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What does a T4 finish mean when the world No. 1 treats it like a victory lap? For Scottie Scheffler, the 2025 Hero World Challenge wasn’t about defending a title—it was about confirming progress.

Scheffler finished T4 at 20-under, two shots outside the Hideki Matsuyama-Alex Noren playoff at Albany Golf Club. But his post-round comments revealed a player more focused on process than results.

“This feels more to me like the start of the year than the end of the year,” Scheffler said after Sunday’s final round. “You know, I took a pretty good break after the Ryder Cup. It had been another long season, and with the season for me starting a couple of weeks later this year with no Maui, I pushed it a little bit further up to this event as well, so I got a good break.”

The numbers substantiate his benchmark approach. Scheffler took a nine-week break following the Ryder Cup’s September 28 conclusion, deliberately extending his offseason, as no Sentry event is scheduled for Maui in 2026. He used the Bahamas as a diagnostic tool—a chance to measure whether his adjustments translated under competitive pressure.

Matsuyama claimed the title in a playoff, but Scheffler walked away with something else: confirmation that his reset is working.

“It’s nice to come down here, kind of gauge where I’m at. Like I said, very optimistic, did a lot of good things. I definitely felt like some of the stuff I’ve been working on the last few weeks, I saw some progress here, and the stuff I was focused on in the offseason, definitely saw some progress here as well. Good place to be.”

They did. Scheffler posted rounds of 66-69-65-68 for a 268 total, sharing the opening-round lead and carrying a one-shot advantage into Sunday. His ball-striking held up throughout the week, but late mistakes across all four rounds kept him from the playoff. A bogey on 18 in Round 1. A double-bogey on the par-5 16th in Round 2 after driving into a bush. Bogeys on 16 and 18 in Round 3 following a buried bunker lie. An eagle on 3 in the final round, followed by putting struggles down the stretch.

“I played better than my score, for sure. Didn’t hole as many putts today,” Scheffler said. “I felt like I hit some good ones that didn’t fall, and I got a couple of poor breaks on the back nine.”

Yet none of that registered as disappointment. The world No. 1 identified exactly where improvement is needed—and framed it as expected rust rather than concern.

“Definitely need to be sharper around the greens, but that’s probably a bit of rust,” Scheffler said. “But coming down here is always a good gauge to kind of see where you are around the greens because it’s pretty challenging, so felt pretty good.”

The Hero World Challenge wasn’t about defending that dominance. It was about confirming he’s positioned to repeat it. But while Scheffler focused on his internal benchmark, someone else was raising the trophy.

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Hideki Matsuyama claims second Hero World Challenge title in playoff thriller

While Scheffler measured progress, Matsuyama executed under pressure. The Japanese star finished regulation at 22-under after a bogey-free final round of 64, forcing a playoff with Alex Noren.

Matsuyama’s decisive moment came on the 10th hole on Sunday. From 116 yards, he holed out for eagle to seize control of the leaderboard. Noren answered with a birdie on the 18th to force extra holes, but Matsuyama closed the door on the first playoff hole. His approach shot settled two feet from the pin for a tap-in birdie. Noren’s 20-foot birdie attempt missed left.

The victory marked Matsuyama’s second Hero World Challenge title, his first since 2016. He became the sixth player to win the event multiple times. Matsuyama broke the record for the lowest score in a PGA Tour event with a 35-under performance at The Sentry in January 2025. The Bahamas victory earned him $1 million and moved him from world No. 20 into the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking.

Scheffler heads into 2026 with clarity. The progress he mentioned seeing across multiple areas of his game will be tested when the official season begins. But he already has what he came to the Bahamas for: confirmation that he’s building from a strong foundation.