Seamus Power records best finish this season at RBC Heritage as Scottie Scheffler wins fourth title in five starts

Scottie Scheffler insists he’s mentally better than at any time in his career after he claimed his fourth win in five starts with a three-stroke victory in a Monday finish to the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head.

The world number one, five shots clear overnight, parred the 16th and 17th and bogeyed the 18th to close with a three-under 68 and win on 19-under par from Sahith Theegala at Harbour Town Golf Links.

He’s the first man since Bernhard Langer in 1985 to win the week after claiming the Masters and the first since Tiger Woods in 2008 to win four times in five starts.

He’s also the first player to win 10 (or more) times on the PGA Tour in three seasons since Dustin Johnson did it between 2015-16 and 2017-18.

“You know, last week was fantastic and coming into this week, I didn’t have my usual prep work, but I showed up rested and ready,” Scheffler said.

“I got off to a slow start on Thursday, but after that, I played some really nice golf in the middle of the tournament, and it’s nice to be done.”

Scheffler, whose only failure to win in his last five events was a runner-up finish to Stephan Jaeger in the Texas Children’s Houston Open three weeks ago, has now recorded ten PGA Tour wins in his last 51 starts.

Asked to assess his recent run, he said: “Not really sure. I think I’m just maturing as a person.

“On the course, I think mentally, the last month or so has been as good as I’ve been mentally in a long time. And I think that’s why I’m seeing some of the results: I’m just staying in it and doing the best I can.

“A lot of that stuff’s easier said than done. But I’m proud of how I’ve been mentally on the course this last bit.”

It was also a good week for West Waterford’s Seamus Power, who returned the course at 8 am and hit his 225-yard approach to 24 feet at the 18th before two-putting for a one-over 72.

Power finished tied for 12th on 11-under par, his best finish this season and his highest finish on the PGA Tour since he tied for fifth in the RSM Classic in November 2022.

Still battling to get back to his best after suffering a hip injury last year, the Tooraneena man is looking to get back into the world’s top 100 and qualify for next month’s PGA Championship at Valhalla in Kentucky.

He’s skipping this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where Rory McIlroy will make his debut in partnership with Shane Lowry.

McIlroy tied for 33rd on seven-under after a closing 74 at Harbour Town, while Lowry tied for 64th on one-over after a 75.

Theegala shot 68 to finish second on 16-under, with Patrick Cantlay returning alongside Power to two-putt the last for a 68 and a tie for third with Wyndham Clark on 15-under.

Asked if it was “fun” to see what Scheffler has achieved recently, Cantlay said: “I’m just concerned with what I’ve got going on. He’s shooting really low scores seems like every week. I don’t think he’s playing next week, and I’ll have a partner.”

Cantlay added: “Yeah, it’s very impressive. He’s played great for a while now, a number of years, and it seems like he is playing the best golf of his life right now.”

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