New year, same result. Scheffler just loves winning in the new year. The American carded a sizzling six under 66 in the final round, enough to take him to 27 under for the tournament, four ahead of the cashing pack, which included veteran Jason Day and Andrew Putnam.
There was some late drama with a double bogey on the par three 17th, but Scheffler had already done enough with nine birdies in the round.
The win marks Scheffler’s 20th title on the PGA Tour, giving him a lifetime membership.
“Pretty wild,” the 29-year-old told ESPN.
“It’s been a great start to my career. It’s been special. I try not to think about that stuff too much. I was just trying to do the things I needed to do to be prepared.
“There’s always a certain amount of rust when it comes to playing competitive golf. You can simulate as best you can at home, but you can only get into the heat of the moment when you’re posting a score and you’re in contention when you’re at a tournament. So it’s nice to see some of the stuff that I’ve been being practicing and working on has paid off.”
But arguably the story of the weekend in California was the trials and tribulations of 18-year-old Blades Brown. The teenager was in with a shout of becoming the youngest PGA Tour winner in over a century, just one shot behind third-round leader Si Woo Kim.
But the wheels came off on Sunday as he slumped to a two over 74 to finish T18. It’s certainly forgiven, since it was his eighth consecutive round of the week after playing on the Korn Ferry Tour starting Monday. But being a teenager, he was having a blast.
“Eight rounds I know sounds like a lot, but I was having a lot of fun,” he said.
“You’re telling me I get to play in a PGA Tour event and to play with Scottie Scheffler and see him win it, that was insane. I got some things I got to sharpen up, and hopefully we see if we can do what Scottie’s doing.”
