Pick a statistic, and Scottie Scheffler is likely the leader in it at the Masters over the previous three years. He’s best in birdies or better, and in bogey avoidance. Strokes gained off the tee, approach and tee-to-green? First, first, first. And those aren’t even Scheffler’s true statistical secret sauce here: Since 2022, he’s picked up more than 15 strokes on the field on shots around the green, about five more than any other player in that span.

The beginning of Scheffler’s Masters career is historic. Among players with at least 20 career rounds, he is the all-time tournament leader in scoring average (70.40) and strokes gained total per round (2.69). His five starts are the second-fastest in history to reach two wins, a number only surpassed by Horton Smith, who won two of the first three of these ever played (1934, ’36). Scheffler’s 53.7 strokes gained total are the fifth-most accrued in the first five starts of any Masters career all-time.

Only three men have won the Masters back-to-back: Jack Nicklaus (1965 and ’66), Nick Faldo (1989 and ’90) and Tiger Woods (2001 and ’02). It’s been nine years since a defending champion finished better than tied for 10th place – Jordan Spieth finished tied for second following his Sunday second nine collapse in 2016.