Scottie Scheffler unloads on caddie Ted Scott after costly water ball at Memorial Tournament

Scottie Scheffler was caught venting his frustration towards caddie Ted Scott after a costly mistake on the par-3 16th during the opening round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village.

The world number one endured a difficult day by his high standards and his frustrations boiled over when his tee shot at the 16th found the water short-left of the green.

After striking what he believed was a well-executed shot, Scheffler, 29, was fuming with the club and wind calculation as he walked away from the tee.

Scroll down to watch what happened...

As Scott moved ahead to assess the drop-zone yardage, Scheffler was heard saying in his direction: "I don't know what do. I can't hear a word you're saying."

The four-time major champion then added: "I absolutely flush a seven iron, and we get the wind wrong, and I'm in the water."

Clearly frustrated by the outcome, Scheffler continued: “I don't think you understand how frustrating that is."

Watch the clip here.

Speaking after his round, however, Scheffler suggested the mistake was the result of a sudden wind change rather than a poor decision by either himself or Scott.

"That's just another really good iron shot, and the wind switched from down off the right to pretty significantly in off the right," Scheffler told reporters.

"If it's down off the right, that ball's probably where I hit my wedge shot to. So just don't really know what I'm supposed to do there outside of trying to hit a good shot, and then it's frustrating when it doesn't work out, especially when it doesn't work out in that direction.

"I would rather get gusted in off the left, not in off the right there. All you can do is just try to hit good shots. It can be very frustrating sometimes when you feel like you're hitting good shots and then you're going to the drop zone."

Despite the tense exchange, Scheffler and Scott are close friends and remain one of the most successful partnerships in professional golf. 

The American duo have worked together since 2021, with Scott helping Scheffler rise to the top of the world and collect 20 PGA Tour titles, including four majors. 

Their mistake at the 16th proved costly. Scheffler made a double-bogey five to slip to two-over par, although he responded with a birdie at the par-4 17th before closing with a par at the last.

His opening-round 73 left him at one-over par and outside the top 30 in the 72-man Signature Event where there is a $20m prize purse. 

Four players shared the first-round lead at five-under par: Wyndham Clark, J.J. Spaun, Ryan Gerard and Tommy Fleetwood.

Rory McIlroy carded a one-under 71 after bogeying the final hole.

Scheffler arrived at Muirfield Village seeking a third consecutive Memorial Tournament title, but he now faces an uphill battle heading into the remaining three rounds.

While he remains a clear world number one, Scheffler has yet to hit the dominant heights that defined much of last season. 

He recently finished in a tie for 14th at the PGA Championship, and although he claimed his 20th PGA Tour title at The American Express in January, he is still searching for his second victory of 2026.

Scheffler last month acknowledged that life away from the course has changed following the recent birth of his second child with wife Meredith, limiting the amount of practice time available to him.

Some critics and analysts consider that is all beginning to show midway through the 2026 PGA Tour season. 

He will have a chance to become just the seventh player in the modern era to complete the career grand slam at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in two weeks time. The final round there will also perhaps rather fittingly fall on his 30th birthday.

For now, however, his focus remains on recovering at Muirfield Village and keeping alive his bid for a third straight Memorial Tournament crown.

The only player so far to win the Memorial Tournament three times in a row is, yes you guessed it, Tiger Woods.