Scottie Scheffler returns to OWGR No.1 after Players win; here's how the rankings look
Scottie Scheffler lifted the trophy at The Players Championship on Sunday, March 12. The victory comes with a double prize as he won $4.5 million in prize money and also regained the number one title in the world rankings.
Scheffler took the lead after the third round of the tournament and on the final day, he clinched the trophy.
The 2022 Masters winner carded a final round three-under 69 to finish at a scoring deficit of 17 to lift the trophy on a gusty afternoon in Florida. His commanding five-shot win helped him hold the trophy for the sixth PGA Tour title of his career. It was his second win of the new year.
Jon Rahm dethroned Scottie Scheffler from the number-one position last month. However, the Spaniard withdrew from the Players Championship due to illness, and Rory McIlroy, who was ranked third, missed the cut at the tournament, giving Scottie the best opportunity to get back to the number-one title.
Fortunately, he reclaimed the top spot in the Official World Golf Rankings. Speaking about his victory, Scottie Scheffler said:
"This tournament feels like a major championship to me and this morning was tough. I knew the conditions were going to get really hard late. I did a really good job of staying patient, not trying to force things, and then I got hot kind of in the middle of the round and tried to put things away as quickly as I could."
Scottie Scheffler started the final round with a bogey on the fourth hole. However, he quickly turned the table in his favor with five consecutive birdies on the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th holes. He sank one more bogey on the day and wrapped up at 69 to finish at under three, with a total of under 17.
The Players Championship leaderboard explored
The 2023 edition of the Players Championship concluded at TPC Sawgrass. The tournament took place from March 8 to March 12. Despite being affected by inclement weather, it finally concluded on the scheduled date.
The second round of the tournament was delayed to wrap up on Saturday and the third was also concluded on the same day, leaving the final on Sunday.
Chad Ramey took the lead after the opening round. But he was dethroned by Adam Svensson and Christiaan Bezuidenhout in the second round and ultimately Scottie Scheffler secured the top position after the third round. Scottie won the event by six strokes.
Terrell Hatton finished in the second position followed by Viktor Hovland and Tom Hoge, sharing the third position.
Hideki Matsuyama had a solo fifth finish while the 2023 Farmers Insurance winner Max Homa finished in a seven-way tie for sixth position alongside Justin Rose, Justin Suh, David Lingmerth, Sungjae Im, Cam Davis, and Min Woo Lee.
Collin Morikawa secured the 13th position alongside Adam Svensson, Adam Hadwin, Rickie Fowler, Denny McCarthy, and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
Jordan Spieth finished at T19, while the opening round led Chad Ramey to the 27th position.