Tour pro: "Snippy" Scottie Scheffler's petulance on the golf course is off-putting

English tour pro Eddie Pepperell says there are "better ways" for Scottie Scheffler to manage his slight downturn in form than being petulant on the golf course.

The world number one already has a win under his belt this season, capturing the American Express on his first start of the calendar year in late January. 

It represented his 21st PGA Tour title since his breakout campaign four years ago and it sparked chatter he could somehow improve upon his remarkable 2025 season. 

Scheffler won six titles, including his first Open in Ireland and second Wanamaker Trophy at the PGA Championship. 

He was named the PGA Tour's player of the year for again, becoming only the second man since Tiger Woods to win the award four seasons in a row. 

But since wining the AmEx, the 29-year-old American appears to be extremely dissatisfied with is game, despite only finishing outside the top 10 three times from six starts. 

Last Thursday, Scheffler toiled on the range for hours in the pouring rain after opening his account at the 2026 Players with a level par 72. 

He was asked later in the week by one reporter if he "found something" and a curt Scheffler replied: "Did I find anything? I think that would imply that I was lost, which is not the case."

Some suggested it was a needless riposte to a mundane inquiry and yet the latest example of a bad attitude from the dominant force in the men's game. 

"There's a snippiness there," Andrew Cotter said on the latest episode of the Chipping Forecast alongside Pepperell and BBC Sport golf correspondent Iain Carter. 

Pepperell said of Scheffler: "It's definitely a bump in the road, but it's an opportunity for him to really portray himself in a light that I think, in the cold light of day, he would want to portray himself as, and he's failing to do it. 

"I think we would all probably acknowledge his petulance on the course is off-putting"

Pepperell was reminded that he too is prone to an outburst of anger. 

He continued: "But I think if you're, you know, if you're 500th in the world and you've been banging your head against a brick wall for five years, you know, go ahead. That's fair enough. 

"But when you've done what he's [Scheffler] done, when you've done what he's been doing for the last two or three years, from that perspective, I think you can ... there are better ways to manage a slight decline in form

"And that's all this is. And I'm sure he'll figure it out."

Scheffler will soon turn his attention to the first men's major of the year. 

Unsurprisingly, he is the overwhelming favourite to clinch his third green jacket at the 2026 Masters. 

Scheffler will participate in the Texas Children's Houston Open on 26 March before heading to Augusta National.