Scottie Scheffler reveals his equipment experiment was an abject failure

Scottie Scheffler could return to the top of the world rankings with a win at the Cadence Bank Houston Open, but this is not his main motivation on Tour.

Matt Chivers's picture
Thu, 10 Nov 2022
Scottie Scheffler world ranking doesn't "define him" after Rory McIlroy rise

PGA Tour pro Scottie Scheffler admitted it was fun being World No.1 for 29 weeks but his world ranking isn't what drives him to win more titles as he revealed he has put his old putter back into his TaylorMade staff bag. 

The American explained his tiredness at the end of the long season which ended with a win on Team America at the Presidents Cup, but he failed to earn a point against the Internationals.

He was replaced as World No.1 by Rory McIlroy at the CJ Cup after coming 45th at Congaree. Scheffler gave a lot during 2022 with four impressive wins and his maiden major triumph at The Masters. His 11 top-10 finishes required hard work, so you can forgive a little burnout at the end of the season.

Related: How to watch the Cadence Bank Houston Open

After switching back to his Scotty Cameron Special Select Timeless Tourtype GSS Prototype putter, a club which delivered all four wins last season, he shot a 62 in the final round at Mayakoba to finish tied third.

Scheffler said if a few more breaks went his way at El Camaleón, perhaps he could've been holding his fifth PGA Tour trophy. He and his close friend Sam Burns are the strong favourites to win this week at the Cadence Bank Houston Open

But it'll be his inner competitiveness that'll drive him to victory and not his desire to be World No.1. He can only topple McIlroy if he wins. 

He said: 

"It definitely matters to me. I don't let a ranking define what I think of myself as a player. It was definitely fun being No.1 in the world and it's something I hope to get back to, but all my motivation's always been internal.
"I'm a craze, crazy competitive person, so for me, I haven't really needed much outward focus to get motivated to come out and play. If anything, I need to tone myself down a little bit and just let things go and just go out and play."

He continued: 

"As far as being motivated to do significant anything at home, it's all internal. I want to be the best and I want to try and win tournaments out here. That's what's fun.
"It's fun being in those moments, it's fun being able to compete for championships. I've dreamed of a long time to be out here on the PGA Tour and it's definitely been a lot of fun to be able to compete out here."

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