On the eve of the greatest golf tournament on the planet, Scottie Scheffler talks about dealing with a bout of allergies; the challenges of juggling professional life with a little one craving Dad’s attention back home; and an unfortunate accident over the Christmas break that has seen his wife Meredith ban him from kitchen duties for the foreseeable. If I were to tell you that these humdrum concerns were shared over the watercooler with some corporate middle manager in the City, no doubt you would believe me, but a look into the mind of two-time The Masters champion and the current world number one golfer? You might have a harder time taking me at my word.
But herein lies the great enigma of the unfathomably talented Scheffler. In spite of his gift, his idiosyncratic swing with dancing feet, and the magnetic intention he seems to instill on the golf ball to find its target, he’s just a guy. A father, a husband, a son, a man of faith – a professional golfer, yes, but his priorities lie away from the fairways that have cemented him in the hearts of golf fans worldwide.
Humility is a strange quality for the best player of his generation to possess in spades. Many of us have grown up with sporting idols for whom there is only a vague sense that they are human at all: untouchable aliens like Usain Bolt or Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods who performed at a singular level of excellence and whose lives off the field of play were similarly extraordinary in their own way. But Scottie is one of us. Human. Tangible. A little goofy at times. “The weirdest guy I know,” Meredith Scheffler laughingly referred to him in a recent interview. The dichotomy is jarring to the meteoric rise we have witnessed from talented amateur to giant of the game.
Scheffler turned professional in 2018 following a successful amateur career that included winning the US Junior Amateur in 2013, helping Team USA towards the 2017 Walker Cup, and claiming the low-amateur award at the 2017 US Open. By 2020, he had been named Player of the Year on the Korn Ferry Tour and bagged the hotly contested Rookie of the Year award following his first season on the PGA Tour.
However, transforming promise into greatness is arguably the most difficult task in golf, but it begins with a single victory. On 13 February 2022, he broke his duck on Tour by winning at the WM Phoenix Open and, just like that, the floodgates were open: by 10 April of the same year, he had won three more tournaments, including his first The Masters title, and claimed the world number one ranking for himself.
Golf is all the better for showcasing that, every once in a while, nice guys can finish first
Scheffler’s game is typified by unerring consistency, an unflappable resilience in the face of pressure, and unmatched approach play with an iron in his hands. For all of his, “Ah, shucks” nature, he is a cold-blooded killer when it comes to closing out a tournament.
In a career that now spans 18 professional wins with many more likely to follow in the years to come, 2024 will go down in the history books. He won his second Green Jacket, briefly went to jail (an unfortunate mixup that has since been dismissed), claimed the Olympic gold medal, and the end-of-season FedEx Cup in a nine-victory season that is almost unmatched in its excellence. In fact, Data Golf has declared it the fourth-best season ever, behind only the great Tiger Woods and his all-conquering dominance in the 2000s.
But maybe the numbers fail to illustrate the manner of each victory, the means to which Scheffler has dotted up $76.3m in prize money. Each tournament, no matter how hard fought, was signed off with a polite thanks to the crowd, gratitude for his support team, and an excitement at sharing this victory with his friends and family.
We might have never had a champion like Scottie for quite some time, but golf is all the better for showcasing that, every once in a while (or, indeed, increasingly frequently), nice guys can finish first. Is it any wonder that Rolex, so meticulous with its selection of sporting ambassadors, has supported the golfer’s achievements since 2022?
In the interview below, Scheffler shares his thoughts on the cusp of the first major of 2025, The 89th Masters, talking about some of his most famous victories and his repressable desire to win…
Photo by Thomas Laisné
Photo by Thomas Laisné
Square Mile: Rolex is known for its enduring partnerships. How has your relationship with Rolex evolved since you became a Rolex Testimonee in 2022?
Scottie Scheffler: It has been a great partnership so far. I partnered with Rolex on the Sunday before the Masters Tournament in 2022. Having a partnership with Rolex and to be associated with such a brand is extremely special. I grew up watching so many of the tremendous Rolex advertisements, so I still find it a bit weird seeing my face pop up on the commercials every now and then. I am very proud to be associated with the brand.
SM: How does it feel to be associated with some of the game's greats such as Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods?
SS: Anytime that you can be mentioned alongside Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods is very special. I grew up trying to emulate Tiger Woods on the course and watching a little bit of Jack Nicklaus, but more so Tiger because he was more my era. Anytime that I can be seen side by side with him is very special and a real dream come true moment for me.
