AUGUSTA, Ga.—Father didn’t seem worried. A father who worries about his son doesn’t have the stomach for an ice cream sandwich, and the father must have been comfortable because he decided to swallow a second. And why not? After a week of unseasonably cold and unwelcome winds, it was 70 degrees, sunny and calm, and his namesake was warming 20 feet ahead of him. For three days this son’s only fight was his sweater vest, fighting with a sleeveless sweater on Saturday like it was a straitjacket, and this son was 18 holes away from immortality . You’re damn right, the dad was going to get another ice cream sandwich. If you can’t use it, what’s the point?

But that was an hour ago and it was now. Augusta National had just reminded her son, Scottie Scheffler, who had looked more like a machine than a man through 54 holes at the Masters, that no one does the full 72 without his pride being bruised and tested. . Scheffler’s three-shot lead was reduced to one after two holes and promised to fade on the third, a duck hook drive and chip chip leaving him in a bad position at an inauspicious moment. It was only then that Scheffler decided he had his dose of humility and hay and decided to fight back. He sent his ball skidding down the side of the hill, the ball shooting a card in the air to check directions, landing on the green to run and run and run some more and only stopping when it fell at the bottom of the cup. When the ball came down, the boss’s arms went up, the son shook his fist, and the father let out a sigh. Scottie was back on his march to history, a destination he eventually reached by becoming the 2022 Masters champion.

” It feels good. I don’t know what to say to be honest with you guys,” Scheffler said after posting a 71st final round for a score of 278 and a three-stroke win. “I’m really grateful to be in this position.”

What Scheffler lacks in self-analysis, he makes up for in his game. On a tour not lacking in talent, the former Longhorn All-American is among his most skilled, possessing the power, precision and touch that allow few or no holes in his arsenal. He casts a towering shadow, his 6-foot-3 height, wide frame, and no-frills highlights make him look like the guy who comes knocking on your door when the rent is three months late.

However, his physique and frame belie an undercurrent of cool. He is here, forever and ever, and saved it on Saturday when nothing less would have loosened his grip on this Masters. Scheffler led by four when he fired his 18th tee shot into the glades, promising to cut that lead to two and maybe one. Instead, Scheffler eagerly used the rules to his advantage (albeit with penalty) and walked away with one of those oxymorons usually reserved for the US Open: a good bogey.

“Even when he makes mistakes, he’s cold,” whispered a reporter to another Saturday night as Scheffler walked off the course. “I don’t think he’s human.”

Still, that bogey kept the final round a competition rather than a crowning achievement, and any other thoughts were obliterated immediately on Sunday afternoon. Scheffler’s drive to first started left and stayed left. His punch sprinted across the green. He made a nifty throw and saved the par, but Cameron Smith – the Players champion and apparently Scheffler’s only opponent three shots back – rolled in a 10-footer for a birdie. Scheffler’s advantage was reduced to two, then to one after making it 5-4 for Smith in the second. Then Scheffler’s drive to third was so bad it was good, receiving relief from the towering dash that blocked his line to the green. He cut the approach and in that second he really felt like the wheels were coming off.

Only Smith also left his approach short, his ball coming to rest next to Scheffler’s. Scheffler went first and delivered one of those shots that sent roars rippling through the pines.

“I would say what’s most crucial is getting that ball up and down. Getting him in was obviously off the charts, but my main focus was just going up and down, and seeing him come in was really special,” Scheffler said. “After that, I kind of started sailing.”

Give this to Smith: the man fought. He matched Scheffler blow by blow, preventing the red carpet from being rolled out on the evergreen property. And a 3 for 11 against Scheffler’s 4 caused one of the biggest roars of the day. It wasn’t that the gallery was anti-Scheffler; they were just pro-drama, and Scheffler’s lead prevented the histrionics that makes this place so special. But Smith went first at the par-3 12th, and although his ball was lost in the shadow of the towering lobollies, Smith’s one-armed, upside-down finish let the patrons know where the ball was headed.

“Take that kielbasa off the grill,” one customer said, shaking his head. “He’s cooked.” Well, technically wet, but you get the gist. Smith walked away with a triple and retired from the proceedings, eventually finishing in a tie for third place.

