How Scottie Scheffler became first golfer to repeat at The Players | Golf Today | Golf Channel

Brad Faxon joins the show to talk about how Scottie Scheffler’s low-key approach helped him become the first golfer to repeat at The Players Championship, Scheffler’s improved putting stroke and more. #GolfChannel #GolfToday #ScottieScheffler
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How Scottie Scheffler became first golfer to repeat at The Players | Golf Today | Golf Channel
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THIS WEEK WON. THAT’S WHAT YOU WANT IN A GOLF TOURNAMENT. WE HAD OUR CHANCES AND HE JUST PERFORMED — HE OUTEXECUTED TWO OR THREE MORE TIMES THAN THE REST OF US. >> WE JUST HEARD FROM SCOTTIE’S PEERS. LET’S WELCOME IN OUR COLLEAGUE

WITH NBC GOLF, BRAD FAXON JOINING US. WE HAD NEVER SEEN A BACK-TO-BACK WINNER AT THE PLAYERS, 49 YEARS. WHY WAS SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER THE ONE TO BREAK THROUGH? >> IT IS INTERESTING TO ME IN THE INTERVIEWS, I THINK HE MAY HAVE BEEN THE FIRST ONE OR THE

LAST ONE TO HEAR THAT HE WAS A BACK-TO-BACK WINNER. I DON’T THINK HE PAYS MUCH ATTENTION TO WHAT IS AROUND HIM. AND TO HIS BENEFIT AND TO HIS CREDIT. I DON’T THINK HE’S A REAL HISTORY BUFF FOR THE GAME. I THINK HE TRIES TO STAY AWAY,

WE KNOW HE STAYS AWAY FROM SOCIAL MEDIA. BUT JUST THE FACT THAT HE’S NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO NOISE I THINK IS A BIG PLUS FOR HIS GAME. AND WHAT WE HAVE SEEN WITH SCOTTIE LAST WEEK, AT THE PLAYERS, THE WEEK BEFORE AT API,

WHEN HE COMBINES HIS TEE TO GREEN, WHICH HAS BEEN OUTSTANDING FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW, WITH EXTRAORDINARY PUTTING, HE’S GOING TO BE A FORCE FOR A LONG, LONG TIME. >> BRAD, WERE YOU SURPRISED THAT THE PUTTING STROKE THAT HE JUST DEVELOPED WITH PHIL KENYAN HELD

UP AS WELL AS IT DID UNDER PRESSURE? I KNOW YOU PAY A LOT OF ATTENTION TO EXACTLY WHAT GUYS ARE WORKING ON, ON THE GREENS. WHAT EXACTLY HAS SCOTTIE SHE HAVE CSCHEFFLER CHANGED TO GET FROM WHERE HE WAS TO WHERE HE IS?

>> HE HAS GONE THROUGH A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT PUTTERS FROM THE BLADE, SCOTTIE CAMERON HE USED, AND THEN ANOTHER DIFFERENT BLADE, DIFFERENT COMPANY, AND THEN TO THIS MALLET. SOME KIND OF VERSION WITH A SPIDER WITH A DIFFERENT NET. HE TALKED ABOUT HOW HE TOOK THE

LINE OFF THE BALL. BUT I THOUGHT THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE TO ME, WHEN I WAS WATCHING HIM THE LAST FEW WEEKS, THE EXTRA HALF AN INCH SEEMED TO ME TO RAISE HIM UP JUST A LITTLE BIT WHERE HIS ARMS GOT A LITTLE STRAIGHTER. HE WAS MORE UPRIGHT, AND TO ME

THAT LOOKED LIKE A BETTER BALANCE IN HIS POSTURE WHERE IT LOOKED TO ME BEFORE THE PREVIOUS WEEKS IF YOU HAD NUDGED HIM FROM THE BACK SIDE AND PUSHED HIM OVER, HE MIGHT HAVE FALLEN OVER ON HIS TOES. AND THAT MIGHT NOT SEEM THAT BIG

A DEAL, BUT WHEN YOU GET INTO THE BATTLE, INTO THE HEAT, YOU KNOW, YOU’RE IN YOUR FOURTH DAY IN A ROW OF PLAYING AND THERE MIGHT BE SOME KIND OF A PHYSICAL TOLL ON A PERSON FOR THAT LONG, I THINK THE POSTURE CAN BE A BIG

