Going into the weekend at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Scottie Scheffler was eight shots back off the lead. On Sunday afternoon, he was picking up the trophy, his second PGA Tour win in just three starts.
It was a brutal final day at Bay Hill, with many top quality players shooting rounds in the 80's and only four making it to an under-par number!
"The win feels great," explained Scheffler. "To win on such a tough course, especially with the way I finished - I mean, I didn't have my best stuff today, but I just kept grinding and made some key putts down the stretch, but it was a fight all day.
"This golf course is a beast right now and to make any kind of putt out here is so difficult. I'm just proud of how I stayed patient out there today and it was a great result!"
At the beginning of the final day, it was Talor Gooch and Billy Horschel who shared the overnight lead at seven-under-par but, in US Open like conditions, we saw the leaderboard chop and change on a hole-by-hole basis.
Through the early stages though, it was Viktor Hovland who took the lead, with a one-over-par front nine giving him a one-shot advantage over an extremely congested leaderboard.
It was the back nine though where we saw the most change, with multiple players laying down their markers throughout a chaotic stretch at Bay Hill. At one point, it seemed that Hovland was going to cruise to victory, with the 24-year-old doubling his advantage.
However, literally one hole later, he was back into a share of the lead with Horschel, with the American capitalising on a Hovland bogey with a birdie. Two holes after, it was Scheffler who raced to the top, with a putting masterclass over the 14th and 15th giving him the upper hand.
Scheffler produced some superb up-and-downs over the back nine to secure the title
With three holes remaining, Scheffler was then overtaken by Gary Woodland, whose eagle at the par-5 16th jumped him into the outright lead. Looking for his first win since his 2019 US Open success, the American would follow up his eagle with a double-bogey at the 17th, with a closing bogey dropping him two shots back of the eventual winner.
Because of Woodland's mishap, it was up to Scheffler to safely navigate the iconic 18th and, when he two-putted for a par and a five-under tournament total, it left Horschel needing a birdie to ruin the party.
Finding the green in two, his birdie putt glided past the hole, handing Scheffler the biggest win of his career and his second in three starts, with the victory adding on to his Waste Management Phoenix Open success just a few weeks ago. The American will also see a rise in the world rankings, as the 25-year-old now moves to 5th.
