Scottie Scheffler won the 2024 Masters and his second of the career at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday, April 14. He had also worn the green jacket two years back in 2022.
Scheffler was in an insane form in the final round at the Masters tournament. He scored 7 birdies in 18 holes and didn’t let anyone come close to him. He won with 11 under par, three strokes clear of second-placed Ludvin Aberg.
Scottie Scheffler is currently the world’s number 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He’s the fifth player to win at Augusta while being ranked number one, a feat in itself. Before him, there was Ian Woosnam in 1991, Fred Couples in 1992, Tiger Woods in 2001 and 2002, and Dustin Johnson in 2020 to win the Masters while being at the top of their game. Let’s take a look at them:
5 players who won the Masters ranked World number 1
1. Ian Woosnam (1991)
Ian Woosnam is regarded as one of the “Big Five” generation of European golfers. He turned professional at the age of 18 in 1976. By 1991, Woosnam already had won 17 European tours and 1 PGA Tour.
Just a week before the Masters, Woosnam was ranked number one in the Official World Golf Ranking. The Welsh player won at Augusta National with 11 under par and with a margin of 1 stroke at the age of 33. He was at the top of the ranking for 50 weeks from April 7, 1991, to March 21, 1992.
2. Fred Couples (1992)
Fred Couples might have missed the cut at the 2024 Masters but he’s the first American to hold the number one ranking.
In 1992, Couples was in splendid form, he trumped David Love III in the playoffs of the Nissan Los Angeles Open. He then went on to win the Nestle Invitational by a margin of nine strokes. He finished as runner-up in two other events in the five weeks leading to the Masters. He was ranked number one on March 22, 1992.
He won at the Augusta National in 1992 by outplaying Raymond Floyd by two strokes. Last year, he became the oldest player to make the cut at the age of 63. He is only second after Jack Nicklaus to make the maximum cuts at the venue. He stayed at number one for 4 months.
3. Tiger Woods (2001, 2002)
Tiger Woods’s name is synonymous with the Golf records, so it’s only fair that he is part of this one as well. Woods has been the top golfer in the last two decades and has been ranked number one for a record of 683 weeks.
In 2001, Woods got the better of David Duval by 2 strokes. In the following year, he wore the green jacket after trouncing Retief Goosen by 3 strokes. At the 2024 Masters, he made the record of 24 consecutive cuts at Augusta National.
4. Dustin Johnson (2020)
The 39-year-old American golf legend might have missed the cut this year but he has a terrific record at Augusta National. He has made the cut in 11 of the 14 appearances at the tournament.
Johnson turned pro at the age of 23 in 2007. He was ranked number one for the first time in 2017 and remained in the position for more than a year. He has been on and off at number 1 in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
He won the 2020 Masters with a record of 20 under par. He carded 268 to win by a margin of five strokes against Sungjae Im and Cameron Smith. He has been at top-ranked for a total of 130 weeks.
5. Scottie Scheffler (2022, 2024)
Scottie Scheffler has ascended to several golf records after turning pro in 2018. Scheffler has been phenomenal on the course since then and was ranked number one for the first time in March 2022.
He won the 2022 Masters by a margin of three strokes over Rory McIlroy. This year, he got better of rookie Ludvin Aberg by three strokes. Scheffler has been at the top of the rankings for 83 weeks and counting.
