Surprise Scottie Scheffler reveal on PGA Tour rival he's looked up to from youth
World No.1 salutues the graft and skill of one of his closest challengers
Impressed Scottie Scheffler has revealed he looked up to Justin Thomas as an ascending pro and revels in his rival's desire.
The American duo are locked at the top of the Travelers Championship at the halfway stage alongside England's Tommy Fleetwood.
Scheffler is currently the king of the game with his World No.1 status underlined by a string of stunning recent shows including a third Major win at the PGA Championship.
Thomas missed the Quail Hollow and also at last week's US Open, but his desire to keep working and fighting have never been lost on his Ryder Cup colleague.
Scheffler said: 'Justin is a guy that I looked up to from a young age. He was a really talented junior player, talented amateur player. He had a lot early success out here on Tour.
'Justin is an extremely hard worker. I think Justin is more of a practicer than I am. I like to play a lot when I practice. With Justin, he is very, very disciplined in the way he approaches things and that's why you've seen him have success for so many years out here. He sticks to his process.
'He doesn't let things kind of get to him and I think a lot of that goes back to how hard he prepares to come out here and play. He's very, I would say, professional in the way he approaches things.'
Thomas' ability to shot-make were evident during his Friday 64 which took him to the summit of the standings along with Scheffler and Tommy Fleetwood.
The two-times Masters champ was also in control and reckons robotic golf is off the menu when the going gets tough.
Scheffler said: 'I would use robotic as maybe the word. It's not as robotic. I think when you're playing under no conditions or very light winds, I think you can hit a similar flight on every single shot and it would be fine.
"On days like today [Friday] you have to work the ball both ways. You have to hit low shots, hit high shots. You're always playing a different type of shot, especially in conditions like this.
'You've just got to control the ball, so it's controlling spin and trajectory. A lot of times you're not hitting very many full shots because when you hit a full shot the ball will spin more and then you really have to get the wind perfect each time.
"And if you're hitting a little bit more chippy shots and working the ball, you can kind of manage some of those gusts. I think having realistic expectations of what we need to do. You get a gust into the wind and all of a sudden the ball is not on the green.
"So just little stuff like that. You can't get every one correct. You just do your best to manage your way around the golf course.'
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