Scottie Scheffler wins The Players Championship to move back to World No.1
Scottie Scheffler lands his sixth title on the PGA Tour with victory at the flagship Players Championship.
Scottie Scheffler has moved back to World No.1 after clinching his sixth career title on the PGA Tour with a commanding victory at The Players Championship at famed TPC Sawgrass.
Scheffler, 26, carded a steady round of 69 to finish 17-under par and run out a five-shot victory over England's Tyrrell Hatton (65), who closed with five straight birdies to come home in a tournament-record 29 shots.
The win moves Scheffler back in front of Jon Rahm at the top of the world for the third time in his career.
Rahm had little answers to Scheffler this week as he was forced out of the tournament, while World No.3 Rory McIlroy missed the cut.
Scheffler previously spent a cumulative total of 31 weeks as World No.1.
Five birdies in a row for Scottie Scheffler
The lead is now SIX @THEPLAYERSChamp. pic.twitter.com/aFkPyb3kYW— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 12, 2023
The win also marks a second of the season for Scheffler having successfully defended the WM Phoenix Open last month.
Scheffler, who was watched every step of the way at Sawgrass by his 88-year-old grandmother, also joins Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus in the record books as the only players to hold Players Championship and Masters titles at the same time.
The American held a two-shot lead heading into the final round, and despite playing partner Min Woo Lee closing the gap to just one shot early on, Scheffler pulled ahead around the turn with five consecutive birdies from the 8th, a hole where he chipped in from off the green.
He does it again!!
Scottie Scheffler chips in for birdie and extends his lead to 3 @THEPLAYERSChamp. pic.twitter.com/07XgNQ6wex— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 12, 2023
Scottie Scheffler's tee shot finds the Island Green safely on 17.
Grandma approves. pic.twitter.com/4OqE9tirV4— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 12, 2023
Scheffler would go on to bogey the 14th but it mattered little as he was suddenly five shots clear of the chasing pack.
He would par in to the house, holing a stunning 25-footer at the last to collect a winner's cheque of $4.5 million.
Victor Hovland (68) and Tom Hoge (70) finished in a tie for third on 10-under par.
Lee, who was seeking his first PGA Tour title, endured a final round to forget as the Australian carded a lacklustre 76 to finish tied sixth.
Scheffler's next two starts on the PGA Tour will be title defences for him at both the WGC Match Play in two weeks' time, shortly before The Masters in early April.
The Players Championship Final Leaderboard
-17 S Scheffler (US)
-12 T Hatton (Eng)
-10 V Hovland (Nor), T Hoge (US)
How impressed were you by Scottie Scheffler at The Players Championship? What did you make of Tyrrell Hatton's incredible five-birdie finish? Share your thoughts and comments over on the GolfMagic social media channels, or come and join us over on the GolfMagic YouTube Channel.
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