Defending champion Scottie Scheffler made history just minutes ago by coming from way behind today to shoot an 8-under par 64 for a 20-under par 268 total at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, Florida, to win the 50th Players Championship by one stroke over three players: Wyndham Clark, Xander Schauffele, and Brian Harman. It was a very exciting finish.
For a while, the television coverage of the tournament was focused mostly on the last pairing, a twosome of the leader Xander Schauffele who began the day at 17-under par total and Wyndham Clark, who was one stroke behind him. But Scottie Scheffler–the #1 rated golfer in the world for the past more than seventy weeks–got off to a hot start by being seven under par after twelve holes.
Scheffler was finished when the last group came to the treacherous little par three 17th hole, about 140 yards in length, with it’s elevated and very fast green surrounded by water. About the only danger missing from this drama was alligators in the H2O, and Florida has many of those critters.
[This tournament is located just outside Jacksonville. One year I was paired with the infamous lady man Doug Sanders in the Jacksonville Open. It was a warm, sunny day in late fall. An alligator was sunning itself, resting on the edge of our fairway next to a lake. Doug came up from behind the alligator and whopped his driver head on innocent animal’s tail. It must have scared the poor critter half to death as it instantly leaped into the lake with a big splash.]
Always in this Players Championship, on the last day the hole location is placed far back right. I can’t remember in the past sixty years a more difficult pin placement than that on the PGA Tour. Many players have been in contention on Sunday in this tournament and dumped their white pellet into the H2O on that hole. But not these two guys; not even close.
As they stood on the 17th tee, Clark was 18-under par four the tournament and Schauffele was 19-under par. Clark hit first and played a brilliant shot that trickled down to three feet from the cup. Schauffele was almost as good, hitting his shot to 6.5 feet. Xander then barely missed his putt and made par. Wyndham made his birdie putt.
So, both Clark and Schauffele stood on the 18th tee needing a birdier to force a sudden-death playoff with Scheffler. And left-hander Brian Harman, playing right in front of them, made a gallant bid for a birdie on the 18th hole that just missed the hole for him to finish at 19-under par, one stroke behind Scheffler’s score of 20-under par.
The par four 18th hole is the toughest hole on the course because it’s narrow fairway hugs and doglegs left around a lake the entire length of the hole. Schauffele made a long two putt par to finish the tournament tied with Harman, one stroke behind Scheffler. So, Wyndham Clark, the reigning U.S. Open champion, was the last man standing with a fifteen foot putt for a birdie that would tie Scottie Scheffler and force an immediate sudden-death playofff. Wyndham’s putt hit the hole and did a very quick rimout that was almost 360 degrees.
Scottie Scheffler had survived three players trying to tie him at the end, showing was this very likeable Texan is indeed the #1 pro golfer in the world.
[Scottie Scheffler is a prominent member of the PGA Tour Bible study. He often speaks publicly about his Christian faith and how important it is to him and his family. Visit here at this website for a list of PGA Tour pro golfers who are professing Christians and like to share their faith publicly. The list starts with the best players on Tour in this order: Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, and Sam Burns.]
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In