CNN — It is said that a Grandma knows best. Scottie Scheffler, newly crowned The Players Championship winner, would agree wholeheartedly. Scheffler’s grandmother, Mary, could not have chosen a better week to
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Walking up the final fairway at Quail Hollow on Sunday, victory all but assured, Wyndham Clark made a conscious effort to soak up all the sights and sounds around him. Moments later, the American tapped home to clinch the Wells Fargo Championship and his first ever PGA Tour title.
“You only can win your first tournament once,” Clark reflected, but this was a victory played out in his imagination countless times.
“It’s surreal, I’ve dreamt about this since I was probably six years old,” Clark told reporters in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“Since I’ve been on the PGA Tour, you fantasize about it all the time, and I’ve done it multiple times this year where I catch myself daydreaming about winning.
“To do it at this golf course against this competition is better than I could ever have imagined.”
The manner of victory was the stuff of dreams too, as Clark carded 19-under to seal a four-shot victory over compatriot Xander Schauffele, ranked 75 places above him at world No. 5. It marked the second-lowest score in relation to par in the event’s history, second only to Rory McIlroy’s 21-under in 2015, according to the PGA Tour.
McIlroy, making his first start since missing the cut at The Masters, finished 31st in a star-studded field featuring six of the world’s top 10.
A final round three-under 68 sealed the 29-year-old Clark’s fourth consecutive round in the 60’s, a composed closer after a scintillating 63 on Saturday had given him a two-shot lead over Schauffele heading into the closing round.
Having turned pro in 2017, Clark was five years and 133 PGA Tour starts without a win. After finishing sixth at the Corales Puntacana Championship in the Dominican Republic in March, the American began to think that he might never taste victory.
“I know that sounds crazy because I’ve only been out here five years, but I had a lot of chances to where I was within two or three shots either going into the back nine or starting on a Sunday and I always seem to fall short, and not only that, but seem like I fell back in positions,” Clark admitted.
“There was multiple texts and calls and times when I was so frustrated with people in my camp where I didn’t think I would ever win and I was like, ‘Let’s just stop talking about it,’ because I didn’t want to think about it. I said maybe that’s just not in the cards for me.
“So being in the position this time, I was like, ‘Well, we know what not to do.’”
Those lessons were tested immediately Sunday, as Clark opened with a bogey and remained at one-over approaching the eighth tee. However, a subsequent birdie, followed by four more across the first six holes of the back nine, saw him cruise home.
When he rolled home his closing bogey, Clark looked overcome with emotion. After embracing his caddie and Schauffele, he looked to be holding back tears as he saluted the crowd gathered at the 18th.
Victory secured Clark the $3.6 million winner’s prize – dwarfing his previous-best payday of $485,000 – and stamped his ticket to the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in July. It also saw his world ranking soar 49 places to No. 31.
It fulfilled a dream that almost never got off the ground. When a 19-year-old Clark was establishing himself as a talented player at Oklahoma State University, his mother died of breast cancer.
Clark lost his “rock” and seriously considered walking away from the sport entirely.
“I was playing terribly,” Clark recalled. “There’s many times when I stormed off the golf course in qualifying or in tournaments and just drove as fast as I could, I didn’t know where I was going.
“The pressure of golf and then not having my mom there and someone that I could call was really tough for me. Then professionally, I’ve had multiple moments like that where you just, you miss multiple cuts in a row or you feel like your game is good and you’re not getting much out of it and you just contemplate doing it [walking away].
“Max Homa has a great quote: ‘Every golfer’s one shot away from thinking they can win the Masters or one shot away from quitting golf.’ It really is a great quote because that’s the truth. I’m glad I stuck it out and am here now.”
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It is said that a Grandma knows best. Scottie Scheffler, newly crowned The Players Championship winner, would agree wholeheartedly.
Scheffler’s grandmother, Mary, could not have chosen a better week to follow her grandson around all 72 holes of a tournament.
A dominant victory sealed a dream Sunday for Scheffler at TPC Sawgrass in Florida, reclaiming his World No. 1 spot from Jon Rahm and securing him a $4.5 million cut of a record $25 million prize purse.
The 26-year-old American finished five strokes ahead of England’s Tyrrell Hatton, the largest margin of victory at the event dubbed “the fifth major” since Stephen Ames cruised to a six shot win in 2006.
It marks a sixth PGA Tour victory in a remarkable 13 month stretch for the reigning Masters champion, one made even sweeter by having many of his family watching on from the sidelines. And a number were gathered at the final green to embrace the new champion; wife Meredith, Mother, Father, and, of course, Grandmother.
The 88-year-old had made the 20-minute trip from her home in Florida to follow the progress of her grandson, with social media footage showing her walking between holes.
“It’s pretty impressive she’s walking so many holes out here, she’s a trooper,” Scheffler told reporters.
“I really don’t know what to say. She’s had a rough last year with Grandpa passing away, and we have an uncle that’s pretty sick, and I’m just happy that we’re able to kind of enjoy all this together.”