SM: Can you share a particular moment or experience that highlighted the significance of your partnership with Rolex?
SS: I would probably say that the thing that stood out to me most was a moment after the Masters in 2022. My brain sometimes has a hard time processing what is going on. Sitting and reflecting is not necessarily a great skill of mine. When I was at home a few weeks after the tournament, I was sent the advertisement that Rolex had produced from my Masters win. It was such a beautiful advertisement. The imagery was incredible and then all of a sudden, I popped up on the screen and it showed the highlights of us winning. It was one of those, “Wow, this is really where my life has come” moments and just to be a part of the advertisements is very special to me as a player.
SM: Can you describe the emotions of putting on the iconic Green Jacket after your maiden victory at the Masters in 2022 and joining an esteemed group of players to have won the Masters?
SS: Putting on the Green Jacket is pretty special! The ceremony itself is beautiful. You are up on top of the hill, looking down over the golf course, the sun is setting. It's the Masters. Everything is perfect – the grass is green and the trees are green.
It was very emotional for me. My whole family was there, my coach was there – basically, everyone who had helped guide me along the way for years to get to that moment was there. To put on the Green Jacket was extremely cool. As the previous winner [in 2021], Hideki Matsuyama was able to put the Green Jacket on me which was fun as he is a fellow Rolex Testimonee. Being able to join the long list of Testimonees to have won the Masters such as Tiger and Jack and being able to go into the Champions Locker Room every year is a really cool experience. As you are putting on the Green Jacket, the emotions flow through you and I was just really grateful to be in that moment.
Photo by Joel Marklund / Augusta National
SM: Did this moment exceed all expectations and dreams you had as a golfer growing up?
SS: As a young golfer, you always dream of making the putt on the 18th hole to win the Masters. I four-putted the last hole so it wasn't necessarily the dream, or childhood moment of making the winning putt, but the walk up the 18th hole was extremely surreal. My caddie, Ted Scott, and I had a conversation when we were walking up, saying thanks, being grateful and just really enjoying the moment. I think we really did [enjoy the moment] and the results of my putting on the 18th green probably show how much we were enjoying it. I think the feeling that you get with the achievement and the gratefulness of being able to achieve a lifelong dream is so special. It is just really fun to put on the Green Jacket and when you go back the next year, you get to host the Champions Dinner and do all the things that you have dreamed about. Going from being a little kid learning to play the game to winning the Masters is a truly humbling experience.
SM: The Masters Tournament holds a special place in golf history. How do you feel Rolex’s association with the tournament impacts the sports legacy?
SS: I feel like Rolex is such a classic brand and always associated with the best in all sports – whether that is The Championships, Wimbledon or the Masters. Rolex always goes hand in hand with those tournaments and creates long-lasting partnerships with all its athletes – whether it is Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods or Roger Federer. The partnerships seem to last a really long time and a tournament like the Masters also seems to stand the test of time. I think the foundations of the relationship between Rolex and the Masters are really simple and help to enhance the legacy of both.
SM: Nine wins – the Masters Tournament, The PLAYERS, an Olympic Gold Medal, the FedEx Cup. You had your first child. When you hear it all put together in one sentence, what’s your reaction?
SS: It’s been a crazy year and it’s been a lot of fun. I’m not really exactly sure how to describe it but it’s been a lot of fun. The tournaments have been great. Having Bennett being born in May was pretty fun as well and he’s been pretty awesome.
SM: I’m not going to ask you to rank the individual wins, but if you could just give us a few words to describe what comes to mind when you think of that week, that win, that’d be great. Starting with the Arnold Palmer Invitational?
SS: I felt like that was a big week for me. The putter switch and the way I putted on the weekend, especially the final round. It felt like one of the first tournaments in a while that I really ran away with. Walking up the 17th and 18th holes, having it pretty much won, was a pretty good feeling.
SM: PLAYERS Championship?
SS: Being able to defend [my title] there was pretty cool.
SM: Masters Tournament?
SS: The Masters is the Masters. It’s pretty awesome. I had a really good Sunday. I think that was a Sunday where I played really well, especially the last 10 or 11 holes to separate myself, especially there. I had birdies on holes 9 and 10 and I think holes 13, 14, and 16, so some key birdies when I really needed them.
