Golfbet recap: Scottie Scheffler makes history with PLAYERS title defense

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Even with a stiff neck, Scottie Scheffler made history Sunday at THE PLAYERS Championship.

Trailing by five shots entering the final round, Scheffler torched TPC Sawgrass' Stadium Course for a bogey-free 64 that left him one shot ahead of Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark and Xander Schauffele. The result etched Scheffler’s name in the record books as the first to successfully defend a title on the 50th anniversary of the tournament’s inception.

“It’s good to be back sitting here again,” Scheffler said after the win. “Today was another battle. It was a hard-fought week.”

Scheffler’s back-to-back quest was nearly derailed by a neck injury, for which he received multiple rounds of on-course treatment during the second round. Scheffler was clearly pained by the discomfort, wearing tape on his upper left neck for the final two rounds, and caddie Ted Scott shared that he wasn’t sure his man would even finish the tournament.

“I told my wife Friday night, ‘I don’t see him playing this weekend,’” Scott said. “He couldn’t move. He had maybe 10 degrees of mobility.”

Scheffler gutted out a second-round 69 but was still trailing Schauffele by five shots entering the final round.

Scottie Scheffler odds to win THE PLAYERS (via BetMGM Sportsbook)

• Pre-tournament: +550
• Entering Round 2 (T6, trailed by 2): +350
• Entering Round 3 (T6, trailed by 6): +550
• Entering final round (T6, trailed by 5): +1100

That’s when the magic happened for the defending champion, starting with a hole-out eagle on the par-4 fourth. He birdied the next hole, went out in 31, and took sole possession of the lead with a sand save birdie on the par-5 16th.

Granted, it wasn’t easy. Harman, Schauffele and Clark all had chances to force a playoff with birdies over the closing two holes. Schauffele’s best chance came on the island green 17th, where he missed from 7 feet 6 inches for birdie, while Clark had two that missed by inches: an 11-footer for eagle on No. 16 and a birdie putt from 17 feet that horseshoed out.

“I don’t know how that putt doesn’t go in,” Clark said. “Even when it kind of lipped, I thought it would lip in. I’m pretty gutted it didn’t go in.”

Scheffler’s odds never reached the sky-high levels we are used to seeing from TOUR winners this year. Still, the in-play figures did balloon beyond his +550 starting price at BetMGM Sportsbook: he was +3300 during the third round before returning to the fringe of contention with three straight birdies to close, and he was still +2500 after opening with three straight pars on Sunday before jolting into the mix with his hole-out eagle on No. 4. That shot dropped his odds to +900 in one fell swoop. He was never higher the rest of the way

.

Pre-tournament outright picks from Golfbet Experts

• Ben Everill: Justin Thomas (+2200) MC
• Will Gray: Hideki Matsuyama (+2800) T6
• Chris Breece: Max Homa (+2800)
• Matt DelVecchio: Justin Thomas (+2200) MC
• Rob Bolton: Scottie Scheffler (+550) WIN
• Mike Glasscott: Scottie Scheffler (+550) WIN

In the end, just as a year ago, this was Scheffler’s day. The world No. 1 has now won back-to-back starts after going nearly a year without an official TOUR victory, and he re-raised the American flag near the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse to signify another year as THE PLAYERS champion.

He has solidified his grip atop the world rankings, established himself as a clear man to beat and ensured that he’ll head into the year’s first major as a clear betting favorite.

Should his neck heal up before driving down Magnolia Lane, the rest of the field may be facing an uphill battle.

Rob Bolton Golfbet Insider and Sleeper Picks results

• Corey Conners to Win (+5500) T13
• Tom Hoge Top 5 (+1100) T54
• J.T. Poston Top 10 (+700) T45
• Kevin Yu Top 20 (+600) MC
• Nico Echavarria Top 40 (+300) MC
• Patrick Cantlay Top 20 (+120) T68
• Ludvig Åberg to Miss Cut (+200) 8th
• Any ace on No. 17 (+200) Yes
• Byeong-Hun An Top Korean (+300) MC
• Wyndham Clark Top 20 (+150) T2
• Cam Davis Top 20 (+320) MC
• Ryan Fox Top 40 (+180) MC
• Doug Ghim Top 20 (+350) T16
• Brian Harman Top 20 (+240) T2
• Garrick Higgo Top 40 (+300) WD
• Mark Hubbard Top 40 (+300) T31
• Alex Noren Top Swede (+188) T19
• Aaron Rai Top Englishman (+350) T35
• Erik van Rooyen Top South African (+130) MC
• Brandon Wu Top 40 (+250) MC

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