DORAL, Fla. – Major winner Justin Leonard is old enough he could be the father of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who is 29. But Leonard and Scheffler share a swing coach in Randy Smith, so Leonard has watched Scheffler grow up in Dallas and blossom into a rare talent who has eclipsed his record. What impresses Leonard the most is how Scheffler seems to care only about the winning even as he's outwardly wondered what it all means.
“He just wants to step on your throat,” Leonard said on "The Favorite Chamblee" podcast. “But then on the other side, like he doesn't ... it's not all focused on winning golf tournaments or, you know, the money. Like, I bet the money's never been touched. He's just very simple in that. He's unaffected by it. That's not what drives him. He's not out doing a bunch of commercials and sponsorships and chasing dollars going to, you know, Lord knows where for a big appearance fee. He gets done on the golf course and it's ‘Where's Meredith? Where's Bennett? And where are we eating dinner tonight?’ Like that's it. And who's (bottom) am I going to kick tomorrow? That's what it's all about. And it's beautiful, absolutely beautiful.”
Part of Scheffler’s quest to add to his win total – he’s at 20 PGA Tour titles and counting – at this week’s Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral is giving himself the best chance to succeed. The Tour is amid a busy stretch where Scheffler already has competed at the Masters and RBC Heritage, a signature event, and finished runner-up in both. He took off last week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, but next week’s tournament is another signature event, the Truist Championship in Charlotte at Quail Hollow Club, the same course where Scheffler won the PGA Championship, the third of his four majors titles to date, last year. He will defend the Wanamaker Trophy the following week at this year’s site, Aronomink Golf Club, which explains why Scheffler is expected to skip playing the Truist, a $20 million no-cut tournament next week. (Scheffler has until 5 p.m. ET on Friday to commit.)
“Having three of our biggest events in a row is, depending upon the time of year, if this was a different time of year, maybe I would play all three. But when you have a major championship as the last one, I think that creates a different kind of cadence to it. Major championships are just the hardest events,” Scheffler said Wednesday during his pre-tournament press conference. “When you look at the courses we're playing for our signature events now, I think it was a couple years ago we did Jack's Place (The Memorial) and the U.S. Open back-to-back. I'm like, I physically and mentally, I can't do this for two weeks in a row. I won Memorial and I was whipped showing up to the US Open. So that's kind of how I adjusted my schedule to be like, oh, you know, maybe the week before the major it's not wise to go out there and beat myself up a little bit. Maybe it's best for me to stay home and get ready for the tournament. Just because you look at the demands of a regular week, a major championship is times 10.”
Adding to the scheduling dilemma for Scheffler is the fact the two Tour events that follow the PGA Championship are deep in the heart of Texas – the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in his hometown of Dallas, where he is the defending champion, and the Charles Schwab Challenge, which is held in Fort Worth – and tournaments that Scheffler has consistently supported throughout his career. The Tour stop after that? The Memorial, where Scheffler is the defending champion, too.
“People always ask me about what's my favorite tournament out here and it's always hard to say because we get treated so well at all the tournaments. There's really not a tournament that I played that I haven't liked. There's not a tournament that I wouldn't want to go back to,” he said. “If I had it my way, I would play every single week out here. But just the nature of our sport and the demand on our time and everything it's not really possible. And for me, playing three, four weeks in a row is a challenge.”
Scheffler isn't the only one prioritizing rest and "load management" to maintain peak performance amid a busy Tour schedule. As purses have surged, players have more incentive to tee it up and chase the cash but on the flip side there’s always another lucrative payday on the horizon. Golfers, much like athletes in other sports such as basketball, are considering their version of load management to maintain health, reduce injury risk, and boost performance for the tournaments that can shape a legacy. This week's 72-man field features 63 ranked in the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking, 37 of those in the top 50, and seven players in the top 10. But five of the top 15 players elected to sit this one out: No. 2 Rory McIlroy, No. 3 Matt Fitzpatrick, No. 9 Xander Schauffele, No. 12 Robert MacIntyre, and No. 14 Ludvig Aberg. Scheffler can understand, noting it takes a toll both physically and mentally when he plays a string of high-intensity tournaments.
“If y'all were to walk with me each day of the tournament and to see what we have to do in order to play one week, having to do that four weeks in a row would – I wouldn't be able to perform my best. So when I show up at a tournament I want to be able to give it my best and I have to set up my schedule in a certain way and, you know, the chips kind of fall where they do,” he explained.
In August, one of Tour CEO Brian Rolapp’s first moves on the job was to create the Future Competitions Committee to evaluate the current schedule and shape a new-look Tour for the years to come. At his press conference at the Players Championship in March, he outlined his vision and promised an update with more substance to be unveiled in June during the Travelers Championship. Adam Scott, who is a member of the committee working on the schedule, called this year’s scheduling glut a one-off given that this week’s event at Doral, a new event this season, had to be wedged into a busy slot somewhere. “I think we've got to get through this year and hopefully the schedule looks a little more balanced next year,” he said.
Either way, time will remain a precious commodity and players will have difficult decisions to make as to when and where they tee it up. For Scheffler, it’s all about giving himself the best chance to win. It will be 94 days since his first win of the season at The American Express if Scheffler were to win the Cadillac Championship on Sunday – his longest stretch between first and second wins of a season in his Tour career.
“In order for me to show up and play my best I have to have off time,” Scheffler said. “That's something I've learned as my career has gone on how important rest is for me and it's not always about spending as much time as I possibly can at the golf course getting ready. It's more about doing what I can in my allotted amount of time in order to get ready and going home and getting rest so my brain and body is actually ready to compete in a tournament. In order to be at my best, I have to, physically, I just can’t do it every single week.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Scottie Scheffler's golf schedule dilemma during string of sig events
