Masters champion Scottie Scheffler has warned his rivals that he “will not take his eye off the ball” as he looks to juggle being a father with adding to his ever-growing trophy haul.
World No 1 Scheffler claimed a second Green Jacket in three years – and a third tournament victory in a little over a month – after finishing four strokes clear of Ludvig Åberg at Augusta National.
The 27-year-old’s wife Meredith is expecting the couple’s first child and Scheffler readily admits golf will not be his priority soon but he has no plans to ease up on the course.
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Watch the story of Scheffler’s final round as he claimed a second Green Jacket with a four-under 68
“I’m definitely not going to intentionally take my eye off the ball,” said Scheffler, who has now won nine titles since his maiden PGA Tour triumph at the WM Phoenix Open in February 2022.
“My priorities will change soon. My son or daughter will be the main priority, along with my wife, so golf will probably be fourth in line.
“But I still love competing. I don’t plan on taking my eye off the ball anytime soon, that’s for sure. I feel like I’m playing really good golf right now.
“I feel like I’m as in control of my emotions as I’ve ever been, which is a good place to be. I feel like I’m maturing as a person on the golf course, which is a good place to be.”
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Watch the moment Scottie Scheffler tapped in on 18 to secure victory at Augusta National
‘It’s hard to put into words how special this is’
Asked if he felt he was achieving something special at the moment, Scheffler added: “I try not to think about the past or the future too much. I love trying to live in the present.
“I’ve had a really good start to the year, and I hope that I can continue on this path that I’m on. I love winning. I hate losing. When I’m sitting with the lead on Sunday, I really, really want to win badly.”
Assessing his victory at Augusta, which was sealed by a four-under 68 in the final round, Scheffler said: “It’s hard to put into words how special this is. It’s been a long week, a grind of a week.
“The golf course was so challenging, and to be sitting here wearing this jacket again is extremely special.
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Check out how Scheffler almost holed his approach to the par-four ninth on Masters Sunday
“I would say the best momentum turner that I had [on Sunday] was the birdie putt on eight. It was a challenging read because it turned early and it was really straight at the end.
“You had to really start on line and hope it held its line. I poured that one in and it gave me some good momentum and I used that to birdie nine and 10 and keep pushing.
Scheffler: I had to stay aggressive
“I knew there were birdies out there on the back nine. I had a lot of really talented players trying to chase me down, and I knew pars weren’t going to get it done.
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Highlights from the final round of The Masters as Scheffler finished four shots clear of Ludvig Åberg
“I tried to soak in stuff around me. I looked up at the trees. I looked up at the fans occasionally to try to soak in some of their energy. But I did not ever let myself get attached to the lead.
“You have to stay aggressive. You have to hit the right shots. There’s no way around it out here. You can’t play too defensive and you can’t play too aggressive. Fortunately I was able to do that.
“I would say the two aspects of my game that were probably the best were short game and driving, short game being the most.”
Harmon: ‘Tactician’ Scheffler will only get better
Sky Sports’ Butch Harmon added of Scheffler: “He is a wonderful human being. There are no flaws in his life and he doesn’t really have any flaws in his golf game.
“He is a tactician. He won this tournament as much with his brain as with his golf clubs.
“He is the complete package and there is probably no one close. I used to think Jon Rahm was but he isn’t anymore.
“This guy is going to take over the mantle for a while. The scary thought is that he is only going to get better.”
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The first women’s major of the year, The Chevron Championship, is live from 3pm this Thursday, with the next men’s major, the PGA Championship at Valhalla in Kentucky, taking place from May 16-19.
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