Photo by Logan Whitton / Augusta National
SM: RBC Heritage?
SS: I remember that being a pretty tiring week, but that was a week in which I didn’t really make very many mistakes. I think that was the difference-maker there. I didn’t really have very many bogeys if I remember right. Just a shank in the first round – I guess that’s going to become a theme! I think I doubled that hole and my only other bogey was the 18th hole on Monday, so on the whole, a mistake-free week other than the shank!]
SM: Memorial Tournament?
SS: That place is just so tough. I remember a lot of Sunday was spent just grinding it out. Fellow Rolex Testimonee Collin Morikawa was playing some really good golf. I started the day with a couple-shot lead and I remember getting pretty close towards the end and making a key par putt there on 16, followed by a key up and down on 18.
SM: Travelers Championship?
SS: The play-off with Tom Kim. That’s where we had those protesters come out in the playoff. As far as the week went, I think it was really just more solid golf. I was able to finish off the tournament when I needed to. Tom made a great birdie there on 18 to get into a play-off, but then I knocked one in close, which applied the pressure on him and I was able to get out of there with a win.
SM: Olympics?
SS: When I think of the Olympics, I really just think of Sunday. It was a special round, a special back nine. As far as the tournament goes, there were times when I was arguably out of the tournament and to be able to come back the way that we did was pretty special.
SM: East Lake [The Tour Championship]?
SS: More solid golf. The way we responded to the shank that week, I think I bogeyed 7 and 8 on Sunday. It’s a tough, tough tournament because I’ve been leading the FedEx Cup for so long and you can lose it in a matter of a couple shots, which is what I built up for the entire season. So there’s a lot of pressure in that week coming with the lead, but how we responded after bogeying holes 7 and 8 to make it into a pretty interesting tournament to turn around and birdie holes 9, 10, and 11, and then eagle hole 14, was pretty fun.
SM: Hero World Challenge?
SS: I think it was a week like Harbour Town [at the RBC Heritage], where I did a lot of things well, and I didn’t really make any mistakes. At Hero, I only had two bogeys for the week and it’s a golf course where things can get out of hand pretty quick, especially with the way the wind blows out there.
Photo by Joel Marklund / Augusta National
SM: Do you remember what you said to your friends before the final round at the Masters Tournament?
SS: I don’t remember what I said to my friends, but I remember what my friends told me.
SM: In your press conference, you said you told them “I wish I didn’t want to win so badly”. Can you elaborate on what you mean by that because you like winning?
SS: I do – I love to win, and since it’s the Masters, there’s always something special about it. When you grow up here in the United States, that’s the tournament I think we look at the most, just with the history around the tournament with Mr Jones, the Augusta National Golf Club and it being on the same golf course year in and year out. I think you just dream of getting a chance to play in that tournament and to have an opportunity to win it for the second time, you’re sitting there in the morning and thinking “I want this so badly”. I almost wish that if I wanted it less, it would be easier for me just to go out there and play, but you desire something so much that you’ve worked so long for.
SM: During your first round at the Masters Tournament, holes 12 and 13 were a crucial turning point. Can you take us through those two holes?
SS: Thursday that week was a day in which I got the absolute most I could have out of the round. I think I shot five or six under and was close to the lead, and it was a day in which I got off the golf course and I didn’t feel like my swing was in a great spot. I remember coming off the course and Randy Smith [Scheffler's coach] told me, “Great job” and asked how I felt out there, and I thought that I could not keep going another three days in this tournament with my swing feeling like this and that we needed to go figure something out.
I remember Thursday being a day in which I was just really, really efficient going around the course. We went to the range and I told Randy what I was feeling in my swing and he gave me a little tip with my grip. I remember hitting one shot and it felt exactly the way I wanted it to feel, and I hit another one and it was exactly the way I wanted it to feel, and then we left the range and it was a feeling that I stuck with for the rest of the week and it worked out pretty well.
SM: What was the tip?
SS: It was just the way my left thumb was on my grip. He had me move it down the grip just a touch. I’ll let Randy try to explain why that is. He’s fond of that kind of stuff. But I was just telling him the way it was, feeling a little loose in the backswing, and he told me to just move my left thumb just a touch down the grip.