PART OF IT. AND HIS STROKE LOOKED ABSOLUTELY FLAW FLAWLESS. I MADE A CALL YESTERDAY ON THE 13th HOLE, AS HE WAS GOING TO KNOCK IN A, I DON’T KNOW, FOUR OR FIVE FOOTER, I’M SORRY, IT WASN’T — IT WAS THE 11th HOLE,

I KNEW HE WOULD MAKE THIS PUTT BEFORE HE HIT IT, IT WAS A PUTT FROM THAT DISTANCE, FOUR FEET, ON 11, I KNEW HE WAS GOING TO MAKE IT BEFORE HE HIT IT AND I THINK HE HAD THE SAME FEELING. THE GIANT TRANSFORMATION THAT

THAT WAS STARTING TO PAY OFF. >> WE’RE HAVING A LITTLE DEJA VU WITH SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER. LAST YEAR AT THIS POINT, NOW IN THE SAME SPOT, WE HAVE SEEN SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER PUT TOGETHER A MAGICAL SEASON, JUST TWO YEARS AGO IN 2022, WHEN HE HIT FOUR WINS AND A MAJOR.

WHAT WOULD HE NEED TO DO THIS YEAR IN THE MODERN ERA FOR YOU TO CALL IT A TRULY DOMINANT SEASON? >> HE’S BEEN THE DOMINANT PLAYER THE LAST THREE SEASONS NOW. AND WHAT IS REMARKABLE TO ME IS THE PLAYERS WERE SO, YOU KNOW,

ENVIOUS OR IMPRESSED BY THE FACT THAT EVEN THOUGH HE WASN’T PUTTING WELL, STATISTICS WERE POOR, DURING THIS GREAT STRETCH, AND MAYBE SPORADIC, BUT NOW THAT HE’S COMBINED SOME SUPERB PUTTING WITH HIS BALL STRIKING, THAT’S TIGER-ESQUE, I DON’T SEE HOW YOU REALLY STOP THIS GUY.

I DON’T THINK HE GOES HOME AND REALLY THINKS TOO MUCH ABOUT THE FACT THAT HE’S JUST WON TWO TOURNAMENTS OR TAKEN A MORE COMMANDING LEAD ON NUMBER ONE PLAYER ON THE WORD. I THINK HE GOES ABOUT DAY TO DAY , LIKE HE SAID, IF HE HADN’T WON

AT THE API, IT WOULDN’T HAVE CHANGED HIS MONDAY. JUST THE AMOUNT OF TEXTS HE MIGHT GET ON HIS PHONE. I DON’T THINK A LOT OF PLAYERS IN THE GAME TODAY CAN SAY THE SAME THING. >> WE HAVEN’T SEEN SCOTTIE’S BEST GOLF IN MAY, JUNE AND JULY.

COMPARED TO THE DOMINANT SCOTTIE WE SEE FEBRUARY, MARCH AND APRIL. WHY DO YOU THINK THAT’S BEEN THE CASE? >> I THINK THAT’S A GOOD POINT. I WOULD SAY THAT FOR A LOT OF GOLFERS, PGA TOUR PLAYERS, WHEN YOU WIN, PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU

WIN EARLY IN YOUR CAREER, A LOT OF TIMES THAT CAN BE AN OBSTACLE GOING FORWARD, YOUR EXPECTATIONS GET HIGH, YOU BETGET PULLED IN LOT OF DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, SCOTTIE DOESN’T SEEM TO HAVE THAT IN HIS LIFE. IT IS KIND OF MYSTERIOUS WHY HE

HASN’T PLAYED UP TO HIS SAME LEVEL AFTER APRIL. BUT I REMEMBER ASKING JACK NICKLAUS ONCE, I NEEDED TO — I WAS PLAYING IN THE MASTERS AFTER WINNING IN NEW ORLEANS AND I MISSED A CUT AND I SAID, JACK, I NEED TO PLAY BETTER AFTER WINNING A TOURNAMENT.

