Life at the top not so different for world number one Scheffler

Thursday, 7 April 2022 01:49 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Scottie Scheffler hits his approach on the 12th hole during the Four-ball – REUTERS

AUGUSTA, Ga (Reuters): Scottie Scheffler said his life has not changed very much since he capped his meteoric rise from obscurity to world number one last month, and that suits him just fine.

The affable American said his peers have stopped to congratulate him since he won three tournaments to take top spot from Jon Rahm, but otherwise it was business as usual.

“Outside of the guys saying congrats, I wouldn’t say too much has changed,” he told reporters ahead of this week’s Masters.

“My friends are still making fun of me. I’ve still got to do my chores at home, and nothing really changes.”

Scheffler, 25, said he appreciated the kind words from his fellow golfers given the highly competitive nature of the tour.

“We have a lot of class acts out here that are really gracious in defeat and in victory. So, it’s a pretty cool environment,” he said.

The New Jersey native and board game enthusiast said a key to not getting too high or too low amid the pressures of professional golf was not taking himself too seriously.

“I think it’s important to be able to laugh at yourself because you’re going to have a lot of hard days out here on Tour,” he said.

“We lose a lot more than we win, so being able to not take yourself too seriously is pretty important because we experience failure on a weekly basis out here.” The presence of five-time champion Tiger Woods, who announced on Tuesday that he planned to tee off at Augusta National despite suffering career-threatening leg injuries in a February 2021 car crash, will also relieve the pressure, he said.

“Tiger takes a lot of attention away from all of us, which I think is a good thing,” Scheffler said.

“He’s used to being in the spotlight. Tiger is the needle for professional golf. We’re all excited and hoping he’s going to be able to play this week.”