Masters 2026: Less than his best still good enough for Scottie Scheffler to beat everyone but the champ
The World No. 1 miscalculated in spotting Rory McIlroy 12 shots through 36 holes, which was a stroke too many. He settled for second place and had to wonder what might have been.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — In the early days of his pro career, Tiger Woods rankled a few of his peers with the very honest and very accurate assessment that he had won a time or two with less than his A-game. The truth hurt.
They just didn’t care to hear it. Well, Scottie Scheffler just completed his seventh Masters on Sunday with undoubtedly one of his more impressive performances, and the truth is that he had a decidedly poor week at Augusta National Golf Club and still darn near won the thing for a third time. Scheffler is surprisingly good at golf even when he is not.
The 29-year-old Texan clearly miscalculated in spotting Rory McIlroy 12 shots through 36 holes. That was a stroke too many. He settled for second place after a closing four-under 68 on Sunday and had to wonder what might have been in the 90th Masters had he played just a smidge better.
Even without the smidge, the guy beat all but the defending champion. “Overall, I'm not going to hold too many regrets, but yeah, definitely a bit disappointed now,” Scheffler said after finishing at 11-under 277 for his ninth top-five finish in his last 17 majors, four of them wins. “But like I said, I started the weekend 12 shots back and ended up only one shot back.