U.S.A: Golf star Scottie Scheffler recently claimed his 16th PGA Tour title and made history by becoming the second player after Tiger Woods to defend his title at the Memorial Tournament.
At Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, the 28-year-old American golfer earned his third victory in just one month, with a two-under-par 70 to end the tournament at 10-under 278. This latest victory at the Memorial Tournament, an event hosted by golf legend and 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus, marks the ninth straight time that Scottie Scheffler has converted a 54-hole lead into a win.
Second place was won by American Ben Griffin, who won last week at Colonial. He was four shots behind Scheffler with a final score of 282 after a round of 73. Moreover, Austria’s Sepp Straka won third place at 283, just one stroke ahead of Canada’s Nick Taylor.
With this, Scheffler expressed: “It’s always a hard week to play this tournament… I battled really hard over the weekend, and Ben made things interesting down the stretch.”
The athlete added, “Overall, it was a great week and definitely proud to be shaking Mr. Nicklaus’s hand at the end of another good week.”
Scheffler’s rise
Scheffler’s win at the Memorial Tournament is an addition to his remarkable athletic performance so far. Last month, he won his third major title at the PGA Championships, two weeks after winning the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Since his Byron Nelson Classic win, the golfer has now earned $9,627,000 (A$15 million or S$13 million) in prize money.
Furthermore, Scheffler has become the fourth-fastest player to reach the milestone of having 16 PGA Tour victories in under three and a half years. He trails after golf legends Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods. Woods was also known for winning the Memorial Tournament three consecutive years from 1999 to 2001.
With his impressive plays, Scheffler remains a man to beat as the U.S. Open at Oakmont is fast approaching. There, the athlete will aim for his fourth career major title, and his second straight after winning the PGA Championship.
In a social media post made by the PGA Tour, it stated: “Back-to-back at Jack’s Place 🏆🏆
@Scottie.Scheffler joins @TigerWoods as the only consecutive winners @MemorialGolf.”
Netizens expressed their support in the comments section by saying: “It’s nice watching an all time great weekly. I figure this is what Tiger fans felt like in the 2000s,” “These last three years have been the best golf that’s ever been played by someone,” “NO ONE can beat this man right now,” “He will be one of the best golfer ever…nice person as well 👏👏,” and “Best golfer of our generation.”
In another social media post by The Memorial Tournament, it shared photos of Scheffler holding the trophy and declared: “Back to Back.”
A netizen commented on this post and remarked: “Nice to see someone return to greatness, it’s been a long time since Tiger.”