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The PGA Tour rookie of the year in 2020 finally broke through
last month to win the first tournament of his career, the Waste
Management Phoenix Open. After a seventh-place finish at Los
Angeles a week later, Scheffler pushed to the top again Sunday
with an even-par 72 closing round to finish at 5-under-par 283
at Bay Hill in Orlando, Fla.
Scheffler surged into contention Saturday, using a 4-under 68 to
move 16 places up the leaderboard into fourth place. He fought
his way through windy conditions Sunday and was on the driving
range preparing for a potential playoff when Billy Horschel
missed a birdie putt that would have given him a tie for the
lead.
"I mean I did not swing the club well today off the tee,"
Scheffler said on the NBC broadcast. "I was hitting into a lot
of bad spots, but I just kept grinding. I made some key putts
there toward the end and then two great lag puts to finish off
the round."
Horschel (75), who started the day tied for the lead with Talor
Gooch, finished in a three-way tie for second place at 4 under
along with Tyrrell Hatton (69) of England and Viktor Hovland
(74) of Norway. Hovland played his final two rounds at 5 over to
miss out on the victory.
"Obviously, I'm playing some great golf, but this one stings,"
Hovland said. "My last couple wins, I felt like it kind of came
out of nowhere. This one was more like I felt like I should have
won. Those sting a little bit."
Scheffler's up-and-down front nine began with an ominous bogey 5
at the first hole. He followed that with a birdie at the par-3
second hole before another bogey 5 at No. 3. He also had a
birdie at No. 5 with a bogey at No. 9.
Scheffler's last birdie came on the par-5 12th hole when he put
his second shot to within 19 feet of the pin and finished off a
two-putt. He closed out the round with six-consecutive pars then
waited to learn his fate.
Hovland had a chance but was unable to make a 17-footer from the
fringe at the 18th green to forge a tie. Horschel's potential
tying putt was from 29 feet but slipped past the cup.
"I just did a really good job of trying to execute the golf
shots and stay patient," Horschel said. "I felt like I did a
good enough job. Unfortunately, I just came up a shot short
today."
The victory moved Scheffler into the top spot of the FedEx Cup
standings.
"It means a lot," Scheffler said. "I've been playing some good
golf the past few years and it's nice to get a few wins under my
belt. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season."
--Field Level Media
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