Scottie Scheffler, the top-ranked Masters champion, isn’t feeling any different in his first major start as a major winner, simply eager to continue his hot streak at the PGA Championship.
When the duel at Southern Hills begins on Thursday, the 25-year-old American will be matched among two other reigning major champions.
In a classic PGA feature threesome, Scheffler will play the first two rounds alongside reigning US Open champion Jon Rahm and last year’s British Open winner Collin Morikawa.
“I don’t feel any different,” Scheffler said. “When I show up to tournaments, it’s a little bit different. There are more people hollering at me when I’m playing a practice round. But I kind of stay in my own little bubble.
“I want to win this tournament as bad as any other one. For me not many changes.”
However, a lot has changed in his golf career. Scheffler was still looking for his first PGA Tour victory when the year began.
He won his first PGA title at the Phoenix Open in February, his second at Bay Hill in March, and his third at the WGC Match Play in April before winning the green jacket at Augusta National and becoming the world number one.
But, as Scheffler points out, the green jacket sits in his closet at home this week, and while the top spot is “a fantastic honour,” it won’t earn him a stroke on the PGA Tour.
“I don’t get any extra shots this week,” he said. “It’s nice to have the ranking, but at the end of the day when I show up at a tournament, I don’t have any advantages over the field.”
Scheffler will try to become the first golfer since Jack Nicklaus to win the Masters and PGA Championship in the same year.
“My game feels like it’s in a good spot,” Scheffler said. “I’ve been on a pretty good run here recently.
“You’ve got to have really faith in all aspects of your game. You can’t really be protecting against anything because you’ve got to put it all on display.”
That said, he hasn’t pondered a “Scheffler Slam” or even a major beyond this week.
“I haven’t thought about that,” he said. “Looking at the British Open or the next tournament is not going to help me play good here.
“I don’t really get too high or low. Living in the moment is usually what works best for me. Staying in my own lane and doing my own thing.”
That said, Scheffler doesn’t know how he will feel during the event, but he says he has his usual sense of hunger to win this week despite his recent glut of success.
“We’ll see how it feels during the round,” Scheffler said. “It took me a while to win the first one and I guess I’ve been on a stretch now.
“But being in contention and winning golf tournaments is the most fun. The more nerves you feel, that’s the more fun stuff for me.”
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