section_path: Professional career/2023: Continued success, first Players Championship victory
section_name: 2023: Continued success, first Players Championship victory
paragraph_text: 2023: Continued success, first Players Championship victory
  
  In February 2023, Scheffler successfully defended his title at the WM Phoenix Open. He shot a final round 6-under 65 to beat Nick Taylor by two strokes. With the win, Scheffler returned to number one in the Official World Golf Ranking.
  
  In March, Scheffler won The Players Championship by five strokes and regained the number one ranking in the Official World Golf Ranking for the second time in the year. It was the largest margin of victory in The Players Championship since Stephen Ames won by six in 2006. Scheffler joined Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win the Masters Tournament and The Players Championship in a 12-month span.
  
  As the defending champion at the 2023 Masters Tournament in April, Scheffler finished tied-10th. At the 2023 PGA Championship in May, he posted a final-round 65 to tie for 2nd, two strokes behind Brooks Koepka. This result returned Scheffler to the number one spot in the Official World Golf Ranking. Scheffler followed this with a 3rd-place finish at the 2023 U.S. Open in June.
  
  In the 2022–23 season, Scheffler recorded 18 consecutive top-12 finishes, a streak only bettered by Tiger Woods in 2000–01. For the second year in a row, he entered the Tour Championship as the leader in the FedEx Cup standings, which gave him a starting score of 10-under-par, and a two stroke lead over Viktor Hovland. He finished in a tie for sixth place at 11-under-par, 16 strokes behind the winner, Hovland.
  
  In September, Scheffler played on the U.S. team in the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy. The European team won 16.5–11.5 and Scheffler went 0–2–2, including a tie in his Sunday singles match against Jon Rahm. In the Saturday morning foursome match, the European pair Ludvig Åberg and Viktor Hovland defeated Scheffler and Brooks Koepka 9 and 7, the biggest victory in an 18-hole match in Ryder Cup history.
  
  In December, Scheffler won the Hero World Challenge, an unofficial event on the PGA Tour with a 20-man field. He had finished as runner-up in both of the previous two years at the tournament.
  
  In February 2023, Scheffler successfully defended his title at the WM Phoenix Open. He shot a final round 6-under 65 to beat Nick Taylor by two strokes. With the win, Scheffler returned to number one in the Official World Golf Ranking.
  
  In March, Scheffler won The Players Championship by five strokes and regained the number one ranking in the Official World Golf Ranking for the second time in the year. It was the largest margin of victory in The Players Championship since Stephen Ames won by six in 2006. Scheffler joined Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win the Masters Tournament and The Players Championship in a 12-month span.
  
  As the defending champion at the 2023 Masters Tournament in April, Scheffler finished tied-10th. At the 2023 PGA Championship in May, he posted a final-round 65 to tie for 2nd, two strokes behind Brooks Koepka. This result returned Scheffler to the number one spot in the Official World Golf Ranking. Scheffler followed this with a 3rd-place finish at the 2023 U.S. Open in June.
  
  In the 2022–23 season, Scheffler recorded 18 consecutive top-12 finishes, a streak only bettered by Tiger Woods in 2000–01. For the second year in a row, he entered the Tour Championship as the leader in the FedEx Cup standings, which gave him a starting score of 10-under-par, and a two stroke lead over Viktor Hovland. He finished in a tie for sixth place at 11-under-par, 16 strokes behind the winner, Hovland.
  
  In September, Scheffler played on the U.S. team in the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy. The European team won 16.5–11.5 and Scheffler went 0–2–2, including a tie in his Sunday singles match against Jon Rahm. In the Saturday morning foursome match, the European pair Ludvig Åberg and Viktor Hovland defeated Scheffler and Brooks Koepka 9 and 7, the biggest victory in an 18-hole match in Ryder Cup history.
  
  In December, Scheffler won the Hero World Challenge, an unofficial event on the PGA Tour with a 20-man field. He had finished as runner-up in both of the previous two years at the tournament.