Scottie Scheffler, once again, was the best at the decisive moment. Those last nine holes of the Olympic tournament at Le Golf National where he knew how to keep calm in complicated moments and show himself aggressive and accurate when the situation required playing offensively to climb in the ranking. And so, after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the THE PLAYERS, the Masters of Augusta, the RBC Heritage, the Memorial and the Travelers, he culminated his incredible 2024 by hanging the gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games. A unique moment in his career that he celebrated emotionally.
His emotion on the podium with Simone Biles in mind: “I would say that first of all I am proud of the country I come from. I am proud to be American. I was moved the other night watching the women’s gymnastics gold medal ceremony. I am very proud to come here and represent my country. And yes, the same, like when you go to a sports event, you hear everyone in the stands singing the National Anthem, it’s something very special, and I think it’s something we are tremendously proud of. It was very emotional to be there on stage as the flag was raised and sing the National Anthem. It’s something I will remember for a long time”.
The origins of Scheffler and his pride in being American: “Wow, that’s a tough question. I wish my parents were here. My mother’s side is Italian and I think my father’s side is German. They will remember better than me. But we’ve been here for a few generations. My grandfather fought in the Korean War. He’s already passed away. But yes, we’ve been here for several generations. And you know, I learned from an early age to take off my hat and keep my hand over my heart for the National Anthem. My parents taught me from a young age what it meant to be American and what it meant to be free and proud to represent my country this week”.
An emotional moment: “I remember that after the Masters this year, I took a break to go to the bathroom… But in reality I just wanted to be alone for a minute. I cried a lot after that. I just… I mean, it’s emotional to get on the podium and hear your National Anthem, it really is. It’s been a long week. It’s been a tough week. I played great golf today, and I’m proud to go home with a medal. This week there were many talented players. These guys played tremendously good golf and I think we should all be proud of the competition we have played this week”.
The importance of his caddie Ted Scott in the game and the mental aspect: “On the 9th I missed a very easy putt for birdie and I was already very far behind, there I felt that the tournament was slipping away from me. But Teddy always does a good job keeping me in the right mental space. Today was, once again, one of those days when I felt I was doing things right. I was playing well. I just wasn’t getting what I was looking for in that stretch of the game. I would say that Teddy, above all, was important in keeping me in the right mental space and making sure I stayed committed to what we are doing and not focusing on the results. Sometimes it’s quite frustrating to feel like you’re doing things right and not getting anything, and the rivals are moving up in the ranking and I’m getting further and further away from the lead when I feel like I’m playing well enough to be up there. So I would say that Teddy was a big part of keeping me in the right mental space and helping me to be patient out there. Teddy did a good job helping me keep calm and also did a good job reading the greens, and we were able to ‘heat up’ in the last nine today and move up in the ranking”.
The key moment of his round: “There was a moment when I saw that Jon had reached -20 and I started to think about something else, about making birdies and seeing how far I could go, maybe fight for a medal, but not so much for the win. Jon is a great competitor and the course was not the most difficult it can be played. I didn’t see many scoreboards because they weren’t easy to follow, but at one point I noticed that Jon was in trouble on the 13th or 14th and that Fleetwood didn’t make a birdie on the 14th, that’s when I made a birdie on the 17th and it was very important”.
The most important shots: “The par putt on the 13th, after being very aggressive with the wedge, I almost came out with a bogey, it would have been very hard, and the shot on the 15th. I saw the ranking and knew I had to do something special and the shot came out very well”.
His legacy as a golfer: “I really don’t think much about that, about my legacy as a golfer. It’s not something that comes to mind. I love being here competing. It’s one of my favourite things in the world and it’s a great joy in my life. I’m proud to be here playing. As for my legacy, I don’t think too much about it. This is part of my life and it’s something I work very hard at. I’m proud to be sitting here with a gold medal”.
