Scottie Scheffler knows this players championship is unreachable. Even after a bogey-free five-under 67, the world No. 1 is a long way off TPC Sawgrass be a factor come Sunday.
“Not unless it starts blowing like 30 miles an hour,” Scheffler said with a laugh when asked if he might still have a chance to win his third baseman.
Scheffler it hasn’t been this week itself. At least, he hasn’t been the ruthless world beater who has mastered golf for the past few years. He has struggled with the driver, although he was better on Saturday. His normally pristine approach game has continued to decline, taking him from historically lethal to fair really good. The pitcher has been hot and cold and his normally sharp short game has left something to be desired.
After a sloppy first round that saw Scheffler struggle with the right loss, the world No.1 went straight to work on the TPC Sawgrass range and hit balls for hours in the rain. Scheffler will tell you he wasn’t “looking” for anything. A search implies that something is “missing,” and it’s not Scheffler. He is working, grinding. But looking? No.
It would be easy to see this week for Scheffler, where he still sits outside the top 20 and has spent an inordinate amount of time on the rough and wooded areas of TPC Sawgrass, as a lost week. Scheffler has won this tournament twice. He is a four-time major champion who has been omnipresent on the leaderboards even as he brings his C-game. He is at the point in his career where his results are seen as binary: win or lose. It’s an unusual sight to see the normally inquisitive Scheffler struggling to get the ball to go where he wants it while not being a factor in championship proceedings.
But here one of the main reasons for his greatness is illuminated.
Before the tournament, Scheffler was asked how he manages his expectations. The wins have come in a flood over the past few years. He has won on all kinds of courses, in all kinds of ways. Mishaps have been minimal, but he made it players championship having went T12-T24 in his last two starts. Expectations, especially internal ones, can be an anchor if they become large. They can consume you if you let them.
But Scheffler, amid mild irritation at the suggestion that his play has not been up to his standard, explained that he watches everything, all thesethrough a different lens. There are expectations, yes, but they are not tournament specific. Results are important, but Scheffler is focused on the micro, on controlling everything he can. This is the foundation of what he has built.
“I think that’s a funny question because if you go back to my season, what did I finish last week? Like 24th or something — 24th and 12th, and like 3rd and 4th and a win. Would your question be the same if I came from third, fourth, win?” Scheffler said Tuesday at TPC Sawgrass. “So that’s my point. It’s like your expectations for me are living up to it week after week. My expectations for myself are almost more beat up.
“When it comes to my golf game and my expectations for myself, all of my expectations are based on what I want for myself mentally on the golf course to commit to what I can do and control that aspect.”
For Scheffler, greatness is a new result of this process. This process is rooted in a feeling. That’s why it comes down to the artistic side of golf’s artist-scientist debate. He will look at statistics and numbers, but he will only pay attention if they match what he feels. He trusts his instinct more than data. Range sessions aren’t so much about fixing a problem as they are about easily recalibrating things, so Scheffler has IT. This leads to control, which manifests itself in results.
“My gut is what I trust the most,” Scheffler said. “So like there’s been certain times in my career where I might have had a really good round, and I’ll walk off the golf course and (coach Randy Smith) will go, ‘Great job, that was great.’ And I’ll be like, We’ve got to go to the range. Like, this isn’t going to work for another two days.”
Of course, part of Scheffler’s process is the need to focus on the feeling—on each swing—rather than accepting some larger, looming issue so it doesn’t keep popping up. He tells himself that he is not asking for anything, because admitting that he is “lost” can lead to a downward spiral that may be more difficult to resolve. Part of the generational athlete’s gig is to have unwavering self-belief even when evidence suggests otherwise—to believe that you can control everything and, in doing so, shape reality to your will.
That unique piece of greatness is on display this week at TPC Sawgrass as Scheffler marches toward the end of what many may see as a lost week in the zero-sum game of elite professional golf. But for Scheffler, there can be no wasted swings. You can get something out of everything, win or lose, and it can pay off later.
This week is no different.
“I think with the way I hit the first two days, to have the attitude that I did and the fight that I did, I think — when I look at the tournaments, I’m not thinking about winning, I’m thinking about approaching things the right way,” Scheffler said Saturday. “I did my best to stay committed and I did a good job, I think, of keeping the right attitude and keeping my head straight so I could make some rounds that were tough. … So overall I think I’ve been in a good place with how my attitude and commitment has been to my shots. So that’s it, for me it’s been a good week.”
Scheffler also has a walk around TPC Sawgrass. The trophy he has lifted twice won’t be waiting for him when it’s over. Not this time. Scheffler’s player championship has been disconcerting at times for those of us accustomed to his unyielding grandeur.
But for him, it was a successful week in his process – one defined by feeling rather than a four-day total. One that allows him to determine whether or not he is where he needs to be.
