Stress, then success

AUGUSTA (Georgia) • Scottie Scheffler, the world's No. 1 golfer, was crying and stressed out hours before Sunday's final round of the Masters, feeling overwhelmed and convinced he wasn't ready to win the Green Jacket.

The 25-year-old American, the poster of keeping calm and carrying on while on the course, shook off his anxiety to win his first Major at Augusta National.

But it did not happen until Scheffler listened to his wife Meredith, examined his issues, composed himself and trusted in his shot-making skills.

"I cried like a baby this morning," he said. "I was so stressed out. I didn't know what to do. I was sitting there telling Meredith, 'I don't think I'm ready for this. I'm not ready, I don't feel like I'm ready for this kind of stuff,' and I just felt overwhelmed."

As she fixed him breakfast, she dished out some verbal nutrition for his confidence.

"She told me, 'Who are you to say that you're not ready?'" Scheffler said. "And so what we talked about is that God is in control and that the Lord is leading me and if today is my time, it's my time. And if I shot 82 today, somehow I was going to use it for his glory. Gosh, it was a long morning."

Those words put him in a relaxed mood when he arrived at Augusta National and Scheffler felt on his game after chipping 26 yards at the first hole to set up a three-foot par putt.

"I calmed down when I got to the course. Right when I got to the training room," he said. "Pretty much after parring the first hole, I was settled in. I felt good."

Scheffler, who won his first PGA Tour title only eight weeks ago and took his fourth in six starts on Sunday, said he had never endured such angst before a final round, especially carrying a three-stroke advantage into the last round of the event he most dreamed about winning since boyhood.

It would have been understandable if Scheffler, who has been the paragon of poise as he charged to the top of the summit, felt just a bit unnerved during the first hour of the final round of the Masters.

His three-stroke lead he held over his closest pursuer, Australian Cameron Smith, when the day began had shrunk to a single stroke in the opening two holes.

But his ability to "find peace on the golf course" was the difference between him and the rest of the chasing pack as he carded a one-under 71 to finish at 10-under 278.

Four-time Major champion Rory McIlroy, who trailed the winner by 10 strokes heading into Sunday, finished second and three shots behind after an eight-under 64. Smith (73) and 2019 British Open winner Shane Lowry (69) tied for third, five strokes off the lead.

Just before last year's champion, Japan's Hideki Matsuyama, slipped the Green Jacket symbolic of Masters supremacy on his shoulders, Scheffler said he was glad for needing three tries from inside five feet on the 18th green to hole his last putt.

"I'm kind of glad I had a little hiccup there on the last hole," he said. "It made me a little less emotional."

Low-key Scheffler might not be recalled with more flamboyant Masters winners like Tiger Woods, but he is comfortable with that.

"Years from now, I would say people may not remember me as a champion and that's fine. But in the moment, you think it's a lot bigger deal than it really is," the 2021 Ryder Cup winner with the United States team said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, NYTIMES