DUBLIN, Ohio — Hats off to 2024 Memorial Tournament winner Scottie Scheffler. Or, rather, hats on.
Scheffler grew up sweating through his golf hats. They smelled. They reeked. They were, in the words of the No. 1 player in the world, “disgustingly gross.”
The sweat-stained chapeaus also helped him win his first Memorial Tournament Sunday.
Allow the 27-year-old Texan to explain:
“In my gym at home, I hang some of the hats that I grew up with. When I was a kid and got a cool hat, I would wear it the whole summer and I would sweat through the hat. They were disgusting and gross and I hang them, so when I’m back there working out I can remind myself I got to where I am now not because it just happened. I remember all the work I put in. All the balls that I hit. The amount of time I spent sweating in the sun and putting in the time and effort in order to be good. Those hats are good motivation.”
Sitting in the winner’s seat Sunday having gone 8-under, wearing a crisp and clean Nike hat, Scheffler explained how he has gone from an up-and-coming talent three years ago to becoming the best PGA Tour player since Tiger Woods. His two major championship wins are not as many as Brooks Koepka’s five. He lacks the swashbuckling go-for-broke style of Bryson DeChambeau and is not sought out for his opinion like Rory McIlroy.
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But ask the guys who play golf for a living. They know how dominating Scheffler is, even when he’s not at his best. Scheffler was Scottie Scuffler Sunday, carding a 2-over 74 that included three bogeys and one birdie, yet even with his B-minus game, he collected his fifth victory of the season and 11th of his career.
“The guy can be off-balance and (his) ball is still right down the middle of the fairway,” said Collin Morikawa, who finished second by one stroke at Muirfield Village Golf Club. “His ball-striking is incredible. Growing up, his short game and putting was always amazing, but how good he hits his irons and the control he has is amazing. Distance control is key, and it’s king and he’s got that.”
Talk about demoralizing. It is one thing to lose to Scheffler when he is at his best, but when he performs like a mere mortal and still earns the Jack Nicklaus congratulatory handshake? Good luck beating that.
Scheffler wouldn’t describe his golf ascendency as having anything to do with luck. His dirty hats give testimony to the time and effort he has put…
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