He had committed to playing the RBC Heritage this week, whatever happened four days earlier at the Masters, and he has kept his word. These kinds of details are, among many others, what highlight why the Number One in the world, who won his second Green Jacket of his professional career on Sunday, is admired for his great naturalness and commitment, in addition to his enormous talent in golf.
A simplicity that is reflected even in the way he celebrated his triumph at the Augusta National, revealed by some photographs in which he appeared with his team in a tavern and which he himself has explained: “Actually, I don’t usually frequent these kinds of places often. I don’t know if I had been there before. There was another one around the corner where I had been a few times and it’s a nice place, but it wasn’t open on Sunday at 1.30 in the morning and the other one was”.
“On the return flight, I was with my manager, Blake, my coach, Randy, and four of my good friends. I don’t remember who suggested it, but it seemed like a good idea. Meredith picked us up at the airport and we were there for about 20 minutes before going home. We took a few photos, had a drink and went to sleep”, explained Scottie. Without a doubt, a very ‘light’ celebration for a Masters.
The truth is that Scheffler has never celebrated his victories too much. This time was almost an exception: “I was really looking forward to winning the Masters for several reasons. I wanted to put on the Green Jacket again. I wanted to fly home with the jacket, all of us having fun. It’s a bit strange to live those moments of your life when you dream of having moments like this and suddenly they happen. So Sunday was a lot of fun having good friends, celebrating and enjoying the moment. They are people with whom we have been through a lot in the last eight or ten years, so it was very special to be all together and celebrate something big”.
Is it special to win a Masters again? For Scheffler, without a doubt: “I think so. I think whenever you are able to do it again, it’s really special. I don’t know if confirmation is the right word for the first time, but doing something like this twice is very special, so there is definitely a bit of satisfaction in achieving it”.
Now, it’s time for Scottie to rest… before getting back into action: “Sunday was a great day. I was lucky to play well and win. We arrived quite late here, I relaxed for a couple of days with Meredith and now it’s good to be back here in Hilton Head. I like this course. Although I’m trying to focus more on rest as preparation for the week. Today I’ve only played the last nine holes and tomorrow I’ll see the first nine when I go out on the course, it’s a fun round”.
Wyndham Clark and several other players have been talking these days about the gap that seems to be between Scheffler and the rest at this moment in golf. How does the Number One see it? “I really don’t spend much time thinking about that kind of thing. You know, I won the tournament last week and now we’re here and it’s Wednesday and we all start from scratch again. I think in my head everything starts over every week, so it doesn’t matter what position I’m in. The only thing that matters is where you are at the end of the week”.
“This week will be a bit harder than the last one because I think playing in the majors and, above all, winning, demands a lot from you. There are a lot of things that happen after the Masters on Sunday, and you get home very late, and emotionally I think I’m a bit exhausted. But we start at par, so I’ll go home this afternoon, rest and recover as much as possible, and tomorrow I’ll show up ready to play”, he detailed.
Returning to Augusta, Scheffler was asked about the performance of Vijay Singh and José María Olazábal, who made the cut. And the American specifically referred to the Spaniard: “Given how the course was playing, how difficult it was, the experience they both have at Augusta helped them. The fact that they are older doesn’t mean they can’t play well anymore. Tom Watson almost won an Open when he was their age, more or less”
“It’s really special when you can see how they bring out their golf. I hit balls next to José María one of the days, at the beginning of the week, and I was surprised at how solidly he was still hitting the ball. It was still ‘sounding’, and at his age it’s impressive. So it’s always there. It’s just a matter of seeing when they can take advantage of it. When the conditions on the course are like that, you can see the talent they have”, explained Scheffler.
Finally, he referred to another player, in this case very young, Ludvig Aberg, whom he was able to see for the first time at the Ryder Cup in Rome and who on Sunday made things difficult for him at the Masters for quite some time, and to his upcoming schedule: “I had heard of him, but we hadn’t played much. He did very well last summer, but we had never been paired. I think we met one night at a dinner. We ended up sitting together and I think his girlfriend and my wife were there too. He seemed like a nice guy. Then I’ve played a couple of practice rounds with him this year and he’s very nice. He has the right personality to have success here for a long time. He’s very competitive, seems to work hard, I see him in the caravan after the rounds, training… He’s doing the right thing to have a good career here. The guys coming out of college now are ready to play. It’s impressive to see them. I like to see guys like him who strive, dedicate time and do things right. Ludvig is one of them”.
Regarding the schedule, he said: “I’ll do the best I can. I’ll spend a little more time at home, preparing, and I’ll take a break when the baby comes. But then we’ll see. I don’t know what my life will be like. But until then, I’m going to play this week, then I’ll go home and just wait. We’re due at the end of the month. Golf will drop another notch on the priority list when our child arrives. My family is still the first thing, so we’ll see how we prepare”.
