Two years in the past in Rome, Scottie Scheffler seemed nothing just like the world’s finest golfer. He walked away from the Ryder Cup and not using a single victory, posting an 0-2-2 file that included a surprising 9-and-7 defeat alongside Brooks Koepka – the biggest shedding margin in Ryder Cup foursomes historical past. For a participant who had taken down Jon Rahm in singles simply two years earlier, it was a bitter tablet to swallow.
That reminiscence hasn’t light, and Scheffler is ensuring it does not occur once more. Talking on the Procore Championship this week, he admitted the sting of 2023 nonetheless lingers. “I believe I left there with out successful a single match, and that damage,” he advised ESPN’s Paolo Uggetti.“I might have been sharper. That was a studying expertise for me.”
Scottie Scheffler reveals an enormous secret of his British Open win
This time, his preparation seems totally different. As an alternative of taking weeks off earlier than the Ryder Cup, Scheffler is staying in match mode. “It might be uncommon for me to have 4 or 5 weeks off earlier than the Masters or U.S. Open,” he mentioned. “So there is no purpose I ought to be doing that earlier than the Ryder Cup.”
A Contemporary Routine for the Recreation’s Largest Stage
The Ryder Cup has a fame for producing nerves like no different occasion in golf. Even seasoned main champions have admitted that the opening tee shot feels in contrast to anything. For Scheffler, sharpening his aggressive edge by dwell occasions is the important thing to controlling these nerves. “You possibly can apply at house, nevertheless it’s totally different whenever you’re beneath stress,” he defined.
The timing could not be extra essential. Scheffler enters Bethpage Black in blistering type, already stacking wins on the PGA Tour this season and sitting firmly atop the world rankings. Group USA is relying on him not solely to ship factors but additionally to set the tone for a roster that struggled in Rome.
It is a management function Scheffler has grown into since his Ryder Cup debut in 2021, when he knocked off Rahm in singles at Whistling Straits. If his revamped preparation pays off, the U.S. might lastly carry the Cup again throughout the Atlantic – and erase the reminiscence of that painful week in Italy.
