Scottie Scheffler nearly quit Players Championship days before sealing emphatic win

Scottie Scheffler defended his Players Championship title at TPC Sawgrass thanks to a superb final round on Sunday, all whilst battling a neck injury picked up earlier in the week

Scottie Scheffler was almost forced to withdraw from the Players Championship on Friday, before going on to defend his title at TPC Sawgrass following Sunday’s final round.

Scheffler showed why he’s No. 1 in the world in the final 18 holes, shooting an impressive under-par 64 and building a one-stroke lead with Windham Clark and Xander Schauffele still in the field. Ta. In the final two groups, Scheffler had a chance to advance to the playoffs on the 18th, but he missed the birdie in both. After the U.S. Open champion’s putt appeared about 15 feet wide of the hole, Clark moved closer, forcing him to break on the final green.

Meanwhile, Scheffler celebrated with his team at the shooting range after a hard-fought victory. “I did enough today to stay in the tournament, and that’s really all you can ask for,” the champion admitted Friday after nearly dropping out in the second round.

“I didn’t know if I was going to keep playing because of how I was moving on the track and how my neck felt. So it was a good game.”

And as the first player in history to win back-to-back titles, he deserved to stay on the field and in the tournament. Scheffler, who has been battling pain all week, said after Sunday’s round:

“I did my best to endure until my neck got better. I felt very good today. Marnus helped me recover and even gave me a massage, which I was very grateful for.

Scheffler first suffered a muscle strain before leaving for the weekend, was treated on the golf course and received a massage on the 13th tee during the tournament. Scheffler remained in contention on Saturday, coming back to life in the final round with six birdies and one eagle, one of the greatest performances in PGA Tour history by a defending champion. This allowed him to overtake the leading pair of Schauffele and Clark, who initially looked quite far back in the group on Saturday night. Commenting on becoming the first defending champion at the PGA Tour’s flagship event, the world number one said: This is something you will never have the opportunity to do. frequent. It’s hard enough for one player to win, so winning in a row is very special and certainly very rewarding.

It was his second win in a week, having won last Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. As for Scheffler, he’s getting back into shape at the perfect time for his first major of the year at next month’s Masters, a tournament he already knows he can win in 2022.