QUIET ON THE TEE
Scheffler enters PGA on all-time hot streak — but he’s not about to boast about it
TULSA, Okla. — Scottie Scheffler is not a “look at me’’ player. He never comes off as a guy longing for attention or asking “What about me?’’
He seems rather content doing his thing and going about it relatively unnoticed. That’s a bit more difficult for him to do these days as the reigning Masters champion.
As the 104th PGA Championship begins Thursday at Southern Hills, Scheffler is one of the favorites to win the Wannamaker Trophy. He has won four of his past eight tournaments, and one of the events he didn’t win was a team event. He’s ranked No. 1 in the world.
Yet he hasn’t been strolling around the property this week acting like The Man.
Asked if he felt any differently this week, coming in as a major champion and atop the world rankings, Scheffler said: “No. Tiger’s here, so nobody really remembers that I’m here, so it’s all good.’’ It’s exactly as Scheffler likes it. “I don’t feel any different,’’ he said. “I don’t get any extra shots this week. It’s nice to have the ranking, but at the end of the day when I show up at a tournament, I don’t have any advantages over the field. It’s a tremendous honor, but at the end of the day when I show up to a tournament, I’m starting at even.’’
Scheffler’s rise to No. 1 has been meteoric. On Feb. 12, he was a really good PGA Tour player who was still seeking his first win. On Feb. 13, he won the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
On March 6, Scheffler, who grew up in North Jersey before his family moved to the Dallas area, won the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
On March 27, he won the WGCDell Technologies Match Play.
And then on April 10, he won the Masters.
If Scheffler happens to win this week, inside a span of 100 days, he will have won five tournaments, including two major championships.
Those are the kind of things Woods was doing in his prime. They are the kind of things that prompted Will Zalatoris, one of Scheffler’s close friends since playing junior golf with him, to recently call those accomplishments “Tigeresque.’’
When it was pointed out to Scheffler that he has a chance with a win this week to have won five times with two majors in the span of 98 days, he said: “I don’t really look too far into the future, so I had not really thought much about this week until I showed up here.
“That’s kind of stuff for y’all to write. I don’t really get too high or too low. If y’all want to write up stuff and come up with stories, that’s fantastic. But for me … living in the moment is usually what works best for me. I don’t want to get too high or get too low.
“So, if you guys are really building me up, then you know I may not prepare as hard because I show up being like, ‘I’m the guy, I’m the
man and no one can touch me.’ That doesn’t work for me. And if I show up too low, then you guys are saying, ‘Oh, Scottie doesn’t have it, he’s not any good anymore,’ then I’m going to show up and maybe I’m going to prepare too hard and not get enough rest.
“So for me, kind of staying in my own lane and doing my own thing is what works best.’’
Based on the results, Scheffler would be crazy to change a thing.
Asked where his Masters green jacket is this week, Scheffler said, “I think in my closet at home … hopefully safe.’’
About the only thing that would make the low-key Scheffler recognizable this week would be if he had the green jacket with him in Tulsa and were wearing it around town.