Scottie Scheffler has had a ridiculous season. He won at Augusta National, TPC Sawgrass, and East Lake. He also stormed from behind to win the Gold Medal in Paris, posting a final-round 62 that will live on in Olympic lore forever.
He won over $62 million this season alone. But the most absurd moment of his 2024 PGA Tour season came on Friday morning, May 17, when Louisville Police arrested Scheffler just hours before his second round of the PGA Championship. Scheffler went on to shoot a 6-under 66 that day.
He and his wife, Meredith, also had a child, Bennett, who entered the world on May 8. It’s been a whirlwind for the World No. 1, as he has drawn comparisons to Tiger Woods while receiving recognition for having one of the best seasons ever. No doubt he has. So, on the eve of the Presidents Cup, Scheffler described this crazy season in a way that only he can.
“I feel like sometimes I’m almost living in a simulation out here,” Scheffler said.
“I still feel like a kid sometimes because I play golf. I don’t have a real job that I go to. I get to play golf for a living. I married the girl I dated in high school, and we have a kid now, which is probably even more surreal. We still have the same friends we did five to ten years ago. Life for us at home hasn’t changed a bit. It’s just out here, things are a bit different.”
A simulation.
At numerous points this season, it has felt like the tour simulated its biggest events, such as the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the RBC Heritage, where the best player emerged with the trophy at the end. You can say the same thing about the Tour Championship, where Scheffler obliterated East Lake to win the FedEx Cup and the $25 million that came with it. The Travelers Championship also felt similar—it seemed inevitable that Scheffler would win in Connecticut.
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Yet, Scheffler realizes that seven wins in a season—eight if you count the gold medal—rarely comes, if ever, let alone in a sport with so many variables, unlucky breaks, and possibilities.
“Sometimes the breaks go your way in this game, and sometimes they don’t. You know, Rory’s had some close calls. He had a playoff last week, and a guy eagles the final hole to beat him, and that’s a tough deal. He didn’t lose, he got beat. So that can happen,” Scheffler said.
“Sometimes, the breaks fall your way, like Tom Kim and I in the playoff at Travelers. He birdied 18 to get into the playoff, but then he made a bogey on the playoff hole. Just little things like that sometimes can help. I remember Sam Burns made a 40-footer off the fringe a couple of years ago to beat me at Colonial on a day when all the afternoon guys struggled because the winds started picking up like crazy.
“Sometimes, it’s an important putt or a little break here or there, and a lot of times this year, I felt like I made the putts when I really needed to. I made that 5-footer on 18 in Paris and made a bunch of putts on that back nine. I made a putt to win the Memorial on the last hole. And back nine at the Masters, final round at The Players, I made a lot of putts that were not necessarily on the 18th green, but a lot of putts that were important to keep momentum in the round going. In years past, maybe those putts went in sometimes, but this year, I felt like, for the most part, I made a lot of those putts when I needed to.”
At the end of the day, every golf tournament comes down to putting. Results are determined on the greens, and Scheffler’s 2024 season reflects that. He switched to a mallet putter ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which completely changed the course of history. He rattled off a season of epic proportions afterward, one that people will talk about for decades to come.
Remember when everyone knocked Scheffler for his poor putting in January and February? Well, those days are long gone. He may not be the best putter on tour now, but he is no longer among the worst. He hits the ball so well from tee to green that he only needs to be an average putter anyway. The fact that he led the PGA Tour in over 40 statistical categories reflects that. But he also needs to make the putts when they matter most. He did that. He made so many big putts from March through August, making it seem that Scheffler simulated his way through golf tournaments, tantalizing the golfing world while etching his name further into the record books.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
