The drama of Sunday afternoon at the Masters is usually a duel that includes the game's top players and is not decided until one star makes a decisive shot on the 72nd hole and wins the green jacket. That was not the case at the 2024 Masters, because Scottie Scheffler seized control of the tournament on the ninth hole and never gave the rest of the field a chance. However, as Scheffler was dominating, CBS lead announcer Jim Nantz looked at the leaderboard and pointed out that the top five performers were all PGA golfers.
@TheMasters Jim Nance stuck it to Liv Golf when he mentioned the top five on the Masters leaderboard are PGA Tour golfers. pic.twitter.com/oQ9V46wiyS
— davewillieradio (@davewillieradio) April 14, 2024
@jimnance with the cheap shot of "all the players on the leaderboard are members of the PGA Tour." Totally unnecessary and borderline classless….and I like Nance. #Masters
— Mark Doebler (@Coach_Mark) April 14, 2024
One of the bigger side stories of Masters week was the rivalry between the established PGA and the rival LIV Tour that had procured many of the game's top players in recent years. LIV golf leadership looked at the Masters as a chance for stars like Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, and others to compete with the PGA golfers.
Many expected Rahm and Koepka to put on a show, but Scheffler was not about to let that happen, and Ludvig Aberg, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa, and Tommy Fleetwood all followed suit. The closest LIV golfer to the top of the leaderboard was DeChambeau, who finished in a tie for sixth at 2 under par. DeChambeau had been the first round leader after shooting a seven under par 65, but he was unable to keep up anything close to that pace over the ensuing three rounds.
Jim Nantz stands up for PGA and golf establishment in Masters analysis
It's difficult to look at Nantz as anything but a spokesman for the old guard PGA, his network, and the golf establishment at this point. As Scheffler was making his way through the middle portion of the back nine, it was clear that the No. 1 golfer in the world had put away the field. Nantz made it a point to say that Scheffler's closest competitors were all from the PGA.
Several golf fans took note of Nantz's tone and labeled it something of a cheap shot, but before the start of the tournament, several LIV supporters expected their top players to dominate.
However, LIV golfers regularly play 54-hole tournaments and they are allowed to wear shorts when they compete on resort-type courses and not PGA Tour-level courses. It appeared to have an impact in the overall Masters competition.
Scheffler's steady play allowed him to take his second green jacket
Scheffler won his first Masters in 2022 and his championship Sunday was his second in three years. He was the odds-on favorite going into the tournament and he never gave any indication that there was any other player in the field — PGA or LIV — who was good enough to wrestle the title away from him.
His competitors all had issues during the back nine at the Masters, but Scheffler was able to successfully navigate every challenge put in front of him.
He won the tournament with a score of 11 under par 277, defeating Aberg by four strokes.
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