Scottie Scheffler will have to wait until Monday to add another colorful jacket to his closet and become the first reigning Masters champion to win the RBC Heritage the following week since Bernhard Langer in 1985.
One week after Scheffler slipped into the famed Green Jacket awarded to the Masters champ for the second time in three years, only Mother Nature could delay the 27-year-old Texan from winning the Heritage’s trademark Tartan Jacket on Sunday in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
Inclement weather suspended play for more than two hours, preventing the completion of play before darkness. Play will resume on Monday at 8 a.m. ET.
“I’ll treat tomorrow like I’m playing 18 holes and do all my normal prep work and come out here ready to go for the restart,” Scheffler said.
Scheffler was 4-under through 15 holes in the final round and 20-under overall when play was suspended due to darkness, and five shots ahead of Wyndham Clark (65) and Patrick Cantlay (who is just off the 18th green playing his third shot) in his bid to win for the second straight week and for the fourth time in his last five starts. JT Poston (thru 17) and Sahith Theegala (thru 15) are also tied for second.
Scheffler is seeking his 10th career Tour title since February 2022. He finished second in the only tournament he did not win during his recent run of success. As a result, Scheffler already has surpassed more than $15 million in earnings this season and would be in line to bank another $3.6 million if he hangs on for the win.
After winning the Masters, Scheffler flew home to Dallas to be with his pregnant wife Meredith and didn’t show up to Hilton Head until Tuesday. He played only a nine-hole practice round on Wednesday and spotted much of the field a head start on Thursday, shanking a bunker shot at his third hole in the first round, making double bogey and needing two late birdies to post 69. He trailed by six and complained of fatigue. But after recharging his batteries, he didn’t make a single bogey or worse. He shot 65 on Friday and was lurking three back before reminding everyone who is boss with a bogey-free 63 to claim a two-stroke lead.
Scheffler laid down the hammer early, chipping in at the par-5 second hole from 53 feet for eagle. It marked his 11th hole-out of the season. He tacked on a birdie at the par-5 fifth and strung together six consecutive pars before the horn blew.
Are you kidding me?!
Scottie Scheffler is doing Scottie Scheffler things. @RBC_Heritagepic.twitter.com/by9vn6dplU
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(@GolfonCBS) April 21, 2024
Wyndham Clark mounted an early charge, making an eagle and six birdies in his first 11 holes to inch within a stroke of the lead. But his effort to run down Scheffler was spoiled at the 12th hole when Clark’s tee shot sailed right into a stand of trees and he tried to punch between them. His ball struck a tree and ricocheted out of bounds. He made double bogey.
“It was kind of fun for a little bit,” Clark said. “Seemed like maybe we had a chance to do something crazy.”
Play was suspended due to inclement weather at 4:28 p.m. ET, with Scheffler, one of 18 players in the field needing to complete his round, in the fairway on the 11th hole. Play resumed after a two-hour, 32-minute delay. Scheffler proceeded to wedge to 6 feet at the short par-4 13th and reach 20 under. He had played 53 consecutive holes without scoring five or worse, dating to the 15th hole in his first round. But at 15, he complained of a mud ball that sent his 4-iron layup at the par 5 to the left and into a penalty area. Scheffler’s streak with no worse than a four on the scorecard ended, but he holed an 11-foot par putt to remain at 20 under with three holes to go. Scheffler had the option to wait until the morning and take advantage of better lighting and smoother greens, but he chose to attempt the putt.
“I felt like I had good momentum,” Scheffler explained. “I kind of knew what the putt was doing. I felt like today was a day where I hit a lot of really good putts and they weren’t really dropping. I felt like I was due for one to drop. So I figured might as well hit it now.”
Added Scheffler: “I felt like the par was pretty important tonight, just being able to go to sleep and still keeping a clean card.”
How dominant has Scheffler been this week? He tops the field of 69 in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, SG: Tee to Green, SG: Approach the Green and scrambling.
“The only thing that can stop Scottie is Meredith going into labor,” CBS’s Jim Nantz said. “It’s true, he’s said it all along.”
Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/r3S6odx