Scheffler had another bad miss, this time long and left, but his short game came to the rescue as he put his chip on the putting surface and converted a 10-footer for par. The victory march was almost on.

We say almost because one person got in the way of the machine, and that person was Rory McIlroy. The Ulsterman started their day 10 shots behind Scheffler but came out on 32 and contributed for a birdie in the 10th. Now, for all of McIlroy’s prowess and accomplishments, there’s the perception that the four-time Major winner has a penchant for playing his best when his best doesn’t matter, so much so that his stealth finishes have become a running joke. on social networks. But after that birdie on the 10th, there were no laughs, just shouts, cheers and encouragement from the gallery, doing what they could to help McIlroy do the unthinkable.

McIlroy pointed the 13th to move six under, four behind Scheffler, and for the briefest moment the bosses – a very, very pro-Rory contingent – ​​seemed to collectively wish the dream existed. But… well, one of the best parts of being at Augusta National is the shots you don’t see, the club’s no-cell-phone policy sharpening your senses. You watch with your ears and the dashboards confirm what happened. It was quiet at Amen Corner as patrons turned their heads away from golf’s most famous landscape, waiting for some type of sonic boom to emit from 15 where Rory was. He never came. The scoreboard operator removed the blank whiteboard next to McIlroy’s “6” on the 14th hole and in its place another “6”. McIlroy had made 5 when he needed 3. The stands were groaning. There may be a day when McIlroy Masters’ dream comes true, but it won’t be that day.

“I thought if I could shoot 63 today it would give me a chance,” said McIlroy, who had a bunker shot on the 18th for a 64, finishing second by three shots. “That was kind of my number today. I didn’t quite make it, but I did well. Again, all I wanted to do was just – I been in this position, and I had the lead on the back nine here and I haven’t been able to do it. I just wanted to try and put some pressure on and I feel like have done that.

Instead, that day belonged to Scheffler, who birdied the 14th and 15th to earn a stress-free walk up the big, big hill on the 18th. For posterity, it didn’t end with flying colors, Scheffler put the last green for a double.

“I tried not to look up. I tried to keep my head down and keep doing what I was doing because I didn’t want to break my focus,” Scheffler said playing with a lead. “The minute I did it was on the 18 green when I finally got there and I had a five stroke lead and I was like, okay, now I can take advantage. And you have seen the results.

Scheffler said it with a laugh, but no need for self-mockery. It was a week that had strong winds and cold temperatures and firm greens, which saw a par 5 play over par one day and a number of players never falling into the red. Keep the flair for fashion. In addition, he leaves with a jacket that never goes out of style.

Now, when a young player with such vaunted prospects as Scheffler wins this tournament, and wins this way, it’s easy to wonder what that says about who he is, where he’s going and what it means. With four wins in his last six starts, Scheffler is no longer on the verge of stardom; he is perched on its cliffs, listening to his name echo on the canyon walls. That’s all well and good, and on this Sunday night in Augusta, it certainly seems true.

Conversely, fame can be fleeting. It may not be the start of a new era, but simply a heater like so many popular golfers have enjoyed and lost before it. As the sport’s past continually reminds us, the present is no guarantee of the future.

For what it’s worth, Sheffler has no appetite for guesswork and rumination. He is a man who lives in the moment. “I’ve never been a guy who likes to look too far into the future,” Scheffler said. “So for me, staying present has always been what works best for me.” So what matters right now is that moment, the one he spent his life trying to earn. Afterwards, Scheffler admitted that the gravity of what could be was too much to handle on Sunday morning, stressing him out to the point that he “cried like a baby”.

” I did not know what to do. I was sitting there saying [wife] Meredith, I don’t think I’m ready for this,” Scheffler said. I’m not ready, I don’t feel ready for this stuff, and I just felt overwhelmed.

“She said to me: Who are you to say that you are not ready? Who am I to say that I know what’s best for my life? And so what we talked about is that God is in control and the Lord is leading me; and if today is my time, it is my time. And if I shot 82 today, you know, somehow I was going to use it for His glory. It’s been a long morning. It was long.”

Scheffler eventually calms down. He didn’t shoot 82. He did what he didn’t think he could do. But the trade proved that Scottie Scheffler is no machine. He was too vulnerable and scared for that. Instead, he’s a man, with the heart to prove it.