Masters 2024: Scottie Scheffler earns second Green Jacket at Augusta National

World number one Scottie Scheffler won the Masters for a second time after a commanding performance at Augusta National demonstrated why he was the red-hot pre-tournament favourite.

Scheffler, who led overnight by a shot, hit a four-under 68 in Sunday’s final round to finish four clear on 11 under.

Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg shot 69 to finish runner-up on his major debut.

England’s Tommy Fleetwood (69) ended joint fourth with American pair Collin Morikawa (74) and Max Homa (73).

Fleetwood put together an impressive round to make a late charge up the leaderboard and record his best finish at the Masters.

But the day belonged to Scheffler. The 27-year-old Texan showed rare emotion on the 18th green as he received the acclaim of the Augusta patrons after wrapping up his second Masters victory in three years.

There had been a possibility the 2022 champion might not even play the final round.

Scheffler’s wife Meredith is due to give birth to their first child and the American Ryder Cup star said on Saturday he was prepared to leave Augusta mid-round if she went into labour on Sunday.

Addressing his wife during the Green Jacket presentation ceremony, Scheffler said: “I’ll be home as quick as I can.”

He added: “I can’t put into words what it is like to win here again and what it will be like to become a father for the first time.”

Not since Tiger Woods dominated golf in the 2000s had anybody arrived at Augusta as strong a favourite as Scheffler.

He came into the first major of the year on the back of two victories in his three previous tournaments – at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship – and a second-place finish at the Houston Open.

That imperious form, combined with his pedigree as a previous Masters champion, meant his odds were as short as 4-1 at the start of the week.

Scheffler justified the tag.

While not quite hitting the same heights on the opening three days, particularly during an eventful round on Saturday where he recovered from several mistakes, he still led by a shot going into Sunday.

Scheffler lacked distance control with his irons in the opening holes, but remained in the lead thanks to his work with his wedges and putter.

However, a bogey on the seventh dropped him back alongside Morikawa and Aberg, before Homa joined them in a four-way tie for the lead after a birdie on the eighth.

But Scheffler – playing alongside Morikawa in the group behind Aberg and Homa – birdied the same hole to lead again on seven under.

Then came a moment of magic which felt like a potential turning point – and proved to be so.

Scheffler almost holed a magnificent 89-yard approach on the ninth, demonstrating sublime skill to spin the ball and use Augusta’s contours to roll it towards the pin – leaving himself with a simple tap-in for back-to-back birdies.

It put daylight between Scheffler and his rivals once again.

Scheffler added a third successive birdie on the 10th but as the leaders approached Amen Corner – the famed section of the course featuring the 11th, 12th and 13th holes – it was still too close to call.

However, by the time he teed off on the short 12th, it was his tournament to lose.

All three of his nearest rivals – Aberg, Morikawa and Homa – picked up costly double bogeys in the space of about 15 minutes, handing a three-shot lead to Scheffler even though he had bogeyed the 11th.

Aberg and Morikawa both pulled their approaches on the 11th into the water, while a bad bounce for Homa on the iconic par-three 12th left him in the bushes and taking a one-shot penalty.

From that point, Scheffler could relax more and further grew into his game as more birdies on 13, 14 and 16 all but secured victory.

The progress of the players from the UK and Northern Ireland had been rather underwhelming on the opening three days, but 33-year-old Fleetwood remained patient and was rewarded with a top-10 finish.

In reality, Fleetwood needed a better round to put himself into serious contention but played solidly to leave him feeling optimistic going into next month’s US PGA Championship at Valhalla.

“I guess I needed a few more fireworks. But the golf course wasn’t giving much away,” said Fleetwood, who made his eighth appearance at the Masters.

“Who knows if my time will ever come, but all I can do is keep trying to put myself there and having performances like this.”

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy was unable to finish with a flurry as his 10-year wait for the major title which evades him continued.

The 34-year-old won four majors between 2011 and 2014 – twice at the PGA Championship, plus the Open Championship and US Open – but was never in contention as he looked to become only the sixth man to complete the career grand slam.

McIlroy struggled in the testing conditions as he opened with rounds of 71, 77 and 71, carding a final 73 to finish well adrift at four over.

“It hasn’t been my year but I’ll keep coming back until it is my year,” he said.

England’s Tyrrell Hatton ended up level par after a final-day 69, while Matt Fitzpatrick ended four over and 2016 champion Danny Willett, playing in his first tournament since having shoulder surgery in September faded from a good start to finish a still respectable nine over.