And I remember hitting my first shot to the left because what I had been doing all day was saving it. When I flushed it, and it came out just to the left, I could feel what I was doing in my swing. And then I hit one more shot, and I could feel it right in the slot. That was exactly the feeling I was looking for and when I woke up the next day, it was still there, and I hit it really well the rest of the week.
SM: So you just hit two balls and left?
SS: I may have hit a few more after that, but I remember hitting two shots and being like, ‘All right, that’s it’. That was the feeling I was looking for. And I’m sure I hit a few more balls after that, but I remember us not really talking about anything else. I just said give me some more clubs, let me hit some shots. And then we left the range. And that was our feel for the week.
Photo by Maddie Meyer
SM: In the third round you double bogey 10, bogey 11, eagle 13 and birdie 18 to get back into position. Do you remember that stretch?
SS: I remember landing it pretty close to pin high on 10 and it ended up over the green in a bush. I remember missing a pretty makeable par putt on 11. I’d missed a couple putts to the right that day and I remember asking Teddy if he saw anything, and he said that the ball might just be barely back in your stance. He said on my next one to move it up a touch. I remember making about a seven-footer for par on hole 12. It was an awkward putt where I couldn’t really tell which way it was going to break. I hit it right down my line and it went right in the middle. Then I made that key long putt there on 13 for eagle that kind of turned the day around pretty quick. That putt I made on hole 13 felt like a big momentum switch for me.
SM: During the final round, do you remember the conversation on hole 13 about going for it in two?
SS: I think Teddy said something along the lines of if it was somebody else he would consider laying up, but he said you’re the best long-iron player in the world, so just hit the shot at the green. At that point in the final round, I had a lead, so you don’t want to play defensively and we don’t want to change how we approach the round. There was a moment there on the back nine where we could have changed the way we usually played and maybe tried to limp in, but I remember asking Teddy to see where his thoughts were, and that’s when he said “You’re a great iron player, hit the ball on the green”. I remember hitting a good shot to the middle of the green, nice two-putt, and making another key birdie there on the next hole.
SM: After the round, you stopped to cry just after the trophy ceremony, can you take us through what it was that moved you to tears?
SS: I get moved to tears pretty easily. Usually, I don’t make it this long through an interview without crying when you talk about like the Masters and things like that, so I’m a little proud of myself for that! I remember finishing and scoring, and everything always happens so quickly after you win tournaments. I remember them going through the order of what is going to happen now and I just asked if I could go to the restroom and I didn’t need to use them at all, I just needed like two minutes to myself. I remember walking up towards the Locker Room and a couple people congratulated me, but there’s really nobody back there because everybody’s on the side of the Clubhouse that’s on the golf course. I had a nice walk up to the Champions Locker Room by myself and that is something that I always wanted to do after winning the Tournament once, I wanted to go up there again as a champion.
The guys in the Locker Room always joke about keeping it in the Locker Room, so that was pretty fun to go up there and celebrate with the attendants up there. Sometimes you just need a couple minutes to collect your thoughts.
That’s really all it is. I’m a pretty emotional guy, and sometimes I just need a little time to myself to reflect. It wasn’t long, but I remember going to the bathroom and just kind of standing there for a minute, taking some deep breaths and a moment to reset before going back out to do the trophy presentation.
SM: Regarding the Memorial Tournament, can you set the stage for your final round – you’ve made one birdie and you’ve got a one-shot lead – and how you felt arriving at the 18th hole?
SS: Sunday at Memorial, depending on the weather, you know the greens are going to be baked out and firm – or as firm as they can possibly get them. That day was breezy as well so you knew the course was going to play tough. Collin [Morikawa] was playing some great golf and was staying on my heels the whole day.
I remember getting to hole 15 with a one-shot lead and he hit one in close when I had driven in the bunker, and he missed a seven-foot putt for birdie that would have tied us. We then go to hole 16 and it’s basically impossible for the last couple of groups to hit the green on Sunday there with the way the wind blows, so Collin and I both didn’t hit a great pitch, but he missed his par putt and I made mine, meaning that I now had a two-shot lead going into the last two holes. I knew that two pars would be good enough to win, as both holes 17 and 18 were also almost impossible to hit the green late in the day. On the 17th hole, I hit two good shots, but ended up making bogey, missing an eight-footer for par, so I now only have a one-shot lead.
