Scottie Scheffler set out to prove that 2022 wasn’t a fluke when he teed it up at TPC Sawgrass this past weekend. And he accomplished just that by running away with the Player’s Championship title via a 5 stroke victory over the competition in Ponte Vedra Beach.
With the win the 26 year old moves back into the number 1 spot in the World Golf Rankings. He also took home $4.5M in prizing for his efforts to earn the largest purse on tour this season.
Organizers of the event recently increased prizing in an effort to combat the guaranteed money provided by the upstart LIV Golf series. Scheffler’s masterful performance was the largest margin of victory at the Players Championship since 2006 when Stephen Ames won the event by six strokes.
Following 5 straight birdies, the University of Texas alum led by as many as six strokes at one point. From there, the tournament was effectively over as his peers were resigned to battle for 2nd place and their share of the massive $25M purse.
“I did a really good job of staying patient, trying not to force things,” Scheffler said. “I got hot in the middle of the round and tried to put things away as early as I could. I am just trying to improve, not overthink things. I am seeing results and wins and am very thankful.”
England’s Tyrrell Hatton was the runner up, finishing at 12 under par for the weekend. The 31 year old caught fire late, carding birdies on his final 5 holes to vault up the leaderboard. Hatton took home the largest purse of his career, earning $2.725M for his second place finish.
Despite boasting a star studded field, golf’s “fifth major” notably was missing last year’s champion Cameron Smith. Smith was barred from competing due to his involvement with LIV Golf which led to some awkward questions from the press in the lead up to the event, most of which were artfully sidestepped by PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan.
“He was a deserved champion … but ultimately that’s a decision he made, and we’ve got an unbelievable field here this week and a history and tradition that one of these 144 is going to go seek to get,” Monahan told reporters prior to tee off on Thursday.
However, given how dominant Scheffler’s performance was this weekend, it’s hard to make the case that the outcome would have been any different had the LIV crew been eligible to participate.
Up next for the PGA Tour is the Valspar Championship at the Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida. The tournament will also feature an increased prize pool of $8.1M available for competitors as some of golf’s top names will use the event as a tune up for The Masters which are slated to take place April 6-9th in Augusta, Georgia.