Scottie Scheffler does not play the victim or make excuses. Everyone wonders what would have happened if he had not suffered the police incident on Friday that ended with him in jail. It’s not a joke to think that he would have been fighting for the win. However, Scheffler does not even allow himself to have that thought. He simply confirms, as expected, that his week has not been exactly normal, but he is not even willing to admit that the bad round on Saturday is a consequence of his arrest.
“Look, if I had to define the week with one word, I would say it was hectic. I’m very tired, much more than after finishing other tournaments, but proud of how we fought this Sunday. Saturday was obviously a quite frustrating day, but I would attribute it mainly to a bad day. When you come here to compete, you do what you can to achieve the best result and I was not able. Did I feel like myself? Of course not. Was my warm-up as usual and the distractions as usual? Of course not. But I’m not going to sit here and say that’s why I went out and played a bad round of golf”, he clarifies emphatically.
In that sense, he remembers that on Friday he was able to make a very good round despite everything that had happened. “I was arrested in the morning, I showed up here and also played a good round of golf. I would say that I have improved a lot throughout my career by leaving distractions off the field at home and maintaining a fairly quiet personal life. Obviously, this week has not been the case. But I’m not going to say that I played badly on Saturday because of what happened on Friday. Simply, I had a bad day on the field and I’m proud of how I came out and recovered on Sunday”, he explains.
Scheffler admits that until Saturday he was not aware of everything that had happened. Friday went by very quickly, but when time finally stopped on Friday night and Saturday morning, he realized what had happened. “On Friday I didn’t even eat. I came here, had a couple of eggs and a piece of bacon for breakfast and went out to play. Then, we were sitting at home in the evening and I realized it was almost nine o’clock at night and I hadn’t eaten anything all day. For someone who eats a lot, it was a strange feeling, so obviously my body was a bit upset by what had happened in the morning. But, I insist, I did everything I could to forget it and come here to compete and do what I love”.
The world Number One admits that he almost fell asleep signing the card this Sunday. “I put my head on the table at the card collection and I think I fell asleep. Right now that’s all I want, sleep. I want to get home as quickly as possible and rest. I’m ready to go home and proud of the strength I’ve shown. I love to compete, I love trying to get the most out of my game. I usually try to keep life off the field as quiet as possible, but this week obviously it has not been like that, it has been a bit different in that sense. I’m proud of the way Teddy and I have competed this week and we’ve been able to get to a decent finish”.
In principle, Scheffler is set to play the Charles Schwab Challenge next week. It is still his goal, although he knows that his plans can change. “I want to play in Colonial, but I don’t know what they are going to tell me”, he assures. The Number One refers to the open case with justice after his incident with the Louisville police officer. In principle, he was supposed to testify next Tuesday, which would complicate his presence in Colonial, although there are legal sources in the United States that assure that he may not have to appear and the presence of his lawyers is enough.
Finally, Scheffler thanked the support of the fans and the rest of the caddies and golfers. “The fans have cheered me on a lot and I have also received a lot of support from the players and the caddies. Many people have shown me their support, many players have told me how much they love me and things like that, and as I have said, I am very grateful to have the community we have here and the support of the people inside the ropes”.
