Scheffler produced a blemish free final day with birdies at the sixth and seventh being followed by birdies at the 14th and 15th.

World No.1 Scottie Scheffler produced an irresistible display to lead from the front and close out the Hero World Challenge despite a strong charge by Sepp Straka, who shot a bogey-free 64. Scheffler barely missed a shot en-route to a 68, with there also being plenty of interest at the other end of the leaderboard too, with Tiger Woods making his first competitive appearance in eight months as he finished 18th.

Scheffler produced a blemish free final day with birdies at the sixth and seventh being followed by birdies at the 14th and 15th. Throughout the final round, he never look flustered and, with the new putter in the bag, he will certainly be a force come 2024. Scheffler hit an imperious shot into the 17th to just three foot. He missed the putt and had to settle for a par 3 but has a three-shot lead going up the last and looks be heading to an inevitable victory. He has just hit a three-wood up the 18th fairway and won’t be caught. 

Scheffler was making his first start in stroke play in three months since the Tour Championship in August. However, it has been much longer since the unquestioned World No. 1 won the on the PGA Tour.

Behind that hot new putter and with Tiger Woods watching as he made his return to competition, Scheffler raced out ahead at the Hero World Challenge and coasted Sunday to a final-round 68 and three-shot win at Albany over Sepp Straka at 20 under.  

Scheffler was making his first start in stroke play in three months since the Tour Championship in August. However, it has been much longer since the unquestioned World No. 1 won the on the PGA Tour.

He put together 17 straight top-12 finishes in 2022-23, but won only two times in that span, claiming the WM Phoenix Open and the Players Championship. He started the Tour Championship with a two-shot lead by virtue of the FedEx Cup standings, but let it slip away for the second straight year.

When we saw Scheffler last, he gave us more questions than answers as he was part of a losing American effort at the Ryder Cup. There, he was nearly brought to tears on Day 2 after he and Brooks Koepka were on the losing end of a historic 9 and 7 beatdown in foursomes.

But Scheffler put all of that behind him at Albany as he returned to his historic ball-striking prowess, leading the field in strokes gained: tee-to-green. He also, surprisingly, finished sixth in the 20-man field in putting. Had the Hero been an official event, it would mark the first time Scheffler had finished inside the top 10 in the statistic since his debut win at the 2022 WM Phoenix Open nearly two years ago.

Straka fired a 64 in the final round to briefly pull within two shots of Scheffler, but birdies at 14 and 15 by the 2022 Masters winner put it away. Scheffler’s putting was actually last in the field for the fourth round, including a short birdie miss at the 17th, however like he had for much of the year, his ball striking did all the work he needed it to.

But none of this should have come as a surprise for Scheffler at Albany, where he’s finished second the last two seasons, and has gone a combined 51 under now in three starts.