Tom Watson reveals Scottie Scheffler and Dustin Johnson share freakish Masters cheat code
Scottie Scheffler and Dustin Johnson each know what it takes to win at Augusta National, and Tom Watson has defined the uncommon talent they deployed to win their Masters title
Tom Watson has hailed a uncommon talent that Scottie Scheffler and Dustin Johnson each possess(Image: Lillie Yazdi/Augusta National/Getty Images)
Tom Watson, Scottie Scheffler and Dustin Johnson know a factor or two about taming Augusta National, and Watson has admitted he was blown away by a uncommon talent his fellow Masters champions possess.
Distance management is crucial at Augusta as a result of extreme slopes on the greens and the difficulty that awaits if gamers are fractionally inaccurate with their strategy pictures.
Eight-time major champion Watson, a three-time winner of the Masters, says Johnson and Scheffler have developed the exceptional capacity to understand how far their ball will carry simply from the texture off the clubface. That talent is a giant motive why they’d an invite to Rory McIlroy’s Champions Dinner on Tuesday, once they needed to abide by some unwritten rules for seating arrangements.
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“I remember watching Dustin Johnson hit 77-yard pitch shots with a sand wedge to that short green out there, and each time he hit it, he said, ‘That’s 76 yards, that’s 75 yards, that’s 77 yards,’ and he was spot on,” Watson advised GolfChannel.
“And I remember Scottie Scheffler doing his little piece in his shorts with every club in the bag. He started with his driver and he was asked, ‘How far did that ball carry,’ He said, ‘That ball carried 313.’ And then the 3-wood, ‘That was 286,’ and he went down through all of his clubs, and he was within two yards.
“He hit the ball, guessed how far it was, and he had the launch monitor to inform him precisely how far it was. That’s how good these guys are. I’ve all the time mentioned the nice gamers can hit the ball plus or minus two yards to the precise distance they had been attempting to hit it within the air.”
World No. 1 Scheffler, the 2022 and 2024 champion, and 2020 winner Johnson will hope to profit from their impeccable distance control this week.
Scheffler, 29, is the oddsmakers’ favorite to slip on the Green Jacket for a third time, although his preparation for the tournament has not been ideal. After winning The American Express on the PGA Tour in January, he has hit a slump, finishing outside the top 10 in his past three starts.
The Texan has had three weeks off heading into the Masters as he and his wife, Meredith, welcomed their second child, a boy named Remy. Despite the new arrival, Scheffler says he is feeling sharp and rested heading into the year’s opening major.
“I’m getting loads of sleep. My spouse’s a soldier. Yeah, having a new child is all the time an fascinating factor, however Remy is so younger proper now, they sleep numerous the day,” he said. “I feel he is used to being within the womb at this level. Yeah, I’ve been capable of get an honest quantity of sleep.
“Game feels like it’s in a good spot. I got some rest the last few weeks at home. So I feel rested and ready to go this week.”
Johnson, in the meantime, is unfancied to contend this week. The 41-year-old has solely two top-10 finishes in 16 majors since becoming a member of LIV Golf in 2022, and he has missed the minimize on his previous two journeys to Augusta National.
The two-time main winner hopes to buck that pattern this week. He mentioned: “I feel refreshed coming in here. Game feels good. Looking forward to a really nice week.”
