Scottie Scheffler matches Tiger Woods achievement with fourth win in five

By Sports Desk April 22, 2024

Masters champion Scottie Scheffler hailed his mental strength after making it four wins in five starts with a rain-delayed victory at the RBC Heritage.

Scheffler returned to Hilton Head on Monday morning holding a five-stroke lead with three holes to play after a storm halted proceedings on Sunday.

The world number one dropped a shot at the last to finish 19 under par, three shots ahead of fellow American Sahith Theegala, with Patrick Cantlay and Wyndham Clark another stroke back.

Scheffler is the first player to win a PGA Tour event the week after claiming the Green Jacket since Bernhard Langer in 1985 and the first to win four times in five starts on the US-based circuit since Tiger Woods in 2007-08.

Each of Scheffler’s last seven wins have come with at least eight of the world’s top 10 in the field and he is the third player in the last 30 years – after Woods and Vijay Singh – to win or finish runner-up in five consecutive starts on the PGA Tour.

“I was able to go home for a couple days and celebrate,” Scheffler said.

“I didn’t really put much thought into it. I had committed to playing the tournament here, it was part of the plan, so we stuck to the plan.

“I talked about it at the beginning of the week – I didn’t show up here just to have some sort of ceremony and have people tell me congratulations. I came here with a purpose, got off to a slow start but after that played some really nice golf.

“I do have fairly high expectations for myself and when I show up at tournaments, I try to do my best.

“I’ve talked a lot about kind of the preparation and what it takes for me to show up on a first tee ready to go, and I feel like I’ve been putting in the work and been playing some good golf, and it’s nice to be seeing some results for that with wins.

“On the course, I think the last month or so I’ve been as good mentally as I have in a long time and I think that’s why I am seeing some of the results.

“This week could be a good example of starting off and looking at the leaderboard on Thursday and everybody is just making birdie after birdie and I’m sitting there over par and I’ve had a shank on the day.

“I just did my best to stay patient and wait until I got hot.

“Had a nice finish to the round on Thursday and then had a really solid Friday where I felt like I played better than I scored, and then I had Saturday where I just played some really good golf.”

Rory McIlroy carded a final-round 74 to slip into a tie for 33rd.

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    Scottie Scheffler insists his swing is "in a good spot" despite seeing his lead at the top of the Tour Championship standings cut to four shots on the second day.

    Scheffler, who is aiming to win his first FedEx Cup title, carded 65 in his opening round and entered the second round with a 10-shot lead.

    However, the world number one saw American duo Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele close the gap during a weather-disrupted second round on Friday.

    Scheffler carded a round of 66 to take himself to 21 under par, aided by two birdies in the final three holes to keep the chasing back at bay. 

    "I feel like my swing is in a good spot, and I've hit it nice the last couple of days," he said. "A lot of quality stuff out there, and in a good spot going into the weekend."

    Morikawa is four shots off the pace after producing a superb eight-under 63, which was the best round of the day, and has surged up the standings to second place.

    In an impressive round, he dropped just one shot on the 11th hole, but made amends on the back nine before closing with back-to-back birdies. 

    "He's going to continue to make birdies," Morikawa said about the possibility of catching Scheffler. "He's driving it really, really well here, and you're giving yourself enough wedges to make some scoring opportunities out there.

    "For me, it's just about bringing energy and just staying alive out there."

    Schauffele is in third, one shot behind compatriot Morikawa, after shooting an impressive second-round 64 to remain in the hunt for the $25million prize money. 

    There is then a four-shot gap until a group of three players, including Adam Scott, are tied for fourth place at 12 under, while Rory McIlroy is tied for 10th place on eight under.

  • 'Still feel like I've got a chance', says McIlroy as Scheffler takes Tour Championship lead 'Still feel like I've got a chance', says McIlroy as Scheffler takes Tour Championship lead

    Scottie Scheffler is in prime position to win his first FedEx Cup title after storming into a seven-shot lead at the Tour Championship.

    The world number one, who started on 10 under due to the FedEx Cup's staggered structure, carded a superb 65 in the first round of the PGA Tour's season-ending tournament, after recovering from an early bogey at East Lake.

    Scheffler's haul included seven birdies, with five of those coming from his last seven holes, as he bids to win a seventh PGA Tour event of the season.

    His main FedEx Cup challenger Xander Schauffele is tied for second on nine under par, along with Collin Morikawa, while Rory McIlroy is three shots back in T10.

    However, the Northern Irishman has not given up hope of applying pressure to Scheffler as the tournament goes on.

    "I'm happy with how I hung in there and had a good finish," McIlroy told Sky Sports.

    "When I saw Scottie had gotten to 14, I was like, 'Oh, got to try to just hang on to the coattails a little bit'.

    "Still feel like I've got a chance, and it was nice to finish the way I did."

    Scheffler, also speaking to Sky Sports, said: "Yeah, I'm pleased with the day.

    "I tried not to think about any sort of lead or anything like that, my job was to go out there and execute and I felt like I did a really good job of that. I felt like I was doing some good stuff to start the day.

    "I had the bogey on one but after that I felt like I played some really good golf."

  • Bradley in disbelief after moving into FedEx Cup contention with BMW Championship win Bradley in disbelief after moving into FedEx Cup contention with BMW Championship win

    Keegan Bradley was in disbelief after putting himself in FedEx Cup contention by winning his second BMW Championship title on Sunday.

    Bradley, who was appointed as the United States' 2025 Ryder Cup captain last month, edged out Adam Scott to claim a one-shot victory at the event near Denver.

    Scott pulled level with Bradley at the start of his final round but later bogeyed three straight holes as the American won his seventh PGA Tour title.

    Bradley, who also won the 2018 tournament by beating Justin Rose in a play-off, now sits fourth in the FedEx Cup standings, behind Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama.

    Following his victory, the 38-year-old set his sights on another triumph at next week's Tour Championship in Atlanta, having only just squeezed into the 50-player field at Castle Pines.

    "Oh, man, it just shows why you've got to grind it out every week because you never know how fast it can switch," Bradley said.

    "Now I go to Atlanta with a chance to win the FedEx Cup. I can't believe it. I'm so excited.

    "I'm in a bit of a state of shock because there was a time a week ago about this time that I didn't think I was going to be coming here. 

    "I had to have a lot of magical things happen for me to just play in this tournament, and when I got here, I was so grateful just to be here.

    "I played with a real sense of calm all week, which is not the norm for me"

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