Par Talk: Scottie Scheffler Cruises To A Win At The Players, Why Being 'Boring' Is His Best Trait, Tyrrell Hatton Smiles, Viktor Hovland Premeditating A Masters Win

Par Talk, published every Monday on OutKick, gets golf fans caught up on the biggest storylines in the game with insightful opinion you may or may not agree with.

Welcome back to the top, Scottie Scheffler.

After cruising to a victory at The Players, his second win in his last four starts, Scheffler is the No. 1 ranked player in the world again and certainly looked the part on Sunday. Some golf fans continue to slander him by calling him a 'boring' player, but that take is officially tired.

Scheffler's boringness is what makes him so impressive. More on that below.

While Scheffler defending his lead and lifting The Gold Man trophy at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday was no surprise at all, Tyrrell Hatton smiling on that same golf course was an upset of the ages.

We're officially less than 25 days away from the opening round of the Masters, which green-loving Viktor Hovland is well aware of.

Let's dive in.

Scottie Scheffler Dominates On One Of The Game's Biggest Stages Yet Again

Scottie Scheffler became just the third player of all time to hold both The Players and the Masters titles at the same time following his win at TPC Sawgrass. Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods are the two other players to pull off the feat.

While Scheffler entering the record books along the names Woods and Nicklaus is impressive in its own right, the way he's gotten there is legitimately unlike anything we've ever seen.

Scottie Scheffler being boring is not a knock against him. (Photo by Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

If we go back 11 months to the 2022 Masters, Scheffler held a two-shot lead over Cam Smith heading into the final round. Standing on the 18th tee at Augusta National that Sunday, Scheffler's lead was five. He then went on to four-putt the final hole and win by three shots over runner-up Rory McIlroy.

A three-shot victory to win your first major with a four-putt on the last hole is the definition of dominance.

While many expected a somewhat inexperienced Scheffler to fold during the final round of last year's Masters, it was the exact opposite vibe heading into Sunday's final round at The Players, and he passed the test by reminding everyone just how dominant he can be.

Scheffler was in familiar territory with a two-shot advantage with just 18 holes to play and methodically worked his way around TPC Sawgrass to shoot a 3-under 69. Instead of four putting the final green to earn a three-shot victory, Scheffler one-putted the 72nd hole for a five-shot win.

While his wins at Augusta National and TPC Sawgrass have their differences, they also have one similarity that truly puts into perspective just how great Scheffler has been.

Through 71 holes of both tournaments, on two of the game's biggest stages, Scheffler bested the field by five shots on both occasions before winning both tournaments by a combined eight shots.

That's just downright silly.

Scottie Scheffler's Boringness Is What Makes Him Great

The only criticism anyone could throw Scheffler's way this week was that he is boring, which has been the common theme around Scheffler since he emerged as one of the game's best players.

I'm not about to argue that Scheffler is the game's most exciting player, in fact, I would use the word boring to describe the 26-year-old as well, but not as an insult.

Scheffler's ability to be boring, and remain boring during a 72-hole tournament, is his most impressive trait.

Every single golfer's gameplan on Tour is to hit fairways, hit greens, make a few putts, and most importantly stay out of trouble. In other words, the successful game plan for every golf course is boring.

It takes incredible discipline for golfers, especially these guys who are the best players on the planet, to not get overly aggressive. Sticking to a boring game plan can be monotonous and is a challenge in itself, yet Scheffler has the ability to stay out of his own way and stick to a boring game plan better than anyone else in the game right now.

There's nothing at all boring about watching a player present a game plan and execute it to near perfection; I'd argue a player who is able to do that over the course of four days on the game's biggest stages is the exact opposite of boring.

Another aspect of this 'boring' golf he plays is that Scheffler doesn't have a legacy yet because he's still only 26 years old. If he keeps up anything close to this sort of a run over the next 10 years and continues to win the game's most prestigious events nobody will be able to call the man boring anymore.

Scottie Scheffler and his wife Meredith following his win at The Players. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

Tyrrell Hatton Had Every Reason To Smile At TPC Sawgrass

Tyrrell Hatton isn't exactly the most cheerful person in the world. Often times it looks like it pains him to have to go and play golf for a living, so when he does smile on a golf course it's a newsworthy occasion.

Even the man himself couldn't help but smile during his other-worldly back-nine effort on Sunday at The Players.

Hatton began the final round five-under and nine shots back of Scheffler. After shooting even par on his opening nine holes, it didn't seem like it was possible for him to even earn a spot on the first page of the leaderboard.

Well, a couple of hours later after just 29 shots on the back nine, Hatton found himself in solo second and $2.725 million richer.

While his entire back-nine was impressive, his approach shot from the trees on the final hole was the shot of the day. Even he let out a laugh and a huge grin after pulling off the incredibly difficult shot.

Anything is possible, even Tyrrell Hatton enjoying himself on the golf course.

Nobody Loves Green Like Viktor Hovland Loves Green

It's no secret that Viktor Hovland loves himself a green shirt. The young Norwegian seems to rock a green shirt during at least one round of a tournament, but he took things to an entirely different level at The Players.

The man wore green all four days of the tournament. We're not talking about just four different green shirts or a few green hats. Hovland was decked out in green and even went green shirt, green pants, and green belt during Friday's second round.

There are only two explanations for the green overload this week. Either Hovland's sponsor, J. Lindeberg accidentally shipped him a box full of green apparel this week and he rolled with the punches or he's fully pre-meditating a Masters win.

The site of Hovland wearing an all-green outfit at Augusta National and throwing a green jacket over it inside The Butler Cabin is something the sports world deserves to see.

What's On Tap

The PGA Tour remains in Florida this week for the Valspar Championship with Sam Burns looking to defend his title. Notable players in the field also include Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Matthew Fitzpatrick, and Tommy Fleetwood.

While the Valspar having to play follow-up to Players week is always a tough spot, the field this year isn't as bad as we've seen in years past, so it should be another exciting weekend in the Sunshine State.

We're also just over three weeks away from the opening tee shot of the 2023 Masters.

Follow Mark Harris on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris