Scottie Scheffler, the world’s best golfer, is returning to his home state.
The Texan regained the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking after finishing second to Brooks Koepka during the PGA Championship. The Official World Golf Ranking has moved Jon Rahm down to the No. The Spaniard finished tied for 50th place at Oak Hill.
Scheffler should have a great week at the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas. He lost in a play-off to his best friend Sam Burns last season at Colonial Country Club and is in excellent form.
Is the hunger still there after a few days of a major championship event?
He said, “I am usually pretty eager to win any event,” after his pro-am nine-hole round on Wednesday. “I come expecting to play well here and do my very best. “I’m looking forward to a great finish this week but I don’t look too far in advance.”
Scheffler loves playing in front the Lone Star State’s crowd. He finished T-9 at Houston Open last fall, grabbed fourth at WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play this March, and tied for fifth at AT&T Byron Nelson a couple of weeks ago.
Scheffler finished 15th in the Nelson during his Texas 2021-22 season.
Another reason to be excited about world No. 1.
It’s great to be back at home, and to be able play an event. It was important for me to rest to be able sleep in my bed and to stay at home during the last two nights. Scheffler added, “Playing in front of my home crowd throughout the week is really fun.”
His involvement with this event began long before he became a professional. Scheffler has been coming to this event since he was young.
“I grew-up coming to this event. “Coming here to play golf and compete with other players is something very special for my,” he said. “I’ve always dreamed of playing golf here. Now, being inside the ropes to compete and do my best is very special.
I remember coming here with my father and just watching. My dad was a golf fanatic. It was a great experience to visit the PGA Tour when I was a kid. Come out on practice rounds and watch the guys.
I enjoyed the practice rounds more because you can get closer to the players and I enjoy just watching. It was less about the atmosphere. “It was more about me watching and learning from them.”
Scheffler was inspired by a particular name as a young Texas player.
Jordan Spieth
He said, “Jordan was another person I looked up to as a kid.” He was always a few year ahead of me, and crushing it since a young child. He was someone I always looked up to, and I could bounce ideas off him when I thought about going pro. He has always given me good advice and is a very talented player.
It will be interesting to see if Scheffler is able to deliver a performance that is good enough for him win the title on Sunday, as Spieth was able do at Colonial in 2016.