HE SAID JOIN THE CLUB. I SAID JOIN THE CLUB, YOU WON 82 TIMES SO MANY CHANCES. HE SAID DEFENDING A CHAMPIONSHIP IS HARD. YOU GET ALL THIS ATTENTION TAKEN AWAY AND I JUST THINK THIS IS ONE OF THOSE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR SCOTTIE WHERE THERE IS NO WAY

GOING FORWARD I SEE HIM NOT PLAYING WELL AFTER THE MONTH OF APRIL, AFTER THE MASTERS, WHERE HE WOULDN’T CONTEND EVERY WEEK HE PLAYED. >> WE HAVE A DOMINANT NUMBER ONE. WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF NUMBER TWO, RORY McILROY, RIGHT NOW.

HE WON EARLIER IN THE YEAR TO START A SEASON IN DUBAI. THIS WAS HIS FIRST TOP 20 F FINISH. DOES THIS SEEM SLOPPY TO YOU RIGHT NOW? >> IT JUST SHOWS THE FICKLENESS OF THIS GAME IN A WAY BECAUSE WHEN HE PLAYED AT THE COGNIZANT

DOWN HERE AT THE PGA NATIONAL, TOUGH DRIVING COURSE, AND THEN AT BAY HILL, HE WAS NUMBER ONE OFF THE TEE. HE FOUND SOMETHING WITH THAT LOWER TEE HEIGHT, AND IT SEEMED LIKE HE WAS DRIVING IT JUST AS FAR AND HITTING IT FAIRLY STRAIGHT.

AND THEN LOST A LITTLE BIT OF HIS IRON GAME AT BAY HILL, AND CAME TO THE PLAYERS AS A GUY THAT, HEY, YOU HAVE TO WATCH OUT FOR HIM, HE’S MAKING SOME BIRDIES, PUTTED ESPECIALLY THE LAST FEW DAYS AT BAY HILL, AND

AS THE IRONS GOT A LITTLE BIT BETTER, AS HE WORKED VERY HARD EARLY IN THE WEEK, REALLY ON HIS OWN WITH HARRY AND HIS OWN TRACKMAN, THE DRIVER WENT ARWRY AND WHEN YOU’RE OFF AT TPC SAWGRASS, A LOT OF THINGS CAN GO FUNNY AND CAN AFFECT YOUR

CONFIDENCE. EVEN FOR THE BEST PLAYERS IN THE WORLD, SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPENS. AND I KNOW IT IS BOTHERING RORY. HE WANTS TO FIGURE THIS OUT SO THAT HE CAN MAKE THIS GREAT RUN UP TO THE MASTERS LIKE HE’S PLANNING. HE’S GOT, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF

WEEKS OFF TO WORK ON HIS GAME, HIS SWING, HE’LL PLAY THE VALERO OPEN BEFORE THE MASTERS. A NEW STRATEGY THAT I THINK IS A GOOD STRATEGY FOR RORY. >> I GUESS BEING OFF JUST A LITTLE BIT WASN’T NECESSARILY UNIQUE TO RORY McILROY AT THE PLAYERS.

YOU CAN SAY THAT FOR WYNDHAM CLARK FOR A GOOD CHUNK OF THE FINAL ROUND, MISSES THE SHORT EAGLE PUTT ON THE SECOND, SECOND SHORT PAR PUTT MISS ON THE 10th. WHAT DID HE SHOW YOU THE LAST THREE HOLES COMING UP JUST SHORT IN DEFEAT? >> SOME INCREDIBLE GOLF.

I HAVE TO SAY, FINALLY, NBC GOT A VERY COMPELLING TOURNAMENT OR CHAMPIONSHIP TO WATCH DOWN THE STRETCH. IN THE LAST FIVE EVENTS WE HAVE DONE. AND SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER KNEW HE HAD TO SHOOT A VERY LOW SCORE TO CATCH THOSE GUYS. BRANDEL DID A BEAUTIFUL PIECE ON

LIVE FROM ABOUT HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO HOLD THE LEAD THERE AT TPC SAWGRASS. AND BOTH SCHAUFFELE HAD A LOT TO PROVE. HADN’T WON IN A COUPLE OF YEARS. NEEDS A BIG TITLE LIKE THIS. WHAT I REALLY CALL THE FIFTH MAJOR. I HEARD THAT PHRASE THROWN AROUND A LOT.