Though her duties weren’t done for the day, according to Scheffler when asked how he would be celebrating.
“Maybe Grandma’s got some food at home,” he added.
“I know she has some dessert. We’ll see what’s in store.”
Scheffler didn’t do his grandmother any favors with the furious pace he set around TPC Sawgrass across the week.
After starting Sunday’s final round with a two stroke lead over Australia’s Min Woo Lee, the American tore away from the field with a run of five straight birdies from the eighth hole. A bogey at the 14th provided a scare, but Scheffler eased home with four straight birdies to shoot three-under 69 for the round, and 17-under overall.
Even a historic finish from Hatton wasn’t enough to get close to Scheffler’s score. The 31-year-old, chasing his second PGA Tour victory after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2020, shot a blistering seven birdies across the back nine – including the final five holes – to card a seven-under 65.
In doing so the Englishman tied the tournament record for a low back-nine score, 29, at TPC Sawgrass, according to the PGA Tour. Having begun the day in 26th place, his late flourish secured him $2.725 million in runner-up prize money, with Viktor Hovland and Tom Hoge finishing two shots behind.
Scheffler also made history. After his maiden major triumph at Augusta last year, he becomes just the third player to hold both The Masters and The Players Championship titles simultaneously after Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
With 33 majors and five Players Championships between them, the pair make for illustrious company.
“Quite a special group of people. We could add all our majors and Players together and I have two now and they have a lot more than that,” said Scheffler, laughing.
“Any time you can get mentioned in the same breath as Tiger and Jack it’s very special. I’m very grateful for that.”
The victory continues Scheffler’s excellent start to 2023, and his second win after he defended his title at the WM Phoenix Open in February.
That triumph had seen Scheffler reclaim world No. 1 spot from Rory McIlroy, only for Rahm to leapfrog the American a week later with victory – already his third of the year – at the Genesis Invitational.
Yet the Spaniard’s hopes of a fourth were dashed early on at TPC Sawgrass, as he withdrew following Thursday’s first round citing illness having opened with a one-under 71.
Meanwhile, McIlroy endured an uncharacteristically torrid weekend, shooting 76 and 73 en route to missing the cut at a PGA Tour event for the first time since FedEx St. Jude Championship in August 2022.
For the new world No. 1, attention now turns to whether he can defend his green jacket at Augusta next month.
“I’m just comfortable with where my game is,” Scheffler said.
“I feel like I’m improving. I’m definitely learning more and the more you can get into contention and be in the moments. I would say that’s probably the most valuable thing is knowing what you feel like and being able to prepare for it.
“Going into the Masters, it’s going to be a fun week. Champions Dinner, there’s going to be a lot of fun stuff that I get to do that week, but by the time we tee it up Thursday everybody starts at even par so it probably doesn’t have much of an effect.”
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Rory McIlroy became the first golfer to lift the FedEx Cup three times after completing a sensational comeback victory at the PGA Tour Championship on Sunday.
Having arrived at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club six shots behind top seed Scottie Scheffler, the Northern Irishman trailed by the same margin heading into the deciding day. Yet as World No. 1 Scheffler suffered a joint-round worst three-over 73, McIlroy carded a 66 to edge the American and South Korean Im Sung-jae by a single stroke at 21-under.
It marked the largest final-round comeback in Tour Championship history, besting Colombian Camilo Villegas’ five-shot recovery in 2008. Only Justin Thomas and Sam Burns overturned larger deficits on the Tour all season, winning from seven shots back at the PGA Championship and the Charles Schwab Challenge respectively.
After FedEx Cup victories in 2016 and 2019, triumph at East Lake sees McIlroy edge clear of Tiger Woods – winner of the inaugural event in 2007 – as the only player to have secured the title three times.
“It’s really cool to do something in golf that no one has ever done before,” McIlroy told reporters.
“Obviously, the history of the FedEx Cup isn’t as long as the history of some other tournaments, but to be walking out of here three times a champion, it’s very, very satisfying and something that I’m incredibly proud of.”
McIlroy was rewarded with $18 million in prize money for his 22nd PGA Tour victory, ensuring a triumphant end to a stellar season tinged with major disappointment.
With wins at the CJ Cup and the Canadian Open, the 33-year-old consistently impressed with 10 top-10 results across 16 events. Nowhere was this form more evident than at the majors, where McIlroy finished no worse than eighth across the four events.
Yet having finished runner-up at the Masters in April and agonizingly letting victory slip through his grasp at the 150th Open Championship in July, McIlroy’s superb form did not reap the fifth major triumph he has been chasing since victory at the PGA Championship in 2014.
With McIlroy comparing the campaign to 2019, where he also recorded three Tour wins, caddy Harry Diamond believed it was a fitting end to the season.
“On the 18th green today, [Harry] goes, ‘All the good golf you played this year, you deserve this,’” McIlroy said.