When we get to the 18th hole, Collin and I both hit it over the green – basically the only place that you can hit it. I was standing there at the back of the green, and after his chip missed, I just said to myself that all I had to do was get the ball up and down. I hit a pretty good chip to four or five feet, but it was a tricky putt in that it was so straight that if I hit it soft and it started to get offline, it could break in either direction, so I decided to just hit it firm and straight, and it went straight in the middle which was a pretty great feeling!
Photo by Thomas Lovelock / Augusta National
SM: Meredith, Bennett and Jack [Nicklaus] were all watching, and you had a great reaction to that putt. What fuelled your reaction to that final putt going in?
SS: It was such a tough day overall, with the grind of the round and how good Collin was playing, so being able to hold off such a good player was a really cool feeling and rewarding given the competitiveness that I have, not only with myself but with the golf course and the other players in the field. It just felt like a day in which Teddy and I did a really good job in hanging tough and it came down to one five-footer after a whole week where you’re battling the entire time. To bury a putt that was a little bit awkward was a great feeling. I’ve had some close calls at Memorial before, and the year prior was a tough week for us because I could’ve won it but didn’t, so to come back and win it the next year was pretty cool.
SM: Looking back at the Olympics, Ted has said it was one of the best performances of his career, turning around where you were in terms of your head space during the first two rounds to where you were during the final two rounds. Do you remember much from that?
SS: I remember telling Teddy that I was struggling to read the greens, so he needed to tell me where to hit it. I do remember a conversation we had on Sunday, where we were walking off the green and I was so frustrated. Tom Kim was standing nearby and I was so mad that I really wanted to break my putter as I felt that I could putt better with my lob wedge, but Teddy told me not to and that’s why you need a great caddy because if he gave me permission I definitely would’ve broken it. We were then walking to the next tee and Teddy reminded me to stay patient, not be focused on whether I make or miss the cut, and instead stay committed to what I’m doing. He just did a really great job of keeping me in line that day.
SM: Do you remember your response when Teddy told you to aim at the security guard on hole 16?
SS: The 15th hole was very hard with the water on both sides and with the front pin, it’s almost like a more extreme version of the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass, where there’s a lot of trouble of which you can’t bail out.
On the 16th hole, we had a good number, where I was taking a little bit off a nine iron. The wind was off to the left, the pin was on the right and when I take some off, it’s typically easier for me to fade it, so with the wind blowing in that direction, it’s an easier shot to make as you can start it off left and fade it in with the wind. If the ball continues to fade in the wind, it will ride it and continue to go further. It was a shot in which you can kind of attack the pin.
I remember Teddy telling me to aim it at the middle of the green, and at this point, I was one or two shots back. There was a security guard in line with the middle of the green, so he told me to aim at him. It was one of those moments where I somewhat ignored his advice as we had a good number, I felt good over the shot and had a clear picture of the shot in my head, so it didn’t really matter what he said to me at that point and I was going to hit it to the pin regardless. I ended up hitting a great shot right in there and I remember handing Teddy the club and being like “Come on, you didn’t really think I was going to hit it at the security guard, did you?!”
SM: There were tears there as well. People really like seeing the outpouring of emotion from you. Can you describe the emotions behind the tears there?
SS: I have tremendous pride in being an American at the Olympics. I even felt emotional being at the women’s gymnastics and seeing the American team win gold and going up to the podium with the national anthems playing.
That day for me was so chaotic. I was so frustrated at the turn that I almost broke a club as I thought I had basically lost the tournament, and then a mere couple of hours later, I was standing on the podium with the gold medal with the national anthems playing. It was a pretty incredible feeling to be able to secure a gold medal for our country. I also remember looking over and seeing Meredith with our son and as she was in tears, I was looking “Now I’m going to cry for sure!”.
Photo by Logan Whitton / Augusta National
SM: Can you describe the unique pressure of the Tour Championship at East Lake, trying to finish the season off on the right note and how that had been wearing on you?
SS: It’s a strange way to crown a season-long champion. You can win every tournament in the entire year and you will still only get a two-shot lead at East Lake. The way I played for most of the year and with the number of tournaments I had won, I would’ve been pretty far ahead in the points if it was a different system, and it would’ve been an easier tournament to win. Instead, it all comes down to this one tournament on this golf course that I hadn’t really played well on.
I think I maybe played well there during my rookie year, but other than that, I hadn’t had great results at East Lake for whatever reason. Going into this year, I was happy that they had redone the course, because the guy who was chasing me, Xander Schauffele, had never had a bad round at East Lake. I’m not sure what his stats are, but I don’t remember him ever shooting over par or literally ever having a bad day there.
