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Scottie Scheffler And I were Both Due For A Win

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Scottie Scheffler And I were Both Due For A Win

 

 
 
 

Full disclosure, I had Scottie Scheffler (Titleist Pro V1) in the PGA Golf Pool, though I wasn’t alone.

So when he won the WM Phoenix Open on Sunday in a playoff with Patrick Cantlay (Titleist Pro V1x), I wanted to throw a beer at him in celebration, but I was watching in TV, unlike the very enthusiastic people watching the event in person, so it wouldn’t have been a good idea to lob the can. My wife would not have been too happy.

Similar to Scheffler, I was long overdue for a win.

Scheffler needed a win to record his fist victory in a PGA event. I needed a win to move up the standings in the PGA Golf pool because I was floundering in mid-pack. Now I’m in the top-10. Last year I was rocking on top for awhile, before I plummeted like a golf ball driven into the water.

But there’s nothing like a win to pick up your spirits.

I also won a small Super Bowl bet with a friend. I took the Bengals and the points. In other words, by taking the underdog, even if Cinci lost, which happened, I still won.

This was my first time in this year’s PG Golf pool using Scheffler and Hideki Matsuyama (Srixon Z-STAR XV). I can only use then once more as per the rules of not picking a player more than twice all season. I liked Matsuyama more than Scheffler going into the final round. Scheffler blistered the course on Saturday, but I thought he wouldn’t be able to repeat that on Sunday. He didn’t, but did well enough to put himself in position to win, particularly on the back nine. Various players above him going into the final round imploded. Matsuyama grinded it out just like he did in the earlier three rounds. He just couldn’t take it to the next level. I really think he has the potential to be the best player in the world. His victory in the Masters last year was the breakthrough he needed.

I haven’t used Jon Rahm (Callaway Chrome Soft X), Brooks Koepka (Srixon Z Star Diamond) or Collin Morikawa (TaylorMade TP5) this year because I’m saving them for bigger tournaments, notably the majors, but Morikawa will win one of them. Of that I am certain. I also like Viktor Hovland a lot, but he made too many mistakes in the WM and didn’t make the cut.

This week in the Genesis Open, I think Morikawa is the obvious choice but I’m probably going to go deep to find my two choices. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll give Canadian Corey Conners (Titleist Pro V1) a shot, but if the trend of first-time winners continues Matt Fitzpatrick (Titleist Pro V1x) is worth a shot, as is Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre (TaylorMade TP5x).

As a side note, I don’t think any golf tournament can replicate the WM. Seeing the fans cheer and boo for every shot on the 16th hole is what makes this tournament so unique and so special. When both Sam Ryder (Srixon Z-STAR) and Carlos Ortiz (Titleist Pro V1x) birdied and the fans started throwing beer cans on to the course, it was like nothing I’ve ever seen in golf. Yes, when Phil Mickelson (Callaway Chrome Soft X) walked toward the 18th green on route to winning the 2021 PGA Championship and was engulfed by the swarming gallery because there was no security in place that was special.

But the beer can projectiles were wild. Ryder’s was magical because he did it first. His ball landed close to the hole and, so it wasn’t a complete surprise it dropped in. Ortiz’s was not as expected because after he hit the ball he started walking toward the green thinking there was no way it could roll far enough to get into the hole. I’ m surprised neither of the two got hit by a can or for that matter anyone else. At least that’s what it appeared to me.

But how funny in a tournament for a waste management company that volunteers had to go on to the course to gather the cans and, presumably they went into WM bins. What a hoot!

The fact that those two shots rolled into the cup and so many other shots on Sunday on other holes came up an inch short tells you everything about this crazy game called golf.

And what a hoot – again – it was seeing Harry Higgs (TaylorMade TP5x) and Joel Dahmen (Titleist Pro V1) peeling up their shirts on the 16th hole? Don’t know if the PGA Tour liked it and I highly doubt it will ever happen again. But for Netflix, which is doing a documentary of the PGA Tour this year, that content is gold – kind of like the material Jerry Seinfeld gave to Kenny Banya. If you’re not a Seinfeld fan, you won’t get the reference.

And how could you not feel anything but true sympathy seeing Sahith Theegala (Titleist Pro V1) become a crowd favorite as he was leading the field and battling rookie jitters, only to come within one bad shot on the 17th hole of completing a storybook ending? I hope this kid learns from this and comes back to win a tournament at some point. He certainly showed tremendous talent, and he won’t be the last to have victory escape his grasp. It has happened to far more experienced players than him, including some of the greats in the history of the sport.

 
Perry Lefko
Perry Lefko
Perry Lefko is an award-winning writer who has published nine books, three of them bestsellers. He has been involved in sports writing for more than 35 years and has interviewed many superstar athletes. He lives in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada and enjoys watching golf and playing it.

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