“I’ve said all along this year, this season felt very, very similar to 2019. I played great golf. I had some good wins but didn’t pick off a major.”
For Scheffler, narrow defeat marked a painful end to a phenomenal season in which triumph at the Masters headlined four wins and 11 top-10 finishes on the Tour.
Opening with a 65 and two 66’s, the American’s triumph had looked set to be a procession before three bogeys through the first six holes Sunday opened the door for McIlroy, who – despite opening with a bogey – responded with a trio of birdies through the same run.
A superb birdie putt from McIlroy at the 15th followed by a bogey from Scheffler at the subsequent hole proved decisive, as the Northern Irishman tapped home at the last to win with par. After a brief celebratory fist pump, McIlroy went straight over to embrace Scheffler.
“Scottie Scheffler is going to win the Player of the Year, there’s no doubt about that. It would have been fitting for him to end his breakout season with a FedEx Cup title,” McIlroy said.
“He deserves this maybe more than I deserve it, he played an unbelievable season. He didn’t have his best stuff today, and I played well and took advantage of that.
“It’s hard. You don’t really know what to say on the 18th green because he’s had such a great year, but he’ll be back and he’s a great player, and I told him this certainly isn’t the last time that we’re going to have these battles on the golf course.”
Despite his disappointment, Scheffler was similarly gracious in defeat.
“I really fought hard today. Rory just played a really good round of golf. He made some key putts there at the end, and he definitely deserved to win,” he said.
“I’ve had a really great year and I wanted to finish it off with a win here, and unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do that. But at the end of the day, it’s such a gift to be out here playing golf for money, and I’m just so thankful to be out here.”
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The Irishman pipped close friend Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm by a single stroke at Wentworth to claim his first title since The Open Championship in July 2019.
His sixth win on the DP World Tour, the 35-year-old carded a bogey-less 17-under across the adjusted 54-hole championship, cut from the conventional 72-hole format after Friday’s second round was canceled following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
After shooting a six-under 66 and 68 through the opening two rounds, Lowry arrived Sunday two strokes off the lead, but saw his final round roar into life with an eagle at the fourth hole.
A fourth birdie at the 12th saw Lowry draw level with 2021 US Open champion Rahm, who had set the clubhouse target at 16-under after carding a joint-event best 62.
With McIlroy hot on his heels, a steady run of five straight pars left Lowry needing to birdie the final hole to avoid a playoff with Rahm. After having birdied the 18th on the first two rounds, the Irishman made it a hat-trick to move within touching distance of the title.
It left McIlroy requiring an eagle at the par-five final hole to force a playoff, and the Northern Irishman came agonizingly close to pulling off the feat. The newly-crowned PGA Tour Championship winner found the green in two shots, but his 23-foot eagle putt missed by mere inches to confirm Lowry as champion.
“I am so happy,” Lowry told reporters. “It’s so hard to win on this tour, any tour. You have some of the best players in the world trying to chase you down.
“I felt like my game has been good enough all year to win, and I just felt like I haven’t had the breaks that I needed to win tournaments.
“I’m just very thankful and very grateful that I got to win this, and what a tournament to win, as well. Seems like I don’t like to do it small when I do it, so it’s nice to have this on my resumé as well.”
Lowry’s strong year
Lowry has registered four top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season, including a runner-up finish at the Honda Classic in February, to earn $3,616,679 in prize money.
His triumph Sunday sees him take home €1,351,105.60 ($1,373,533.95), sweetening the joy of ending a frustrating rut.
“I think if I didn’t get over line today, maybe I do go back and start asking questions about what I need to do differently or what needs to change because, yes, my golf is good, but if you’re not knocking off the wins and you’re playing well, you might have to ask questions,” Lowry said.
“You spend your life and your career getting up early every day, working your nuts off to get in these positions and when you get in these positions, it’s quite uncomfortable.
“It’s not the nicest place in the world because you don’t want to mess it up and be sitting in your hotel room having thrown away the tournament and it’s not a nice place to be.”
Following Queen Elizabeth’s death Friday, play resumed following a two-minute silence by players, staff and fans Saturday morning, with Lowry paying tribute to “an incredible woman.”
“I felt like the right thing to do was go ahead and just have a celebration of her life this weekend as opposed to sitting around and moping about it,” he said.
“The whole world is saddened by her loss but great to see the crowds come out yesterday and today. I felt like it was a great way to give a send-off. I know it might not mean much to anyone but I thought that way.”
McIlroy, who had pipped Lowry to the title eight years ago, said he was pleased to see Lowry finally reap the rewards of having consistent form.
“He’s had a lot of close calls here. Finished second to me when I won in 2014 and he’s got me back today,” the 33-year-old told reporters.
“He’s been knocking on the door for a while. He’s played a lot of good golf this year without actually getting over the line.
“So really, really happy for him. We’ve become incredibly close over the last couple of years, and yeah, good to see.”
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