The fighter: Scheffler shows grit in making history

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Scottie Scheffler shattered a half-century of tradition at The Players Championship with a flawless final round to tie the largest comeback in tournament history. Not bad for a player who spent a good part of the final 54 holes “slapping it around” TPC Sawgrass.

For a player who despises drama, the 50^th Players Championship was Scheffler’s most theatrical performance. The competitor in him wanted to become the first to successfully defend a title at the PGA Tour’s flagship event. The fighter in him wanted to overcome an ailing neck that at times appeared debilitating. The husband and son who prefers the simplistic beauty of anonymity, however, could have done without the histrionics.

The week started easily enough. Following a five-shot romp at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the world No. 1 was the runaway favorite to win The Players, never mind that no one — not Tiger, not Jack, not anyone — had ever won the event in back-to-back years.

An opening 67 was perfectly on brand with unrivaled ball-striking combined with solid play on the greens — he picked up nearly a shot on the field in strokes gained: putting. But that serenity was shattered on the second hole of the second round when he “felt a little something in [his] neck.”

Scheffler spent the round receiving treatment for the ailment, which he awkwardly described as a “light strain or sprain or something like that,” and he declined to speak with the media following a second-round 69, instead opting for an immediate trip to the trainer’s table for therapy.

“When my neck pinched on me … and [then] I tried to hit like 90 yards to the pin and hit a 56-degree [wedge] on 12 the second day, and I mean, it was quite painful,” said Scheffler, who began Round 2 on the back nine. “I didn’t really know if I was going to be able to swing. Basically, looking up to see the line on my putt was pretty difficult. It was hard to hit putts because right when I turned my head to look at the hole, my brain’s sending pain signals or however that works, getting pain signals to my brain.”

Scheffler said there were physical improvements on Saturday, on his way to a 4-under 68, but his status as the clear favorite was very much in doubt and he began the final round five shots off the lead. Although Scheffler tried to downplay the injury, the painful reality was, the game’s best ball-striker was trying to keep things together with KT tape and grit.

“Once his neck locked up on 12 [on Friday], I even told my own wife, I said, ‘I don’t know if he can even finish this tournament.’ I mean it was kind of miraculous he could even get it around,” Ted Scott, Scheffler’s caddie, said. “It just shows you what tenacity, resilience, whatever fancy word you want to use, that describes Scottie Scheffler.

“Also, he’s got great hands. When you can’t move, you use these bad boys [hands], right? He did that well.”

To put Scheffler’s Sunday performance at TPC Sawgrass in context, he had to run down one of the game’s best players, Xander Schauffele, on one of the most demanding courses and against the deepest final-round leaderboard of the season without the one thing that separates him from the pack — his ball-striking.

It’s impossible to quantify how Scheffler’s injury impacted his ability to swing the golf club because, well, he’d never admit that. But the radar data was clear, with his clubhead speed across the board dropping to accommodate his ailing neck.

“I would say, ‘Normally you would hit an 8-iron but how normal do you feel?’” Scott said. “He would say, ‘I can’t get this much out of it.’”

There was nothing normal about Scheffler’s Players Championship Sunday. He started the day five shots off the lead, holed out with a wedge from 92 yards on No. 4 for eagle and made the turn at 5 under for the day.

On the eve of the final round, Scheffler acknowledged that to have a chance on Sunday he’d need a closing 62 and some help from the front-runners. It turns out he didn’t need to go 10 under, in large part because of the help from the front-runners.

Schauffele never looked comfortable and bogeyed Nos. 14 and 15 to set the stage for the year’s most dramatic finish, while Wyndham Clark struggled on the greens and Brian Harman was never able to overcome a slow start. All three could have forced a playoff with a birdie at the last hole and all made par, with Clark’s lip-out providing the ultimate theater.

Scheffler gave us so many reasons to question his status as runaway favorite, only to make history with a closing 64 that was more than seven shots better than the field average.

Scheffler posted historic ball-striking statistics last year that are rivaled only by Tiger Woods in his prime, and his Florida fortnight at Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass had a Tiger-esque feel to it — but that’s where any possible comparison to Woods falls flat.

Like many, Scheffler grew up idolizing Woods and his accomplishments, but he has no interest in comparisons as evidenced by an encounter with a fan this year in Los Angeles.

“We’re playing at [the Genesis Invitational] this year and I hit my tee ball and this guy yells out, ‘Congrats on being No. 1, Scottie, 11 more years to go.’ Eleven more years to go [to match Woods’ run as world No. 1],” Scheffler marveled. “Anytime you can be compared to Tiger I think is really special, but, I mean, the guy stands alone in our game. He really does.”

Scottie Scheffler may not be the star we expected but he’s the star we all deserve.