Scottie Scheffler is one of sport’s most intriguing enigmas.
He’s a World No. 1 whose feet fly in all directions when he swings the club. He’s a relentless winner who says victories don’t really matter to him. He’s an individual star who can’t seem to fathom team golf.
Most assume that the New York-born and Texas-bred star is a riddle who can’t be solved, but might there have been a moment in his past that explains everything? Guess what? There might have been.
The stats
First, let’s look at the numbers which do indicate a distinct difference between Scheffler before his first PGA Tour win and Scheffler since then.
He graduated from the second tier Korn Ferry Tour in late 2019 and in his first 61 starts he didn’t claim one one victory despite heading into the final round in the top six on no less than 15 occasions.
The first win was the 2022 Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale and it prompted a rush of success.
In the short run it was the first of four victories in just six starts including his first major championship, the same year’s Masters at Augusta National.
But the wins have never stopped coming.
Since and including that win in Phoenix, Scheffler has been tied sixth or better 46 times ahead of the final round in 84 starts – and he has won 21 of them.
So he’s not only contending more often (55% against 25%), he’s also winning more (0% against 25%).
How did it happen?
Old Scottie
A key element of the Scheffler turnaround was revealed in the Netflix series ‘Full Swing’ when the caddie Ted Scott talked about how he was approached in late 2021 about start working with Scheffler.
Scott told the show that he said to Scheffler: “I don’t know if I want to work for you because of your attitude.”
He also added: “When I posed that question to him, he said, ‘That’s a fair question and I’m willing to work on it.’”
In the same episode Scheffler explained: “I used to fight anger issues. I used to get too frustrated. Golf was too important to me. That’s kind of where I placed my identity for a long time. I try not to change too much but I needed to change something.”
Scott was impressed by Scheffler’s honesty and agreed to become his new bagman. “All I need is a little bit of hope and I’m willing to get behind anybody,” he said. “So I decided to take the job and here we are.”
New Scottie
Spin it forward to this summer’s Open and Scheffler’s pre-championship press conference. It was a 15-minute chat that would prompt a thousand speculations.
On losing he said: “It sucks. I hate it. I really do.”
But on winning he added: “This is not the be all and end all. This is not the most important thing in my life. That’s what I wrestle with: Why is this so important to me?
“Is it great to be able to win tournaments and to accomplish the things I have in the game of golf? Yeah, it brings tears to my eyes just to think about because I’ve literally worked my entire life to be good at this sport.
“But this is not a fulfilling life. It’s fulfilling from the sense of accomplishment, but it’s not fulfilling from a sense of the deepest places of your heart.
“That’s something that I wrestle with on a daily basis. Why do I want to win so badly? Because, if I do win, it’s going to be awesome for two minutes then we’re going to get to the next week.
“I love being able to play this game for a living. It’s one of the greatest joys of my life, but does it fill the deepest wants and desires of my heart? Absolutely not.”
The difference
Put simply, before Ted Scott delivered his ultimatum to Scheffler, he got “too frustrated”, golf was “too important” to him, it was where he placed his identity, and he didn’t win.
Since then he has realised, “This is not the be all and end all, this is not the most important thing in my life” – and he can’t stop winning.
A significant change in approach; a staggering impact on his returns.
How it impacts the Ryder Cup
When an excellent Team USA dominated a poor European side on Scheffler’s Ryder Cup debut in 2021 he won two matches and halved his third.
But in Rome he struggled with two halves and three defeats. In fact, one of those losses, a Saturday morning foursomes 9&7 thrashing, left him in tears.
It was little better this year in New York: he lost four matches with partners and only won his singles.
His overall foursomes record is abysmal (0-for-4) and he’s only won two points from all nine matches played with a partner. In contrast, he has won two and halved one of this three singles matches.
Perhaps Scheffler’s secret playing for himself (“it’s not the be all and end all”) just doesn’t work when he’s playing alongside a partner and whilst flying the Stars and Stripes.
Many have surmised Scheffler needs to care more in the Ryder Cup.
But maybe he needs to care less.
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