Masters champion Scottie Scheffler of the United States lifts the Masters Trophy during the Green Jacket Ceremony after the final round of the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 14, 2024.

Masters champion Scottie Scheffler sent an ominous message to the golfing world trailing in his wake when he vowed not to take his eye off the ball as he looks to continue his dominance of the game.

The world number one put in a masterful performance at Augusta National, carding a four-under 68 as his rivals imploded around Amen Corner to win his second green jacket in three years, his third title in four starts and open up a Tiger Woods-like gap at the top of the world rankings.

His four-shot win over Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg on 11-under par means he has a massive 4.355-point lead over Rory McIlroy at the top of the world rankings.

And that’s bad news for the chasing pack from a man who might have four wins in a row but for a three-putt from six feet in the second round of the Houston Open.

“Well, I'm definitely not going to intentionally take my eye off the ball. I will go home, soak in this victory tonight,” Scheffler said.

“I will definitely enjoy the birth of my first child. But with that being said, I still love competing. My priorities will change here very soon.

"My son or daughter will now be the main priority, along with my wife, so golf will now be probably 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.”
Scheffler’s rivals acknowledged that he is going to take some catching.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a guy out here that tees it up and he’s supposed to win and he wins,’’ Xander Schauffele said after Scheffler responded to the challenge from Collin Morikawa, Aberg and Max Homa with three birdies in a row from the eighth, then responded again to two birdies by the Swede with birdies of his own at the 13th, 14th and 16th and win by four shots.

“I feel like we’ve had a bit of a bounce-back with three or four guys for that top spot, and he’s cruising along pretty nicely.’’

Aberg, whose title challenge suffered a massive hit when he found the pond left of the 11th and made double-bogey, doffed his cap to the champion who won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, retained the Players Championship the following week and came within a five-footer of forcing a playoff in the Houston Open before winning last night.

“I think he makes us better,’’ Aberg (24) said after he’d recovered from his six at the 11th with birdies at the 13th and 14th to finish runner-up on his Major debut.

“He makes you want to beat him. That’s the same for me and the same for everyone else in this field.

“Obviously, Scottie is an unbelievable golf player, and I think we all expect him to be there when it comes down to the last couple holes of a tournament. He’s proven it again and again.’’

Scheffler, who had said he’d withdraw if his wife Meredith went into labour with the couple’s first child, admitted he was laser-focussed from start to finish,

There would be no repeat of the four-putt at the 72nd hole in his 2022 Masters win.

“I tried not to let my emotions get the best of me this time,” Scheffler said. “I kept my head down. I don't think I even took my hat off and waved to the crowd walking up 18.

“I did my best to stay in the moment, and I wanted to finish off the tournament in the right way. And I got to soak it in there after one-putting instead of four-putting, which was a little bit better.”

His Christian beliefs are a major part of what makes him such a formidable champion.

“You know, that's a really good question. I was sitting around with my buddies this morning, I was a bit overwhelmed, I told them, I wish I didn't want to win as badly as did I or as badly as I do,” he said of his friends, who are also part of his prayer group. “I think it would make the mornings easier.

“But I love winning. I hate losing. I really do. And when you're here in the biggest moments, when I'm sitting there with the lead on Sunday, I really, really want to win badly.

“And my buddies told me this morning, my victory was secure on the cross. And that's a pretty special feeling to know that I'm secure for forever and it doesn't matter if I win this tournament or lose this tournament. My identity is secure for forever.”

He looks set to become the dominant player for years to come and Max Homa, whose title challenge ended when he overshot the 12th and had to take a penalty drop from the ivy, had no problems admitting that the man who has not shot a round over par this year has an air of invincibility.

Asked what impresses him most about Scheffler, Homa said: “His commitment, his mind. He is pretty amazing at letting things roll off his back and stepping up to very difficult golf shots and treating them like their own.

He’s obviously a tremendous talent, but I think that is his superpower.’’

Even before Scheffler had wrapped up a victory that looked anything but certain as he played his first seven holes in one-over, McIlroy admitted that the Texan’s uncluttered mind was key.

Asked what goes through a player’s mind when he is on a hot run of form, just as McIlroy was when he won two majors in the summer of 2014, he said: “Nothing. Nothing. Not a lot of clutter. The game feels pretty easy when you're in stretches like this.

“That's the hard thing whenever you're not quite in form. You are searching and you are thinking about it so much, but then when you are in form, you don't think about it at all. So it's trying to find that balance.”

Scheffler made a 10-footer at the eighth before hitting his approach stone dead at the ninth where Collin Morikawa admitted he “got greedy” and ran up a double bogey six before making another six at the 11th.

“I used that to birdie 9 and 10 and keep pushing because I knew there was birdies out there on back nine,” Scheffler said of his birdie at the eighth.

“I had a lot of really talented players trying to chase me down, and I knew pars weren't going to get it done.”

The American bogeyed the 11th, studiously avoiding the water by playing wide right, then took the tournament by the scruff of the neck with birdies at the 13th and14th

“I tried to soak in stuff around me today,” he said. “I looked up at the trees at times. I looked up at the fans occasionally to try to soak in some of their energy.

“But did not ever let myself get attached to the lead. I just tried to keep pushing. I mean, I think if I would have played a little bit defensively it would have been a significantly different finish.

“I went for the green in two on 13, was able to make birdie. I attacked the pin on 14 and was able to make birdie. Went for it again on 15 and made a nice par, and I hit a really good shot on 16 to make birdie.

“If I was just trying to make pars the whole back nine, I would have been standing on 18 having to make par and hoping Ludvig would only make a par.

“Around this golf course 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. You just have to hit the right shots. And fortunately today I was able to do that.”

His religious beliefs help him ease the pressure.

“I believe that today's plans were already laid out many years ago, and I could do nothing to mess up those plans,” he said.

“I have been given a gift of this talent, and I use it for God's glory. That's pretty much it.”

As for his record of not shooting a round over par this year, he said: “I hate shooting over par. I can't tell you how much I hate shooting over par. It's nice to not experience that yet this year.

“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. It’s hard to argue with the results of the last few weeks. I’ve been playing some nice golf.’’