World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler returned to complete his final round of the RBC Heritage on Monday and resumed his dominance with his fourth victory in five tournaments.
Scheffler finished 19-under-par for the tournament, three clear of Sahith Theegala and four better than Wyndham Clark and Patrick Cantlay.
“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,” Scheffler said of becoming the first player since 1985 to back up a Masters victory with a win at RBC Heritage. “I came here with a purpose. Got off to a slow start but after that played some really nice golf.”
Scheffler owned the lead Sunday night when Tour officials paused the event due to darkness. Theegala and Cantlay were back on the course with Scheffler at 8 a.m. ET on Monday.
“Yeah, it’s very impressive. He’s played great for a while now, a number of years, and it seems like he is playing the best golf of his life right now,” Cantlay said Monday morning.
Scheffler held a five-shot lead when play was suspended due to darkness on Sunday and working overtime didn’t impact his winning ways. Scheffler is the first player since Tiger Woods in 2006 to win a PGA Tour tournament one week after winning a major.
He has already tied a season-best win total of four and pushed his career victories to 10. Scheffler becomes the first to win 10 (or more) times on the PGA Tour in a three-season span since Dustin Johnson won 10 titles between 2015-16 and 2017-18
The win pads Scheffler’s world No. 1 status and adds to an overflowing pocketbook. His total on-course winnings in the past 44 days, spanning five tournaments, is $16 million.
Even so, he said Monday he’s not on cruise control and credits a shift toward a constant positive mental mindset for his success — the part of golf that doesn’t get tiring.
“It does not get boring. I think hitting a really well-struck golf shot close to the pin is like an addicting feeling,” Scheffler said. “I think that’s something that’s cool about the game is — that’s what keeps everybody coming back. … I love the feeling of a well-struck golf shot. I love this game. I love going out and practicing by myself. I love playing golf, gambling at home with people, just messing around. The game of golf has been a huge part of my life now for a long time, and Lord-willing it’ll be part of my life for a long time going forward.”
Theegala earned his fifth top-10 finish of the year with a 68 in the final round, his worst score of the tournament.
“I feel like I’m very close to putting it all together and really being in contention because even though I finished second, I felt like I was never really in it to win there,” he said Monday. “Scottie was just so far ahead.”
Scheffler, who won the Masters last week, posted his 39th consecutive under-par round to begin the season and is not scheduled to play in this week’s Zurich Classic.
Clark has finished second to Scheffler twice this year. He finished at 15-under for the tournament, jumping into a tie for third with a final-round 65.
“It was really fun the first 11 holes, and then just hit such a bad chip out on 12,” Clark said. “Honestly, it was a great day. I was trying to get myself in the top 10 and have a good finish, and it was kind of fun for a little bit. Seemed like maybe we had a chance to do something crazy. All in all, a great day.”
–Field Level Media