I knew the week was going to be tough as it’s not easy playing in the lead. I had led the FedEx Cup since February or March and had built up a big lead, but all of a sudden, it came down to this one tournament. It can be tough having a great year and not winning the FedEx Cup because you have people congratulate you for your year but at the same time say sorry about the FedEx Cup, which was something I really didn’t want to listen to for another off-season. I thought it would’ve been really nice for people to say congratulations and nothing after that!
There’s always a lot of pressure because I wanted to finish off the year in the right way. I felt I played good enough golf to win the FedEx Cup and it was something that I hadn’t done in the previous two years with the lead, so to do that three years in a row would be pretty tough. To go and play the way we did for four days and finish off the year in the right way was pretty fun.
SM: There was another great bounce back there. What was the key to bouncing back from hole 8 to birdie 9, birdie 11 and eagle 14 to win?
SS: I just shanked a bunker shot, I bogeyed holes 7 and 8, but I had really played solid golf all week and it looked like I was going to run away with the tournament. I think Collin bogeyed one and I birdied two. We traded some birdies here and there on the front nine, and I had a six or seven-shot lead and all of a sudden, it’s down to two or three. I remember walking off the green and saying to Teddy, “What is happening right now?” and he told me something along the lines of “I’d take you head-to-head versus anyone in the world and they’re giving you a two-shot lead, so think about that. Don’t think about the shots you lost; think about the position you’re in. I’d bet in you head-to-head for the last 10 holes versus anybody in the world and they’re giving you the lead, so just focus on that”.
After that, I remember walking into the shot on hole 9, which was a good shot for a four iron and Teddy told me to show off and pretend I’m playing for Randy. It’s my favourite thing to do when we’re out there practising, when we’re seeing and creating, and doing fun stuff. I then hit a great shot to about four feet, stuffed it in again on hole 10 and hit a great putt on hole 11.
To take control of the tournament like that was special. I mean, I shanked a bunker shot from 20 yards, a really easy up and down, and ended up making bogey; to then step up on one of the hardest holes on the course and stuff a four iron was a pretty cool feeling. I’m not sure I would’ve been in the right headspace without Teddy helping me out there.
SM: Can you describe the moment the injury popped up at The PLAYERS Championship?
SS: I felt good that morning. It was a cooler morning, so we warmed up and I remember trying to hit a hard three wood into hole 11 – we started on the back nine that day – and it felt a bit sore in my neck and it started locking up. I remember finishing that hole, getting to the 12th tee and it starting to lock up more and more. I did some practice swings and thought it would be alright, so I went for it but I remember getting to the top of my swing and getting a shooting pain from my ear down into my shoulder and into my back as I was trying to come down which resulted in this really weird swing.
I remember it was so weird because Justin Thomas openly laughed at me when I hit the ball because it was pretty funny – my swing was wild, my feet made this huge noise, and I had grunted because my neck was killing me. I remember standing there, my neck was so warm and just thinking I don’t know if I’ll be able to play anymore that day. That’s when Justin stopped laughing because at first, he thought it was just one of my funny-looking swings, but realized it wasn’t. I then called over a rules official who went and got my trainer who gave me some treatment, which helped a little bit and I could get the club at least halfway back.
I had quite a good first round and the course isn’t overly long, so I thought that if I could play it safe, take advantage of the par 5’s and somehow stay in the tournament. Making the cut quickly became my goal that day. For the rest of the day, I just chipped it around and took a couple of extra clubs on each shot. On the 14th hole, I remember hitting a four iron from 195 yards, when I usually carry it 225-230 yards, because I couldn’t swing full. I did my best to just grind out that day and I told myself that for the rest of the week, I would trust Marnus [Marais, PGA Tour physio] and the treatment plan, and basically buy time until I felt good. I managed to grind out a great day on Saturday and as the round went on, my neck started loosening up a little bit to the point that on the 18th hole, I hit a shot which almost felt like a full one. I then kept the recovery plan going with all the treatment possible – ice, heat, red light, you name it – when I wasn’t sleeping and got to a place on Sunday where I could get the club to the top of my swing and I was able to take advantage of that.
On Saturday, I was able to birdie holes 16, 17, 18 and I got into a place where I had a chance to still win the tournament, and then came out on Sunday and had a great day.
