2024 Masters Take Aways

The 2024 Masters featured one of the more competitive and intriguing leaderboards in several years with what was ultimately a drama-free finish. The high winds and firm conditions made this Masters an extremely difficult test. The Saturday leaderboard and front 9 on Sunday promised what would be a memorable finish with a highly competitive leaderboard in a tight race at the top. The old adage goes: “The Masters doesn’t start til the back 9 on Sunday.” Contrary to the surprise of many seeing a skinny Phil Mickelson and abstinent Tiger competing in The Masters there was no surprise in the winner of the tournament. Scottie Scheffler came in as the favorite and proved he is better than everyone. After mistakes by Morikawa, Homa, and Aberg, Scottie was able to essentially ice the tournament finding the middle of the green on 12. In a key part of Amen Corner that has claimed many victims, he was not one. He proceeded to play to win going for both Par 5’s in 2 on 13 and 15 rather than laying up. He birdied 13 with ease and made a difficult par on 15 look routine eliminating any chance of a comeback from his competitors. While the finish itself was relatively drama-free and may not be considered memorable after a start that seemed to promise an exciting finish, what will be remembered is the dominance of Scottie Scheffler. In his last four tournaments, Scheffler has gone Win, Win, T-2, and Win. It’s only April. Scottie has set himself up for a dominant Tiger-like run with 3 majors still to go. Scottie Scheffler has become a talent in the game that can win anywhere. That being said with the PGA Championship being at Valhalla featuring past winners such as Rory McIlroy and Tiger who can overpower a golf course it really feels like a course that will suit his game and give him a chance to win the first two legs of the grand slam in a single season. Coming off a strong Masters performance maybe it's time for Homa to finally break through from fan favorite to super-star and win his first major with the added experience of contending on a Sunday. Morikawa who has been struggling and battled on Sunday seems to have found his game again and will without a doubt be a threat as a two-time major winner and past PGA champion. Despite a poor Masters showing there will be a case made for Rory McIlroy to find his game as he will look to break his 10-year major slump where he last won in 2014: The PGA Championship at Valhalla. Rookie Ludvig Aberg had a strong Ryder Cup showing and followed up with a solo second in his first major. Aberg has shown nothing but potential to be a superstar and could follow a similar path as Scottie with a breakout major win following a strong performance at his first Ryder Cup. Most importantly Aberg showed the ability to stay calm and bounce back from his mistakes on a Sunday in contention. There is a strong case to be made that Aberg will be the biggest threat to Scottie this major season as he looks to continue a dominant run. What most analysts maybe haven’t considered is the fact that the biggest threat to a dominant major tear by Scottie is not another player, but the loss of sleep from the birth of his newborn child. Every competitor should be quietly rooting for Scottie’s newborn to be a crier who can’t sleep through the night. It seems though that Scottie is so dominant and has such a good state of mind and attitude that even that will not stop him.