Photography courtesy of Augusta National Golf Club
In many ways, last year’s Masters Tournament paralleled the entire 2024 PGA Tour season – Scottie Scheffler manufacturing a victory that felt distinctly inevitable from the moment the lanky Texan set foot at the first tee.
Scheffler didn’t lead after 18 holes, but his consistent play gave him a share of the lead after 36, an outright lead after 54 and a Green Jacket after 72 — and his second Masters victory in three years.
He entered April after a dominant stretch in March, boasting back-to-back wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and THE PLAYERS Championship, followed by a T-2 finish at the Texas Children’s Houston Open. Scheffler arrived at the tournament as the clear favorite, and after four days on the course, there was no surprise that he was donning the Green Jacket again in Butler Cabin.
His victory in Augusta would be one of eight total titles Scheffler claimed in 2024, including a gold medal in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, as part of a dominating regular season that was capped off with a TOUR Championship victory at East Lake Golf Club, another Bobby Jones-designed course that is a mere 140 miles from Augusta National Golf Club.
“It’s hard to put into words how special this is,” Scheffler said after he slipped on his Green Jacket. “It’s been a long week, a grind of a week. The golf course was so challenging. To be sitting here, wearing this jacket again, and getting to take it home is extremely special.”
In many ways, last year’s Masters Tournament paralleled the entire 2024 PGA Tour season — Scottie Scheffler manufacturing a victory felt distinctly inevitable ….
Thursday | Day 1
Weather played a factor in Thursday’s opening round, as first tee times shifted to 10:30 a.m. The delay contributed to a suspension of play due to darkness, stretching the first round across Thursday and early Friday morning. Despite these factors, Bryson DeChambeau posted the best single-round of the 2024 tournament, finishing 7-under 65.
DeChambeau made the most of his extra time before the first tee, tallying three straight birdies to begin the round, and he birdied five of his last seven holes to finish the round at the top of the leaderboard. Scheffler wasn’t far behind, after his four birdies on the back nine – including one from the No. 12 bunker – helped propel him to No. 2 on the leaderboard with a 6-under 66.
Max Homa and Nicolai Højgaard sat one stroke behind, each boasting 5-under 67s. The American and Dane each finished with seven birdies and two bogeys. Five-time Masters Champion Tiger Woods was amid the handful of pairings whose play was halted by darkness, and his 1-over 72 kept him in the running for a 24th consecutive made cut in Augusta.
Friday | Day 2
Only eight players shot under par during the second round, including Ludvig Åberg, whose 3-under 69 led all players. Åberg started his round with a birdie on No. 2 – a hole he birdied each round in the tournament – and his five later birdies would push him into striking distance.
The heat with which DeChambeau started the tournament quickly dissipated in the day’s strengthening winds, as he carded a 1-over 73. Despite his struggles on the course, he still shared the lead with Scheffler – who posted an even par round on a difficult day – and Homa. Homa recorded early birdies on Nos. 2 and 4, and his card’s only blemish came with a bogey on No. 11.
Cameron Davis (72) and Colin Morikawa (2-under 70) entered winning contention, both sitting T-5 after 36 holes. Woods would join the top 60, making the cut set at +6, while 2015 champion Jordan Spieth, 2020 champion Dustin Johnson and Viktor Hovland, ranked in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings, failed to make the cut.
Saturday | Day 3
The third round brought a continuous shuffle on the leaderboard, with players shifting up and down throughout the top five spots, but, by the day’s end, Scheffler’s play would position himself in the lead heading into the final round.
Scheffler’s up-and-down round was a bingo card of scoring – a double bogey, three bogeys, nine pars, an eagle and four birdies, including one on No. 18, to give him the lead. Åberg’s three front-nine birdies capped off another solid round, and his 2-under 70 moved him to four-under and fourth on the leaderboard.
Morikawa’s 3-under 69 propelled him into second place at -6, with three of his four birdies on the day coming in the first three holes. Homa and DeChambeau didn’t fare as well, although DeChambeau’s chip-in birdie on No. 18 ended his round on a positive note. He found the water on No. 15 en route to a double bogey, and five other bogeys on the scoreboard led to an eventual 3-over 75, dropping him to fifth at -3. Homa’s only non-par was a bogey, dropping him to third at -5.
Sunday | Day 4
Sunday’s final round was one of survival for Scheffler, who bogeyed two of his first seven holes and found himself in a tie with Morikawa and Homa. It didn’t last.
Scheffler carded six birdies in a nine-hole stretch, opening up a commanding lead after a trio of them on Nos. 8, 9 and 10. Åberg played well but struggled to keep up under Scheffler’s onslaught. His 3-under 69 was good enough to give him an outright second-place finish at -7.
Likewise, Morikawa double-bogeyed Nos. 9 and 11, eventually fading to a 2-over 74 and finishing third at -4. Tommy Fleetwood quietly rose the ranks, and his 3-under 69 enabled him to join Morikawa and Homa in third.
In the end, Scheffler’s steadiness sealed the deal. A birdie at No.16 gave him the cushion needed to come home safely, enabling him to take home the victory.
Seen in the April 2025 issue of Augusta magazine.
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