish and not become a factor. This allowed for improved playing conditions after the morning of the first round. One surprise we saw this week was a hole-in-one by Stewart Cink on hole 16. This was made even more special by being able to celebrate with his son who caddied for him this weekend. First-time players of the Masters such as JJ Spaun and Harry Higgs were able to make the cut and find some success in their Masters debut.
Having Tiger Woods at Augusta just felt right. Seeing Tiger in his iconic Red and Black on Sunday seemed to bring a smile to golf fans around the world. Tiger Woods finished 47th with a total of 13 over. If you look at his round-by-round score you can see it gradually got higher and higher each round. Throughout this tournament little by little Tiger has shown how much pain he is in. It is easy to notice the limp as he walks the course, but as the camera would zoom in you can see how much pain he was in by the faces he would make. I can see Tiger winning another major. It will take time with more rehab and rest, but he showed that his golf game can still produce good competitive rounds. The next time we are guaranteed to see Tiger Woods is this summer for The Open Championship at St. Andrews. It is still unclear whether Tiger will play the PGA Championship at Southern Hills where he won 15 years ago.
It has been 7 years since Rory McIlroy made a top 5 finish at Augusta. Not many thought he could post a top 5 finish this time. After missing the cut in San Antonio, the week before and not having found his game. Rory proved everybody wrong by finishing 2nd and finding his touch around the green, posting his best round ever at Augusta. During the final round, Rory had a crucial chip in that would allow him to maintain his confidence heading into the back nine of the final round. Although he will have to wait another year until he can complete the career grand slam. It is safe to say Rory will be ready for Augusta with a newly found confidence.
Scottie Scheffler and Cam Smith were in the final pairing for Sunday’s final round. There was no surprise these two were the last ones to play the course. Scottie and Cam were among the leaders all week. Although neither could run away with the lead, as both had trouble this week finishing their rounds strong. It was the light show were expecting having Smith getting two early birdies and gaining ground Scheffler was able to gather himself and ride the confidence of the early chip in on the 3rdhole. Smith ultimately put himself out of contention on the famous 12th hole when he tripled bogey after going into the water off the tee. Meanwhile, Scheffler listened to Ted Scott the whole way. The proven caddie who helped lead Bubba Watson to two green jackets paved the way for Scottie this week. Ted was the voice that kept Scheffler under control throughout the tournament.
Ted Scott and Scottie Scheffler will be a dangerous duo heading into the other 3 majors on the calendar. This could be a run like what we saw from Jordan Spieth when he won 2 of the 4 majors in 2015. Scottie Scheffler is the 2022 Masters Champion
