Players 3-peat? Scottie Scheffler says ‘it’s a new tournament’
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler responds to a question during a press conference for The Players Championship.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Follow topic:
MIAMI – After becoming the first golfer to win back-to-back Players Championship in 2024, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler returns this week for a shot at the unprecedented three-peat.
While the American is already used to making history on the course, he is focused on this event in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, rather than what he has already accomplished at TPC Sawgrass over the last two years.
“In terms of that, what does that have to do with what I’m trying to do this week?” Scheffler replied during his press conference when asked about backing up his two previous wins.
“I mean, not much, right? Like do I start one under? Do I start at two under? It’s even par. It’s a new tournament.”
The Ridgewood, New Jersey native can become the first player since Steve Stricker in 2011, at the John Deere Classic, to win the same PGA Tour event in three consecutive years.
Scheffler, 28, is coming off an incredible 2024 season that saw him capture the Hero World Challenge and seven PGA Tour wins, including the Players, the Masters, the Tour Championship and four signature events. He also took gold at the Paris Olympics.
“Last year is last year,” he insisted. “I’m not trying to replicate it. I’m not trying to look back on it. At the end of the day, it’s in the past. It was a great year. I’m tremendously thankful.”
Scheffler will play the first two rounds in a star-studded “super group” that also features Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele, the world’s top three ranked players in that order. The trio also played the opening two rounds together at the Masters and US Open in 2024.
Schauffele has finished second at the Players twice and McIlroy won the PGA Tour’s flagship event in 2019.
Coming off an 11th-place tie in last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, Scheffler is seeking improved putting this week.
“Last week was a week in which I struggled on the greens,” he said. “I drove it really well. I hit some good iron shots. Some iron shots I wasn’t as pleased with.”
After playing a practice round with friends on March 11, Scheffler noted the soft conditions and course alterations that extended TPC Sawgrass by more than 75 yards.
“Golf course reacted pretty well to the rain, so hopefully it will firm up as the week goes on,” he said.
“Made a few changes to the course. I noticed on the back nine a little bit of lengthening on some holes, and yeah, it should play well.”
Course management will be one of the keys for the reigning champion if he can capture the elusive three-peat.
“At the end of the day, I think there’s a lot of genius in the golf course,” he added.
“Like you look at a hole like No. 1, to fade off the tee is a draw into the green.
“You look at No. 2, it’s a draw off the tee. No. 4 is a fade off the tee. No. 5 is a fade. No. 6 is a draw. No. 7 is a draw.” REUTERS
