On Friday morning, Troy Van Biezen, the director of sports performance and science with the NHL’s Dallas Stars, received an emergency text.
It was from Marnus Marais, the South African-born physical therapist who he handpicked to take over for “his guys,” when he stepped aside this season after 21 years of averaging more than 200 nights a year on the road to provide consistent chiropractic care to Tour pros. His “guys” have included four world No. 1s – Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler – the latter three he passed on to Marais.
The reigning world No. 1 had just finished receiving treatment from Marais on the course during the second round of the Players Championship for what Van Biezen termed a cervical strain to the neck with radiating pain in the right shoulder. Which was way better than Scheffler’s attempt to describe the injury on Sunday night.
“I wouldn’t even really know how to describe it. We can get Marnus up here, and he can explain it a lot better than me, but basically where the joint is, sometimes it kind of locks up in the fascia was the term I think that he used, like the joint muscles around it somehow get stressed,” Scheffler said. “I don’t know; I’m not a doctor.”
Marais has been working with top players for 10 years on the PGA Tour and already had an impressive stable so Scheffler was in good hands. In fact, Marais was in a peculiar position with one of his other clients, Xander Scahuffele, being one of the tournament frontrunners and eventually holding the 54-hole lead. (He finished T-2.) But Van Beizen has worked with Scheffler since he’s 14 years old and Scheffler and Spieth, Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim still work with him and receive treatment when they are at home in Dallas. So the message from Marais after he gave Scheffler treatment said simply, “You got the train going. I’m just trying to keep the train on the tracks.”
“That was a gut-check round,” Van Biezen said of Scheffler’s 69 on Friday despite having trouble turning his neck to the left.
“He couldn’t finish his backswing because that’s where he felt a sharp pain,” Van Biezen said.
Scottie Scheffler celebrates with the trophy after winning during the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass on March 17, 2024 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
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