27-year-old Scottie Scheffler successfully defended his Players Championship title after putting up a brilliant finish on Sunday evening. 

Scheffler finished the day 20 under, one shot ahead of a trio that included Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark, and Xander Schauffele, to become the first man to defend the Players Championship title. The win comes just a week after he claimed victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. 

Scheffler, who played the tournament while dealing with a neck injury, began Sunday’s campaign with an eagle and a birdie, and by the ninth hole, he had joined Schauffele and Harman to be tied at the lead. A birdie at the 12th put he and overnight leader Schauffele at the lead, and another birdie at the 16th saw he claim solo lead after a couple of bogeys from Schauffele. 

The American missed the chance to make a birdie at the 18th, which then put him at 20 under. However, he could not be declared winner just yet as 20 under was the clubhouse target, which meant the game could go into the playoff if the other players managed to make 20 under as well. But that did not happen as the trio of Harman, Clark, and Schauffele failed to birdie the final hole, resulting in them finishing 19 under and marking Scheffler as the winner. 

Scheffler played his final round bogey-free while making six birdies in total, making it one of the best victories of his career. After the match, he spoke about the neck injury that bothered him and how he fought not to give up from the tournament. “I didn’t want to give up in the tournament. I did what I could to hang around until my neck got better, and [on Sunday] it felt really good.” He also commented on how it is hard enough to win one Players title, not to talk of coming back to defend it and win it again, describing his win as “pretty special”. 

Leon Osamor