When Scottie Scheffler is in this kind of mood he is in a class of just one. That should be troubling to the rest of the major gang.
The question before Augusta National’s final act was not whether the American could win a second Masters, but whether outside events would mean he’d be able to.
A plane was at the ready, a swift exit just a call away, if wife Meredith went into labour with the couple’s first child.
Imagine the pressure of that? Imagine negotiating this fiery and most challenging of golf courses with that little niggle always there?
But on that course, Scheffler is displaying Tiger levels of ruthlessness and complete focus. The favourite’s tag, rainstorms, gales, that typical Georgia heat, we’ve had it all this week and the 27-year-old has barely flinched.
Only at the end, with the ball safely in the hole, did the emotions finally come out.
And so who can stop him now? He’s not just the World No. 1, he is the dominant player in the game today.
Children, of course, change lives. But Scheffler isn’t planning to lose focus any time soon.
“I’m definitely not going to intentionally take my eye off the ball,” he said. “I will go home, soak in this victory tonight. 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.”
As his rivals massed, and hinted at a Masters Sunday finish for the ages on the fabled back nine, Scheffler just found another gear. He took the green jacket with three pieces of brilliance around the turn.
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Birdies at eight, nine, and ten broke Ludvig Aberg and Collin Morikawa, who both found the water at 11. Max Homa was sunk not by Rae’s Creek at 12, but by a bush over the green.
After that, it was merely a matter of how many. It was four cruising away.
When he is like this, Scheffler looks like he has no weakness. He defended The Players while barely able to move his neck – a complaint that resurfaced during the fourth round here. A week earlier, he’d won the Arnold Palmer Invitational by five. That’s three wins in a month.
Scottie Scheffler Masters win: ‘I believe today’s plans were already laid out many years ago’
That doesn’t happen by accident. Scheffler has spoken before about preparation – about working hard to make sure nothing is left to chance, that with the process complete, he is free to compete.
But what he also seems to do exceptionally well is let go.
“I feel like I’m playing really good golf right now. I feel like I’m 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.
“I think it’s hard to argue with the results of the last few weeks. I’ve been playing some nice golf. But I really try to not focus too much on the past. I’m going to go home this week and reflect on this week and soak it in as best I can. It’s not a very satisfying sport because I’m supposed to tee it up again on Thursday.
“Back to the grind pretty quick.”
Ominously for those trying to hang onto his coat-tails, Scheffler’s entire self-image is wrapped up in his faith. He believes events are pre-destined and that gives him a detachment that is incredibly difficult to combat.
What we’re seeing now could be the shape of things to come.
“I was sitting around with my buddies this morning, I was a bit overwhelmed,” Scheffler explained. “I told them, ‘I wish I didn’t want to win as badly as did I or as badly as I do’. 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 added: “I believe that today’s plans were already laid out many years ago, and I could do nothing to mess up those plans. I have been given a gift of this talent, and I use it for God’s glory. That’s pretty much it.
“So when I’m out there, I try to compete to the best of my abilities. Like I said, I really want to win. I feel like that’s how I was designed. I’ve been that way since I was a young kid.
“That’s always been a part of me, and I don’t think that should be going away anytime soon. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that either.
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“I get to come out here and compete, have fun, enjoy it; and then at the end of the day, win or lose, my identity is secure.”
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