I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GOOD NAME FOR THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP, THE FIFTH MAJOR, BECAUSE OF THE STRENGTH OF THE FIELD AND THE GOLF TOURNAMENT BEING THE SAME WEEK EVERY YEAR. IN MARCH. WYNDHAM CLARK STRUGGLED WITH HIS PUTTER. SCHAUFFELE STRUGGLED WITH HIS PUTTER.

BOTH NOT BEING AS POSITIVE WITH THE PUTTER AND THE SPEED THAT THEY WERE HITTING PUTTS, AND DOWN AT THE VERY END, WHEN THEY WERE FINALLY HAVING TO CHASE THE LEAD, RATHER THAN HOLD ON TO THE LEAD, IT SEEMED LIKE THEY WERE — THEIR MINDSET CHANGED A

LITTLE BIT. BOTH HIT INCREDIBLE IRON SHOTS INTO THE PAR 5 16. BOTH LEFT THOSE PUTTS SHORT. BOTH FIRED IT CLOSELY. TWO BEST SHOTS OF THE TWOSOME WE SAW ALL DAY AT THE 17th, THE HARDEST HOLE ON THE COURSE ON SUNDAY. AND A GOOD PUTT THERE. IT WAS INCREDIBLE TO WATCH.

I THINK SCHAUFFELE HIT A PRETTY GOOD TEE SHOT THAT RAN THROUGH THE FAIRWAY AT 18, SURPRISE WITH THE ADRENALINE. AND THAT POOR LIP-OUT FOR CLARK WAS HARD TO DEAL WITH. HE DID EVERYTHING HE NEEDED TO DO ON 18 TO GIVE IT A CHANCE. FOR SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER SITTING ON

THAT PRACTICE RANGE, DODGING THREE BULLETS IN A ROW, HARMAN HAVING A CHANCE AS WELL, WAS VERY, VERY DRAMATIC. >> A COMPELLING FINISH ON SUNDAY. STILL SOME COMPELLING VIEWS ON MONDAY, WE LEARNED THAT PGA TOUR PLAYER DIRECTORS ARE IN THE BAHAMAS WITH JOHN HENRY WHO YOU

KNOW FROM THE FENWAY SPORTS GROUP AND POTENTIALLY REPRESENTATIVES OF THE SAUDI ARABIAN PUBLIC INVESTMENT FUND. DO YOU SENSE THERE IS A LOT OF INTEREST OR TREPIDATION AMONG THE RANK AND FILE MEMBERS WHAT THE MIGHT COME OUT OF THIS MEETING FOR BETTER OR WORSE IN

THEIR MIND? >> YEAH, I’M SURE, DEPENDING WHAT SIDE OF THE FENCE YOU’RE ON. I LISTENED TO RORY’S COMMENTS IN HIS PRESSER LAST NIGHT, TALKING ABOUT THE COMPLEXITIES OF ALL THIS. SSG, JOHN HENRY GOING DOWN THERE, PROBABLY WITH A FEW MEMBERS OF HIS TEAM, ARE TRYING

TO CONVINCE LIV, PIF, ALL THOSE GUYS, HOW DO WE GET THIS TOGETHER AT A FASTER RATE? I KNOW THERE IS CONTRACTS WITH THE LIV PLAYERS GOING OUT TO 2029 OR ’30. AND I THINK THERE IS PLAYERS YOU SAW PROBABLY HEARD LUCAS GLOVER’S COMMENTS ABOUT HOW HE

DOESN’T LIKE THE SMALLER, STRONGER FIELDS. FROM A SPECTATOR’S POINT OF VIEW OR BROADCASTER’S POINT OF VIEW, WATCHING THESE SIGNATURE EVENTS WITH BIGGER NAMES IS KIND OF FUN TO CALL AND FUN TO WATCH, BUT THERE HAS TO BE A PATHWAY FORWARD FOR PLAYERS OUT OF THAT

