Scottie Scheffler explains his PGA Championship football spike: 'I didn't score much'

USA Today

22-05-2025

Scottie Scheffler explains his PGA Championship football spike: 'I didn't score much'
FORT WORTH, Texas — Since he keeps most of his emotions under wraps, those few moments when Scottie Scheffler lets loose seem almost unsettling, as if there was something under the surface that the Texan has finally unleashed.
But even though he slammed his hat to the turf after winning the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, Scheffler insisted on Wednesday there was no dramatic backstory, and that it was simply a spur-of-the-moment decision, something that hit him when he realized he'd captured his third major title.
In fact, during the lead-up to this week's Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club, Scheffler let out a little laugh when asked about the gesture.
"When I played football, I didn't score very many touchdowns, so I wasn't too experienced in that," he joked. "I don't really have much to say on that. I think I just kind of let my emotions out a little bit, and I guess that's where my brain decided it wanted to go at the time. I really have absolutely no explanation for it at all."
For Scheffler, who joined elite company in Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players in the modern era to win 15 times — including three majors — all before the age of 29, life never seems to come to a screeching halt, but instead the Dallas-area native seems to simply hit a gear and stay in it.
He's rarely too high and rarely too low, even after an injury threw a wrench in his early-season plans. But chatting with Scheffler days after winning the PGA Championship is similar to talking with him when he posted just a single top-5 showing in his first five tournaments. For the record, he's had four top-5 finishes since then.
"Every tournament, I try to treat differently. Coming off a major win, obviously there's a lot of emotion and stuff that comes with winning that golf tournament, but at the end of the day I didn't just show up here to Fort Worth to just walk around and celebrate last week," he said. "I'm here for a reason, and that's not to just play a couple of ceremonious rounds and then ride off in the sunset. I'm here for a reason. That's to compete.
My prep work for this tournament will obviously be a bit different than it normally is for an event. I didn't really do much yesterday or the day before. Yesterday I went to the gym and kind of got back doing that stuff a little bit, but this is my first time on the course. Today I'm just playing nine holes and getting out of here. I'm not doing my normal practice routine just because I need to focus more on rest than I do getting prepared for the course. Fortunately, this is a golf course that I've been around numerous times. Today I've got a good feel for the speed of the green, hit a couple of bunker shots, hit some chips out of the rough. Outside of that I need to give my brain and body a rest to prepare for another event."
In the past, Scheffler has avoided playing the week before majors if possible, a trend that he continued this season, and he's been quick to play in both the Byron Nelson and Schwab events, since the two are within driving distance of his home. Since he won the CJ Cup at TPC Craig Ranch in nearby McKinney just three weeks ago, then took off the signature Truist Championship, he's working on victories in consecutive starts for the fourth time in his career.
If he wins at Colonial, a place where he's finished in the top-3 in each of the past three seasons, it would make him the first Tour player to roll off three wins in as many starts since Dustin Johnson turned that trick in 2017 with wins at the Genesis, WGC-Mexico and WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play
For now, Scheffler is just happy to be enjoying the comforts of home. And some longevity — Thursday's opening round will be his 500th on the PGA Tour.
"I think any time I can sleep in my own bed and play a golf tournament, it's a nice thing," he said. "It's nice to be able to be here at home. We always get great support here in the Metroplex, and it's always fun coming back here to play Colonial.
"I love the golf course here. I think it's a great test. That's also one of the big reasons I try to come to this event each year is just for the golf course. Overall, it's great to be back in the Metroplex. Like I said, we get great support. So it's a lot of fun to play in front of a home crowd."