LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Scotty Scheffler’s week of stress and adventure is almost over. It was time to go home. finally.
The No. 1-ranked player in the world stood on the 18th green under the scorching Kentucky sun, ready to hit his 271st and final stroke of the PGA Championship at Valhalla with playing partner Mark Hubbard. I was waiting for the putt out.
Scheffler stared at the large scoreboard to the right of the green as he waited to hit a 2-foot par putt on the 72nd hole of one of the longest and strangest weeks of his life.
He must have appreciated what the leaders were doing and probably wondered what happened.
What would have happened if he hadn’t been arrested early Friday morning, spent the morning in jail, and barely made it back to the golf course in time for a tee?
He might have, but in Saturday’s third round he shot a rare 2-over-par 73. This was his first over-par round of the year after 42 straight games of par or better.
What would have happened if his caddy, the emotional Ted Scott, had not missed Saturday’s round to attend his daughter’s high school graduation?
Most importantly, what would have happened if tournament staff member John Mills, 69, had not been struck and killed by a bus outside the entrance to Valhalla on Friday morning?
All of this has weighed heavily on Scheffler’s shoulders for the past three days.
And when his week of golf ended, Scheffler could barely keep his eyes open when he shot a 6-under 65 on Sunday and finished the week in a tie for eighth place at 13 under.
Arriving at the scorer’s tent, Scheffler sat down in a chair and rested his head on the table for a long time. It was like a child taking a nap in elementary school.
“I think I fell asleep,” Scheffler said afterward. “I’m pretty tired and ready to go home.”
The newspaper reported that Scheffler’s wife, Meredith, and their newborn, Bennett, who was born on May 8, flew from their home in Texas to Louisville on the Friday after the arrest so that Meredith could be with her husband. I learned.
Of course, that was bound to bring some comfort and normalcy to Mr. Scheffler. Scheffler had to leave her and her newborn at home a few days after she was born, and she was already feeling homesick.
The plan was to fly back to Texas on Sunday, but Scheffler’s arraignment in connection with his arrest is scheduled for Tuesday.
Scheffler, who is scheduled to play this week against Colonial, said after his round that he didn’t know if he would need to return to Louisville for his arraignment. But at any ranch in Texas, you can be sure his hope is to never have to visit Louisville again.
“Right now, I’m planning on playing next week,” Scheffler said. “As far as off-course stuff goes, I don’t really know.”
There were also reports, although unconfirmed, that the charges against Mr. Scheffler would be dropped. The Sunday Post interviewed a prominent Louisville lawyer who said, “I’m sure they won’t prosecute.”
True to Scheffler’s impeccable personality, he made no excuses for the audacity of not winning this week, despite entering the week having won four of his past five starts, including the Masters.
Shaken by Mills’ death and his own arrest, Scheffler was clearly not himself on Saturday. He acknowledged that the gravity of what happened on Friday had a delayed impact.
“I think it was probably Saturday morning that we finally realized what happened,” Scheffler said. “This is what I think [his uneven third round] Usually on bad days. Did I feel like myself? Absolutely not. Was my warm-up as usual and the distractions as usual? Absolutely not.
“But I’m not going to sit here and say that’s why I went out and played terrible golf.” [Saturday]. I got arrested on a Friday morning and showed up here to play a lot of golf as well (66). ”
Hubbard, who paired with Scheffler for a 73 on Saturday and a 65 on Sunday, said when he went into scoring after Saturday’s round, “I looked at him and said, ‘This is what real golf is about. ”’ he told the Post. ”
“Yeah,” Scheffler replied, “I don’t like that.”
“Looking back, I think he was running on adrenaline on Friday, which is why he was able to make those (66 shots),” Hubbard said. “And what probably happened [Saturday], emotional exhaustion seems to have caught up with him. Today he went out there and played like a No. 1 player again. ”
What exactly happened?
we never know.