TOP 70 AND I KNOW THERE ARE WITH THE AON, DIFFERENT WAYS TO GET ON THERE AND PLAYING WELL IN THE NONSIGNATURE EVENTS. THERE IS JUST A LOT THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE AND NEEDS TO BE DONE QUICKLY AND I THINK THE TWO BIGGEST ISSUES ARE THE PLAYERS

THAT STAYED WITH THE PGA TOUR, PARTICULARLY THE POLICY BOARD MEMBERS, LIKE PATRICK CANTLAY AND JORDAN SPIETH, IF LIV PLAYERS ARE ALLOWED BACK TO PLAY ON THE PGA TOUR, IS THERE GOING TO BE A COST TO THAT? HOW IS THAT GOING TO BE MANAGED?

I THINK THAT’S A HUGE ISSUE GOING FORWARD. NEVER MIND ALL THE GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS WITH THE S.E.C. THAT THE PGA TOUR HAS TO DEAL WITH. >> DEFINITELY SOMETHING TO TRACK IN THE FUTURE AS FAR AS WHAT THE UNWIND PROCESS WOULD LOOK LIKE GOING FORWARD. RORY, I HAD SOME ADDITIONAL

COMMENTS, HE FELT THAT GREG NORMAN AND LIV DID A DISSERVICE TO WHAT THE PUBLIC INVESTMENT FUND’S TRUE AIMS ARE WHEN IT COMES TO THE GAME OF GOLF, LONGER TERM. CAN YOU REALLY SEPARATE THOSE TWO WHEN IT COMES TO THESE NEGOTIATIONS?

>> I THINK THAT’S WHY WE ALL LOVE TO LISTEN TO RORY McILROY, EVERY TIME HE GETS A MICROPHONE IN FRONT OF HIM, HE SAYS SOMETHING. AND THERE WAS A HUGE PAUSE BEFORE HE SAID WHAT YOU JUST SAID TO ME, ABOUT THE SELECTION

OF GREG NORMAN FOR THEIR CEO, HE WAS ALWAYS A DIVISIVE PLAYER ON THE PGA TOUR, PARTICULARLY AFTER HIS TRY BACK IN 194 TO CREATE A WORLD TOURBACK THEN WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF THE PGA TOUR OR ARNOLD PALMER OR JACK NICKLAUS. SO, RORY’S PROBABLY CORRECT IN THAT.

I KNOW THAT ALL THE PLAYERS ARE ON THE LIV TOUR WOULD BE SITTING WATCHING THAT PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP GOING, WHY CAN I NOT PLAY IN THAT? AND I THINK THEY’RE MISSING WHAT THE BRAND, THE PGA TOUR BRINGS WORLDWIDE, IN THE BEST COMPETITIONS IN THE WORLD AT

SOME OF THE MOST MEMORABLE GOLF COURSES. >> ON THAT POINT, BRAD, THERE WAS SOME SENTIMENT EARLIER IN THE WEEK THAT THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP WAS DIMINISHED BECAUSE JON RAHM ISN’T THERE OR BROOKS KOEPKA ISN’T THERE, THE KIND OF GUYS WHO ARE SERIOUS TOP

STARS WHO CAN PLAY IN MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS AND CAN’T PLAY IN THE PGA TOUR EVENT. DO YOU SUBSCRIBE TO THAT IDEA THAT THE TOURNAMENT WAS IN ANY WAY WORSE OFF FOR THEIR ABSENCE? >> I DON’T THINK PEOPLE ARE NOT TURNING ON THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP BECAUSE JON RAHM

ISN’T THERE OR BROOKS S KOEPKA ISN’T THERE. IT IS NOT AS STRONG OF A FIELD. I COUNTED NINE OF THE TOP 50 PLAYERS IN THE WORLD, MAYBE 60, THAT ARE WITH LIV WEREN’T IN THAT FIELD THAT COULD HAVE BEEN HAD THEY CHOSEN TO STAY WITH THE PGA TOUR.

AND THEIR ARGUMENT WOULD BE THE OPPOSITE. IF THE TOUR WAS COOPERATIVE AND LET THEM PLAY. BUT I’M SURE THOSE PLAYERS ON THE LIV TOUR KNOW THEIR NO