Scottie Scheffler looking to create special history at The Players Championship, but can he make it?

For 50 years, no one had done what Scottie Scheffler was attempting to do.. There had previously been exactly zero defending champions who repeated in the Players Championship. Some have multiple titles in the five-decade-long tournament's rich history, but not one had done it twice in a row.

Update: Scheffler's final round of eight under par was enough to edge out Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark and Xander Schauffele, all of whom were -19. Scheffler made history as the only back-to-back champion in Players history.

After a thrilling shot from 82 feet that somehow went in, Scheffler got into a stunning position. He opened the final round at -12 and was not exactly in contention for the winner. At the time of writing, he was only on hole nine and has a one-stroke deficit. He continued his trend, allowing him to win.

It was always going to take a lot for Scheffler to catch Xander Schauffele, who was -17 after the third round. Schauffele was two under in round four, which is a fine score, but it kept the door open ever so slightly for a comeback.

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Can Scottie Scheffler be the first repeat winner of the Players?

Note: This was written while the tournament was still going on. Scheffler has since gone on to win the tournament and become the only back-to-back champion.

Scottie Scheffler won last year's Players Championship by an impressive five strokes over Tyrell Hatton. He shot 17 under, which is exactly what Schauffele was at to begin round four. That seems like a solid winning number, even if Wyndham Clark was right behind.

Now, Scheffler is also right behind. Two things have given way to this. First, Scheffler has been on fire, with the below shot helping him go four under par through eight holes.

Meanwhile, Schauffele stumbled a bit. He's one under through seven holes, and Clark is the same. Those are fine metrics, but they won't do when Scottie Scheffler is charging up the leaderboard.

At the beginning of the round, the answer was no, Scheffler probably couldn't make history. Now, it almost feels inevitable. Schauffele might be feeling the pressure. Not that a one-stroke lead is insurmountable, but being more than a few up on the world number one is impressive. However, that has faded in an instant.

Scheffler is, of course, ranked higher than any of his counterparts. He's statistically far better than those at the top of the leaderboard, even though their OWGR positions are nothing to sneeze at. This talent level (and perhaps disparity) is partly driving this comeback.

Can Scottie Scheffler be the first to repeat?

Schauffele has never won the Players. Neither has Wyndham Clark. Clark does have a major victory under his belt, unlike Schauffele, but neither is as accomplished or as accustomed to winning as Scheffler is.

It's hard to imagine Schauffele, who was 17 strokes under par, being unable to shave even a few strokes in the final 12 holes. The same is true for Clark. They're both likely to drop a few points and look even better, but momentum is on Scheffler's side.

For most golfers, it would be senseless to predict them shooting eight under for a round. It's especially difficult to imagine most golfers shooting so well on the back half after blitzing the first half.

Over the course of 18 holes, things even out. It's rare to see full rounds being near 10 strokes under par, especially in a pressure-packed fourth round. Most golfers wouldn't be able to make the comeback, but most golfers are not Scottie Scheffler.

He has already made the comeback, and he is certainly capable of closing the one-stroke gap this afternoon and setting his name alone in the history books.