Scottie Scheffler revealed that something has taken a lot out of him in the build up to the Tour Championship.
The PGA Tour is set for its final event of the postseason – the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. 30 of the best golfers on the PGA Tour will battle it out over four days to become the FedEx Cup champion.
Scottie Scheffler enters the championship as world number one, and leads the FedEx Cup standings by a considerable margin over Rory McIlroy in second. He beat Robert MacIntyre to win the BMW Championship last week, and now seeks to retain his FedEx Cup title.
But his preparation has been affected by something that he admitted has taken a lot out of him.
Scottie Scheffler said being in contention takes a lot out of him
Scheffler has had a historic year. He won the Open Championship and PGA Championship to move a U.S. Open away from the career grand slam, won the FedEx Cup regular season running away, and has cemented his status as the world’s best golfer.
Scheffler’s season has been compared to Tiger Woods and drawn plaudits from Phil Mickelson, such has been his dominance.
Every tournament feels like Scheffler vs the field. He’s in contention week in, week out, and has shown no signs of slowing down. Or so we thought. The American said that this weekend his focus is on rest, as his 2025 dominance has taken a lot.
Speaking to the Golf Channel, he admitted, “After having a week like last week, it takes a lot out of you being in contention. So going into this week I’m focusing on rest for the first couple of days. I’m going to get used to the speed of the greens and get used to the bunkers and the rough.
“I’m not going to be hitting a lot of balls on the driving range. I’m going to play nine holes and do my putting and chipping and then I’m going to get out of here.
“A little bit of a different prep work than a normal week but that’s just because I feel like my game’s in a good spot and I need rest going into this week.”
That’s great news for the rest of the field, especially with the new format pulling Scheffler ever closer.
Scottie Scheffler happy with new Tour Championship format, despite suffering disadvantage
In previous years, Scheffler would have started the Tour Championship with a two-shot advantage as the FedEx Cup leader. This year, the format has changed, and everyone starts from zero. But a confident Scheffler said this format is better for the sport.
“The last few years have been an unusual format. I gave up my handicap this year which is a little different. I much prefer this format. I think having a really good golf tournament to finish off our year is the way to do it, and the way the format was the last couple years, I didn’t think it was a great tournament.”
Giving a two-shot lead to Scheffler is effectively giving him the win. Now, the likes of McIlroy, Fleetwood, and St. Jude Championship winner Justin Rose are all in contention to win the coveted prize.
With Scheffler taking it easy in the first few days, a hot start for any of the world’s best players could give them a significant advantage.