AUGUSTA, April 10 — Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler finds patience and self-belief are secrets to success at the Masters, and a guidebook from veteran caddie Carl Jackson doesn’t hurt either.
The 27-year-old American is the top choice of oddsmakers to capture a second green jacket in three seasons this week at Augusta National after a sizzling start to the campaign.
Scheffler has finished in the top 10 of seven of his eight PGA Tour events this season, including victories last month at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship and a runner-up effort at the Houston Open.
“I’m an extremely competitive person and I like competing out here,” said Scheffler. “I’m excited about how I’ve been playing to begin this year. I had two nice wins, which was obviously a bunch of fun.
“All I’m trying to do is put myself in contention in the tournament and hopefully finish it off.”
It has been working. Since March 2023, Scheffler has been in the top 10 in 20 of 24 events, including three triumphs.
“When I step up on the first tee, I just remind myself I’ve done the work. I’ve done everything I could. I’ve checked all the boxes. And I’ve done everything to where I can go out and play well,” Scheffler said.
“There’s definitely nervousness. There’s definitely excitement, anxiousness. All those things go through you when you’re out there competing. It’s just about how do you use those feelings and emotions to enhance your focus.”
Scheffler can join Tiger Woods as the only players to win the Masters twice while ranked world number one, Scheffler having done so in 2022 when he beat Rory McIlroy by three strokes.
A calm, consistent manner helps Scheffler handle the tension-packed challenge presented by Augusta National.
“People may not realize how difficult the golf course is, especially when the wind is blowing,” he said. “We’re going to have another couple days where the winds are going to be pretty high and it swirls like crazy around this place.
“You have to stay so patient and trust in all aspects of your game. This is a place where it’s extremely important to kind of have that trust in yourself.”
‘Weird stuff goes on’
The Texan has been helped by a Masters yardage book given to him by Jackson, the long-time Augusta National caddie for another Texan, two-time Masters winner Ben Crenshaw.
“I sat in the back of the caddie house with Carl. Ben had suggested I just sit down with him for a few minutes. And he gave me a yardage book that had where some of the slopes are,” Scheffler said.
“It’s just a yardage book that has some arrows in it. I’m not going to tell you where the arrows are pointing.
“But it’s something that I’ll review at night and I always look at it in the lead-up to the tournament just because there is some weird stuff that goes on around the golf course.”
Scheffler has nine top-10 finishes in the past 14 majors, including sharing second at the 2022 US open and 2023 PGA Championship and taking third at the 2023 US Open. — AFP
