CLEARLY FITTING THE BILL
Ex-UT star Scheffler quickly assimilates to PGA Tour with seven top-10 finishes as rookie
It’s a natural progression that Scottie Scheffler would obtain success on the PGA Tour. It might have come a little sooner than expected for the 24year-old from Dallas.
In 2019, Scheffler, a four-year standout at the University of Texas, was named Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year. He was the PGA Tour’s top rookie this past season, highlighted by a fourth-place finish at the 2020 PGA Championship and fifth in FedEx Cup points.
There hasn’t been much struggling or a wait-your-turn period for Scheffler, who is 30th in theworld golf rankings and showed his potential with a second-round 59 at The Northern Trust. Throw in a third-place finish in The American Express in January, and it’s easy to seewhy Scheffler is a rising star on the tour.
Scheffler, who posted seven top 10s in his rookie campaign, said he felt at ease on the PGA Tour almost from the start. In only his second round as a tourmember, Scheffler took a share of the lead at The Greenbrier inWest Virginia with a second-round 62.
“It occurred pretty early on,” said Scheffler, who in 23 starts in the 2020 season posted 13 top 25 finishes. “I think I was playing in the final group Saturday at the Greenbrier. I got comfortable petty quick just because I
started competing early on.
“I think if I got off to a slower start, maybemissed a couple of cuts at the beginning, itwould have been a little different. But it was nice to get comfortable being able to play well in those first few starts.”
Seeking his first tour win, Scheffler is hoping this week’s Vivint Houston Open, which starts Thursday at Memorial Park Golf Course, could be the week.
He has the game to do it. Long and accurate off the tee, he also has short-game skills and is a quality putter who has been known to make mid-round changes with the flatstick.
Like the rest of the Houston Open field, Scheffler has no history at Memorial Park, which was redesigned by TomDoak and reopened for public play last November.
Scheffler practiced on the course for the first time Monday. A scouting report from his caddie indicated what had been speculated: The greenswere undulated and firm.
“When you put in new Bermuda, it’s extremely firm,” said Scheffler, whose college teammates at Texas included Beau Hossler and Doug Ghim. “It’ll be challenging hitting approach shots into these greens — just the way they’ll be bouncing— andit should be a fun and exciting week.”
Reaching a ranking as high as No. 5 in FedEx Cup standings following the Tour Championship, Scheffler credits his improvement at the tee box.
“I’ve been driving the ball really nice, and I think that’s something I lost in college,” said Scheffler, whowon twice on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019. “I was always a real good driver of the golf ball all through junior golf, and in college I lost that.
“And the last couple of years, I’ve just been able to hit a bunch of fairways, and playing from the fairways out here is extremely important. And I feel I’m giving myself a lot of opportunities, so driving the ball’s been a tremendous improvement in my game over the last couple of years.”
Being exempt on the
PGA Tour through 2020-21 and playing in more prestigious events has contributed to the rise in FedEx Cup points.
“I just felt like out here getting opportunities as well was extremely important,” said Scheffler, who earned $2.8 million on the tour last season. “Getting into those bigger events where there’s more world ranking points available and getting into those world golf championships and majors and stuff like that … that’s where there’s a lot of points available to get.
“Playing in the Korn Ferry Tour, there’s only a small number of points available each week. Which is the way it should be, but getting out here and getting those opportunities was also very important.”
One thing that set back Scheffler temporarily in September was testing positive for COVID-19. He had to miss the U.S. Open.
“Taking those twoweeks off took me out of my rhythm,” said Scheffler, who is now fully healthy and has regained his swing.
“I definitelywould not have liked to have taken that much time off, especially when you’re playing well.”
The 2019 season rewarded Scheffler with confidence. From there, his game plan for each tournament is simple.
“For most of (2019), getting a lot of good starts, getting some good, solid finishes,” Scheffler said. “And improving on that going into this year, I wanted to put myself in the final group more often, just get a little closer to the lead.
“I made a lot of silly mistakes last year, and I need to clean up a few areas of my game so I can save a couple of shots here and there at a tournament and put myself into a better position to win on the weekend versus last year (when) Iwas on the outside looking in on those final groups. Hopefully (I’ll) getmyself in that position pretty soon.”