Scottie Scheffler thought he did it. The World No. 1 had just sent multiple buzzes Augusta National with late Sunday birdies at 15 and 16 and had a putt at 17 to cut Rory McIlroy’s lead to one.
He hit it where he wanted and at the right speed. He watched it spin. The ball dripped toward the cup and seemed destined to light the fuse for an Augusta explosion. Then? It swung to the left and stopped at the rim of the cup. Scheffler stood, hands on hips, staring at the ripe Augusta National green, the firmest on the property, and then at the sky.
When to the final result in the 2026 Masters registered, Scheffler lost to McIlroy by one stroke. He could have come from anywhere over 72 holes, but the major winner’s four-putt that fate denied him on the 17th stood out as McIlroy celebrated his historic victory again.
“Shoot 17 I thought I did,” Scheffler said.
But it’s not where Scottie Scheffler missed this one Masters. This happened earlier in the week and his frustration with how this loss happened this course over 72 holes was evident as he was about to leave Augusta National with a sour taste in his mouth due to a factor beyond his control.
Scheffler went out late Thursday afternoon and survived strong, fast conditions to post a one-under 70, putting her three shots from McIlroy’s side and Sam Burns after 18 holes. Scheffler assumed the club would keep the conditions the same for the second round, meaning the drivers, who went out early on Thursday, would battle the same crunchy conditions they did in the opening round on Friday afternoon.
But what he found on Friday was something different. The club watered the greens to soften them, which meant that Scheffler and those on the same tee saw an Augusta that others didn’t.
“I’m not responsible for the organization of the course,” Scheffler said after his second-place finish. “I would have liked it to have been a bit more even in terms of consistency on Thursday and Friday. I was a bit surprised at how soft things were on Friday afternoon, especially as it got late.
“But the weather changes too and it was a bit windy on Thursday so who knows. That’s part of the game. We play an outdoor sport and you never know how the conditions are going to change, especially the course conditions.”
Scheffler knows the 74 he shot in softer conditions on Friday is what doomed his chances. That left him 12 shots behind McIlroy entering the weekend and, in the end, that was a lot of ground to make up. The mistakes he made in the pars on Friday, including water balls on both par-5s on the back nine, left him with an uphill climb. This is about him and his inability to execute that day. But he also felt that those who had the early/late draw should not play the same course he played for one of the rounds.
“I would say Friday probably hurts the most in terms of my chances of winning,” Scheffler said. “We came out Thursday afternoon it was some of the most challenging conditions we’ve had all week. I didn’t see a lot of birdies out there Thursday afternoon, so coming out Friday, whatever they did to the greens to soften them up, they did some things, and I just couldn’t take advantage of what was happening early Friday.
“And then you saw the flurry of birdies that Rory and Cam Young and a bunch of guys made late Friday, and I think I finished maybe twice as much on Friday. So that day probably hurt the most in terms of my chances to win.”
Back to Pebble Beach in February, McIrloy described Scheffler as “relentless.” That week Scheffler nearly erased a large weekend deficit en route to a T4 finish.
At Augusta, Scheffler’s main trait was on display again over the weekend. Starting Saturday, 12 shots behind McIlroy, the World No. 1 came out and fired a third-round 65 to cut the lead to four heading into Sunday. When Scheffler opened the final round with bogeys on 1st and 3rd, the lead was in his hands. But on a blustery day at Augusta National, Scheffler’s drive stalled as he made 10 straight pars from 4 through 14.
“Holes 4 through 7 are pretty challenging today with the wind direction,” Scheffler said. “I couldn’t take advantage of 8. Hit some good shots on 9. Then 10, 11, 12 aren’t necessarily birdie holes. Those are holes where if you’re making par you don’t feel too bad. Obviously if you’re chasing, you’d want to sneak one in there and I gave myself some opportunities.”
Scheffler’s par streak included a frustarting 5 on the par-5 13th that saw him spend considerable time hanging around while his playing partner, Haotong LI, made a mess of the hole on his way to a five-putt bogey. He missed a birdie putt on the 13th and then Scheffler dropped his ball on the par-4 14th left into the trees, meaning he had to punch out and play for par. He snapped his first string with a world-beating birdie at the par-5 15th, where he drove it right and hit a branch with his second before soaring up and down the trees to send a shockwave through Augusta’s hallowed grounds.
A birdie at 16 moved Scheffler to within two of McIlroy, but when his birdie putt at 17 wobbled the hole, he needed a birdie at the end and help on the third green. Scheffler found the fairway on 18, but his approach shot went off the green and he settled for one last par.
Scheffler knows a third green jacket was in his hands. It was right there. But the number of things that must go over 72 holes to win a major are countless. You need everything to line up.
“Overall, I won’t have too many regrets, but yeah, I’m definitely a little disappointed right now,” Scheffler said. “But like I said, I started the weekend 12 shots back and finished just one back. If I’m going to blame anything, I should probably blame the first two rounds before I start looking at things from the last couple.”
Most players leave major championships frustrated or lost. Some leave it as a missed opportunity, knowing that you only bite off so many apples.
For Scheffler, the 2026 Masters will fall into that bucket. One that he captures in an alternate reality—one where approach shots don’t explode and shot putters swing the other way. But in that one, what Scheffler is left with is wondering what might have been if one or two things had played out differently, whether it was within his control or the Augusta National green jackets.
;)
