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When Scottie Scheffler golfs, the world tends to watch. That was especially true when he was winning the Masters. He won his second green jacket in April, and that tournament was the most-watched event for golf all year long. It pulled in 9.6 million viewers.
That topped the US Open, the PGA Championship, the Players Championship, and every other prominent event for the season. In all television broadcasts, Scheffler's Masters win ranked 221st throughout the entire year. That includes television shows, news broadcasts, and more.
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The tournament didn't involve a whole lot of intrigue. The final round was really Scheffler's to lose, and he played well enough to keep everyone at arm's length. He finished four strokes up on Ludvig Aberg.
Therefore, drama wasn't what drove audiences to the Masters. It is perhaps the most recognizable and prestigious golf tournament out there so that certainly helps.
It also helps that the world number one was playing and doing well. The Masters Tournament came after six straight top-10 finishes, and Scheffler had won two of the last three outings heading into his trip to Augusta National.
The Masters might've been the only Major championship decided by more than two strokes, but it clearly pulled in the biggest audience despite the lack of tight competition.
PGA Tour star predicts Scottie Scheffler-type of year for himself
Scottie Scheffler won a golf tournament nine times (10 if the Showdown against Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau counts) last year. Justin Thomas didn't win a single tournament.
Despite that, Thomas believes he can have a Scheffler-esque year. He said via The Mirror:
"I still fully believe that I can have a year like Scottie (Scheffler) just had. I think I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn't think I could at least do that. I have a lot of faith and capability in my game, and I feel like I'm working on the right things."
Thomas acknowledged his win drought and said he probably didn't appreciate the wins as much as he should have. He added:
"I truly felt like I was going to win multiple times every season pretty much, until I lost it a little bit. It is, it's just so hard to win out here. ... Naturally, the better player that you are, you can get away with more mistakes, but come the end of the week on Sunday, you have to win the golf tournament."
Thomas has his first chance to do so this weekend at the Sentry. He's currently tied for 30th at two-under after one round of play. Scheffler, perhaps Thomas' biggest competition to having that type of season, did not play due to a hand injury.
