Scottie Scheffler won the 2024 Masters for the second time in three years
Scottie Scheffler won the Masters for the second time in three years on Sunday with an 11-under par score that put him four shots ahead of his closest competitor.
The 27-year-old American entered the eighth hole in a tie with world No. 1 Ludwig Aberg, Max Homma and Colin Morikawa. No. 1 made three birdies to take the lead for good. Aberg finished second in his Masters debut.
Schaeffler has been world No. 1 for more than two years and won the 2022 Masters for his first Grand Slam title.
The game was marked by inclement weather and at least one history-making moment. Golf icon and returning Masters champion Tiger Woods opened the final leg of the tournament with his 100th round at a major.
The Masters is an invitational tournament held annually at the Augusta National Golf Club, a private golf course in Augusta, Georgia. Since its inception in 1934, the tournament has grown to become one of the four most important tournaments in men's professional golf. The event is usually held in the first week of April, so they are the first major of each season, followed by the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open and the British Open, which are usually held in May, June and July, respectively.
Scheffler and Morikawa are No. 1 and No. 2 in order on the 2024 Masters leaderboard and advanced to the fourth round on Sunday. They kicked off in the afternoon and it was the last match of the day. Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau also started the afternoon session, with Decauffele fifth in the standings and Dechambeau sixth at the start of the round.
Jon Rahm, the 29-year-old Spanish golfer who won the Masters last year, returned to the course on Sunday to defend his title, although his performance in the early rounds this weekend meant he was no longer in contention for the title. By the final day, Woods was out of contention. On Friday, the star golfer made his 24th straight cut, setting a new tournament record, but he posted a personal worst in the next and third rounds. Woods, 48, is a champion golfer who has won the Masters five times before. On Sunday morning, he teed off with 23-year-old amateur Neal Shipley to start his 100th Masters tournament.
In addition to the traditional green jacket awarded to the Masters champion each year, Schaeffler will receive a large cash prize. The total prize money for the 2024 Masters is $20 million, a new record and $2 million more than last year's prize money.
This year's winner will receive $3.6 million in prize money, also a new record and higher than the $3.2 million Rahm earned when he won the Masters in 2023. In this case, the remaining portion of the total prize money of $18 million was divided among 50 players. Golfers participating in the tournament will receive the final amount of prize money based on their individual results.
-----------This article and pictures are from reprint.
