Scottie Scheffler’s Weekend Masters Charge Falls One Shot Short

The world No. 1 finished one back of Rory McIlroy despite the first bogey-free final two rounds in Augusta since 1942.

Scottie Scheffler finished runner-up at the Masters with a bogey-free weekend. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

AUGUSTA — As the 90th Masters Tournament was winding down, this thought likely crossed the minds of many: Is Scottie Scheffler going to win this thing?

Starting the day four back of the lead, the world No. 1 was hanging around all day, often within two strokes of the lead. And making the turn, it seemed like he was primed to tear up the second nine. 

He was even leaderboard watching. 

Ultimately, though, Rory McIlroy did enough to snatch the title. So Scheffler, despite the first bogey-free weekend at Augusta National since 1942, finished solo second, one strokes back at 11 under par. 

“I always felt like I was a couple shots out of it,” said Scheffler, who shot 4-under 68 in the final-round. “But I was [playing] ahead of those guys, so I felt like if I could make a few birdies and post a score I’d be in a good spot, but just wasn’t able to make enough birdies on the back.”

The 29-year-old parred every hole from No. 4 through No. 14. Then, he birdied Nos. 15 and 16. However, it was too late to make a run without a late McIlroy collapse. And Scheffler knows he left a few opportunities out there. 

“[Nos.] 10, 11, 12 are not necessarily birdie holes,” he said. “Those are holes where if you’re making par, you don’t feel too bad. Obviously, if you’re chasing, you’d like to sneak one in there and I gave myself some opportunities. 

An up-and-down birdie on No. 3 propels Scheffler up the leader board. #themasters pic.twitter.com/lfkBT50Nhu

— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 12, 2026

“Disappointing par on 13, and wasn’t able to get it in the fairway on 14, that was a shot I’d like to have back, but then good birdies on 15 and 16 and really great stuff on 17. I hit two really good shots into 18 and the second shot just came up short.”

Scheffler shot 2 over in Round 2, sandwiched by a 70, 65 and 68. So it’s fair to wonder: What if he just shot even on Friday?

“I’d say Friday probably hurt the most in terms of my chances of winning,” Scheffler said. “Thursday afternoon were some of the most challenging conditions we had all week. I didn’t see many birdies out there Thursday afternoon, so going out on Friday, whatever they did to the greens to soften them up, they did some stuff, and I just wasn’t able to take advantage of that going on early on Friday. And then you saw the barrage of birdies that Rory [McIlroy] made and Cam Young and a bunch of guys made on Friday late in the day … so that day probably hurt the most in terms of my chances to win.”

He wasn't naive, though. Scheffler knew it was going to take a spectacular Sunday to claim a third green jacket because he was trying to hunt down one of the game’s greatest talents in McIlroy. 

“At the end of the day, when you tee it up here on Sunday, you know, he’s tied for the lead to start the day and had a solid round and did what he needed to do in order to get it done,” Scheffler said. “I knew going into today, I was going to have to do something special if I wanted to catch him and Cam [Young] and I was close, but just a few shots here or there.”