Scottie Scheffler joins Tiger Woods to become the only player to achieve a special feat after 2024 Memorial triumphÂ
With his Memorial Tournament triumph, Scottie Scheffler has now enlisted himself in an exclusive club alongside Tiger Woods. He has become only the second player in history to have won the Masters, the Players Championship, and the Memorial Tournament in the same year.
On Sunday, June 9, Scheffler entered the final day of the Memorial Tournament with a four-stroke lead. However, he played one of the worst rounds in recent times, shooting 2-over 74 with three bogeys and just a lone birdie. Despite this dip in his performance, he was able to hold his lead and beat Collin Morikawa by one stroke.
Before Scottie Scheffler, only Tiger Woods had claimed wins at Augusta National, TPC Sawgrass, and Muirfield Village in a single season, achieving this feat in 2001.
Morikawa briefly put up a challenge for the World No. 1 golfer with four birdies, but three bogeys, including one on the sixteenth, left him one stroke short of a playoff finish.
Adam Hadwin had a hot start in the final round at Muirfield Village, sinking three birdies in the first seven holes. However, things went downhill for him from there, as he couldn't add another birdie for the rest of the day. Further, he bogeyed five holes, including three straight on the final three holes, and thus had to settle for third place at four strokes back.
"I stepped up when I needed to there in the end" - Scottie Scheffler reflects on his win at the Memorial Tournament
Speaking at the winner's press conference, the Masters champion acknowledged that he didn't play his best on Sunday, but he felt he hit several good shots that went off by a small margin.
"If I holed a few more putts, it probably would have been a really good round," he added. "But outside of that, you know, a few bounces my way -- or a few bounces or breaks go my way, the day could have looked a little bit different, but I felt like I stepped up when I needed to there in the end."
However, Scottie Scheffler denied that the Memorial was his hardest win this year. He termed the Players Championship win as the most difficult one in 2024.
"Just because I was coming off a win and I had -- the neck was bugging me pretty bad that week," he said.
Scottie Scheffler bagged $4 million for his fifth triumph of the 2024 season. Additionally, he earned 700 FedEx Cup points. He will be a hot favorite to win the US Open, which tees off on Thursday, June 13, at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina.