Scottie Scheffler slams home 60-foot birdie putt as he looks to defend his Masters title

Scottie Scheffler has picked up where he left off at the Masters. 

Scheffler, 28, won the Masters in 2022 and 2024 and started his quest to win the major tournament for the second straight year strongly on Thursday. 

Scheffler was 1-under par going into the par 3-fourth hole. Scheffler hit his tee shot in the center of the green, but 60 feet away from the hole. 

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The defending champion was unfazed. Scheffler hammered the putt up the hill and into the back of the cup with some velocity for the birdie. 

The birdie put him 2-under par through four holes to begin his first round. 

At the time of this writing, Scheffler is 3-under par through 12 holes, and is tied for second as he trails Tyrell Hatton by one stroke. 

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Scheffler seeks to be the fourth golfer ever to win the Masters in consecutive years. Jack Nicklaus won in 1965-66, Nick Faldo in 1989-90, and Tiger Woods, the last to do it, in 2001-02. 

With his win last year, Scheffler joined Horton Smith as the only two golfers to earn his first two Masters wins in five or fewer starts. Scheffler has never finished outside the top 20 in his five Masters starts. 

After a historically good 2024 season, Scheffler has yet to record a win so far on the PGA Tour this year. Despite that, he has three top 10 finishes, one of which was a tie for second in his most recent tournament at the Texas Children’s Houston Open. 

Scheffler did miss a few tournaments to start the season due to a freak hand injury he suffered while preparing Christmas dinner. 

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