Photo by Augusta National 2022
SM: When you won Bay Hill, you talked about the chatter around the new putter. Talk about the effect that this chatter had on you?
SS: Every week you are sitting there in the Media Centre answering questions about why can’t you win. Before Bay Hill, I remember doing the Media Day for The PLAYERS Championship and I’m World No. 1 and I get a question from a reporter that I love, Doug Ferguson, who said it’s been a year since I won. I replied by reminding him that I won the Hero World Challenge two months ago and asked whether that didn’t count? He responded by saying that the narrative at that time was not as fun to write about the consistent golf I’d been playing, but that it was interesting to write about the putts I’d been missing. This is why I work hard not to pay attention and listen to people in the media, because their job is to report on what happens week by week. If I have a bad week putting at Riviera, then that would be the story, but if I putted well and won Riviera, then that would be the story. It’s all week by week.
Going into that stretch of golf, I remember going home and committing to going back to being myself. What do I love to do? I love to go out and compete, and win golf tournaments. My goal is not to prove anyone wrong. My job is to go out there and compete because that’s what I love to do. Getting better is a process that doesn’t happen overnight. I had only been working with Phil [Kenyon, putting coach] for a few months and I felt that we had made some progress, but it still wasn’t where it needed to be. I had a chance to win Phoenix and could’ve won Riviera, but I just didn’t putt well enough. It was definitely getting annoying just sitting there and being asked why I can’t win, because I was trying my best and I want to make the putts. I’m still World No. 1, so I’m not that bad.
I was too focused on trying to live up to the expectations that people placed upon me, thinking that because I hit it so good that I should win every week. It got frustrating having to answer those questions week in week out. I remember going home and having a reset of why I love playing golf, and I realized that I love competing which is what I decided to focus on doing again. That was kind of the speech that Teddy gave me before we went out and played the Tour Championship, because the whole year you have to answer questions about it being the season-long race, even though I don’t believe it is, but in terms of how it’s looked at in the media, it is, so I just focused on competing, not the chatter or the results.
SM: How do you reflect on this success in 2024 and can you tell us about the different sources of inspiration or motivation on this continued pursuit of excellence?
SS: As far as sources of motivation go, I’ve always been internally motivated. I’m always trying to get the best out of myself. I’m not focused on the results. I try to focus on the process of getting better. When I talk about the start of 2024 when I was trying to improve my putting, I’m not all of a sudden going to come up with one thing that fixes it. It’s a process that takes a lot of time and a lot of work. To be focused on the process of improving and not the results is important. As far as the year went, I was able to capitalize on a lot of the opportunities that I had from playing good golf. I’m not good at reflecting on it, but it was definitely a fun year and I’m very grateful to have had the success that I’ve had.
SM: Speaking of continued improvement, after such a successful 2024 season, are there any particular ways that you are looking to evolve your game or change anything in terms of your approach and life away from the course?
SS: On the course, I’m always striving to continue to improve my game, so that’s making sure my full swing is in a good spot, making sure I’m still controlling my distances well and creating new shots for myself. In terms of my short game, it’s continuing to improve touch and feel around the greens, coming up with more shots that I can use and continuing to refine the skills that I already have. When it comes to the putting, it’s continuing to work on the things that Phil and I have been working on. I’m not focused on the results, but only the process to get better which takes a lot of time and a lot of energy.
My goal this off-season was to be as efficient as I could with my practice because I want to be able to go to the golf course, practice, get my work done and then go home and spend time with my wife and son. My priority is my family first, not my job, and so when I get time to go out and go to work, I need to be very focused and present in terms of what I’m doing on the golf course.
SM: The Ryder Cup is all about honouring the collective, can you tell us about the unique challenge of putting rivalries aside and creating a spirit of camaraderie and cooperation that transcends the usual rivalries of golf’s professional circuit?
SS: Golf is an individual sport for many weeks of the year, but when it comes to The Ryder Cup, all of us are joined together to represent the United States which is a pretty special feeling. It’s a week that is so fun for all of us being able to play together and be partners.
It’s a pretty unique thing in our game. Being able to play alternate shot and best ball, and work together to try and bring the trophy back home to the United States is something that we are all really looking forward to doing at Bethpage this Fall.
Scottie Scheffler is a Rolex ambassador. For more information, see rolex.com
