Rory McIlroy has such a good relationship with Scottie Scheffler that he couldn’t resist the dig.
“Find a leader,” McIlroy told the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
This is where Scheffler made his season debut, a month late due to his decision to try to cut ravioli with a glass of wine while preparing Christmas dinner and cutting open his right hand. It took Scheffler almost three months to hit his stride, and then he was virtually unstoppable.
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This led to another observation from McIlroy. At the British Open, where Scheffler dominated another field for his second major of the year, McIlroy recalled his excellent start to the year when he won at Pebble Beach, the Players Championship and, more happily, the Masters.
“I also had three wins when Scottie wasn’t quite on his game,” he said.
It was really a tale of two seasons: McIlroy winning three times through April, Scheffler winning five times from May to August and going six months without finishing outside the top 10. They each won in September and each took home year-end honors on their side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Along the way, there have been plenty of other memories beyond the birdies, bogeys and claret jugs in the annual “Tales from the Tour.”
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Scottie doesn’t play games
Scheffler is known for his passion for racing, and it doesn’t always happen Thursday through Sunday.
Before starting his season at Pebble Beach, he took cadet Ted Scott to Cypress Point for a friendly match. It was Scheffler’s fourth day playing with a club since puncturing his right hand in the famous dumpling incident.
Scheffler gave him 10 shots and the countdown began.
Scott made his first approach from 5 feet and was feeling good about his chances, until Scheffler’s shot came back and hit his caddy’s golf ball. They both made birdies. Scheffler won the next hole and said loud enough for Scott to hear, “Nine.”
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Scheffler won the next hole with a par and said even louder, “EIGHT.” And so on.
“He was between 6 and 6 years old,” Scott said. “I gave him the $100 and said, ‘Don’t say anything else. I want to enjoy my day.'”
The moral of the story?
“Scottie doesn’t play games when he plays games,” the cadet said.
The inspiration
Stephan Jaeger recalled how players can leave an impression without even knowing it.
At the Sony Open, Thomas Rosenmüller, a PGA Tour rookie this year, was asked why he took up golf while growing up in Germany, where the sport can be secondary. He said it was because of Jaeger, who is eight years older. Both played at the Eichenried Golf Club in Munich.
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Jaeger, who was traveling three hours north to Heidelberg to watch Tiger Woods play at the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open (Woods won it twice), left to play at Tennessee-Chattanooga. He shot 58 on the Korn Ferry Tour and captured his first PGA Tour title in 2024 when he faced Scheffler at the Houston Open.
He was touched by what Rosenmüller said about him.
“I’m happy that my success inspired some guys younger than me from my home course,” Jaeger said. “It’s really hard to get here. Obviously Rosie made it through, which is awesome. It’s cool.”
The disappeared clubs
Golf can get very frustrating, and there was no better illustration than a trash can outside the RBC Heritage scoring area filled with water bottles, the wrapper of a nutrition bar and three broken golf clubs.
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The only question: who owns the clubs? Byeong-Hun An has become a suspect.
“Maybe,” he said with a smile. “A lot of guys use Titleist clubs with grayish grips.”
An opened with a 74 on a day when every bounce went wrong, every tree seemed to be in his way. He fought back only to see his tee shot go long on the par-3 17th, leading to a double bogey.
“I got a little bit of heat,” An said, pausing for a moment before adding with another smile, “but I’m glad to have another set of clubs.”
Mystery solved.
Follow the ball
Scheffler was the only PGA Tour player at Quail Hollow on Sunday before the PGA Championship, as almost everyone else was playing tournaments. It was a calm nine-hole practice and another clinic under his control.
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Looking for a line off the tee of the par-5 seventh — it was Scheffler’s first time at Quail Hollow since the 2022 Presidents Cup — his caddy pointed toward a small black electrical box beyond the bunkers. A spectator peered down the fairway, unable to see the target he was talking about.
“Just follow the ball and you’ll see the box,” Scott said.
As the drive moved down, the box was clearly visible.
End of a tradition
For more than 40 years, the British Open was the only major tournament to have someone trained to rake bunkers with each group. This was an advantage enjoyed by the caddies, and they could not understand why the British and International Golf Greenskeepers Association (BIGGA) were not invited to Royal Portrush.
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“It’s a change for us, but we think it’s a good change,” said Mark Darbon, CEO of R&A, without specifying what was good about the change.
The cadets were not informed, and apparently neither were those responsible for developing the course. A sign outside the portable toilets for players read: “For use by rules officials, players, caddies, walk scorers, scoreboard carriers and bunker rakers.” »
Speak frankly
Randy Smith, the only swing coach Scheffler has had, grew up in oil-rich West Texas and played college golf for two years at Texas Tech. When once asked if he had watched the series “Landman” on Paramount+, he replied: “No need. I lived through it.”
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Smith is known for getting to the point, and college football is no exception. On the Bethpage Black putting green during the Ryder Cup, the topic turned to the Red Raiders and their hopes after a 4-0 start. The golf coach only made one comment from experience.
“As long as oil stays above $60 a barrel, technology will be a strength,” Smith said. End of conversation.
West Texas crude is hovering between $58 and $59 per barrel at the end of the year. Texas Tech is having one of its best seasons, a No. 4 seed in the College Football Playoff with a match on Thursday against Oregon.
The repetition
Japan’s Miyu Yamashita made her first LPGA victory a big one by winning the Women’s British Open at Royal Porthcawl. She won again in Malaysia and was easily the LPGA Rookie of the Year.
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During a festive evening at the LPGA awards dinner in Naples, Fla., Yamashita sat quietly at her table. As the awards were handed out, she stared nervously at the ceiling while mouthing words. She was rehearsing her speech, it was the first time she had spoken publicly in English.
At 4 feet 11 inches, his head was barely visible above the podium. She only got stuck once, but delivered a winner. Yamashita returned to his seat with a relieved smile and an enthusiastic ovation.
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On The Fringe breaks down the biggest stories in golf throughout the season. AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
