CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler practically had the course to himself when he arrived a day early at the PGA Championship, a time to get reacquainted with Quail Hollow. He had played it only at the Presidents Cup in 2022 when the holes were a little out of order because of the format.
Looking for a line off the tee at the par-5 seventh, caddie Ted Scott pointed to a small, black box beyond the bunkers. Scheffler delivered another beauty.
An onlooker peered down the fairway, unable to see the target where they were aiming.
“Just follow the ball, and you’ll see the black box,” Scott replied with a laugh.
Scheffler is starting to look like the No. 1 player he has been for the last two years, off to a slow start by his standards after missing nearly two months because of a freak hand injury suffered while making ravioli on Christmas.
In his last start he picked up his first win of the year in a big way — an eight-shot victory at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, the largest margin on the PGA Tour in nearly five years.
For a guy who tries not to look too far ahead or behind, there was no denying his game was in a good spot going into the PGA Championship.
“I’m showing up coming off of a tournament that I won, and that’s always a good feeling,” Scheffler said Tuesday. “You can definitely ride some of that momentum. When I look back at my career, it would be silly to say that I don’t ride some of the momentum from those wins.”
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy was on a tear that took him to victories at Pebble Beach, The Players Championship and then the crown jewel — a Masters green jacket to finally claim his place in history with the career Grand Slam.
McIlroy had said before starting that run he drew inspiration for Scheffler’s dominance, his nine-win season from 2024 that included a Masters green jacket and Olympic gold medal and all the biggest tournaments in between.
“I’m a big admirer of Scottie for a lot of different reasons,” McIlroy said after winning at Pebble Beach. “But every time I play with him and I watch how he plays and how disciplined he is, it’s a really cool thing to watch. … Just trying to take a little bit of a leaf out of his book.”
Now it might be Scheffler’s turn to be inspired. He got the best seat on the 18th green at Augusta National to see McIlroy’s joy since Scheffler helped him into the green jacket.
“It was really cool to see Rory be able to finish that off and to be there for that moment,” Scheffler said. “He’s a good buddy of mine out here, so I was very happy for him. That tournament and having to answer each year — for a guy that’s had one of the best careers in the history of the game — for him to sit in here week in, week out and have to be asked about one single golf tournament I’m sure can be a bit frustrating. And I’m sure that’s why there was so much emotion coming out of him.
“It takes a lifetime of work to be able to even have a chance to win major championships, let alone win all four of them.”
As for motivation? Scheffler gets that no matter who wins.
“It’s always motivating when you just get beat, and in golf you tend to get beat a lot,” Scheffler said. “You don’t really get to win that many tournaments. Rory has been off to a great start this year, and he’s definitely improved and made some changes in his game from last year.
“Golf is kind of an endless pursuit of getting the best out of yourself, and I’m looking forward to continuing to do that as the year goes on.”
They are the star attractions at soggy Quail Hollow and will be grouped together when the 107th PGA Championship starts Thursday, joined by defending champion Xander Schauffele.
It’s a good thing Scheffler arrived early for nine holes on Sunday — he was not at the PGA Tour event that week — because Quail Hollow has been inundated by more than 3 inches of rain since Friday, with downpours each of the two days of official practice.
Scheffler meant to play nine holes on Tuesday. He got in only five holes before the sun disappeared, dark clouds moved in and thunder claps arrived, with heavy rain not far behind.
McIlroy was supposed to meet with the media Tuesday afternoon and moved it back to Wednesday because of the weather.
That figures to make a 7,626-yard course even longer for a course where the strategy is the same for most players off the tee — grab driver and try to keep it in the short grass. The exceptions are the eighth and 14th holes, both par 4s that are reachable depending on the tees.
“Off the tee, you’re just trying to get the ball in the fairway, really, and get the ball in the fairway probably as far as you can down there, just so you can have a shorter club into the firm greens,” Scheffler said. “I think there will be a lot of strategy going into the greens, just not as much off the tee.”
One such moment was the eighth hole when he practiced on Sunday. His caddie told him driver off tee to a back left pin might be a problem if the tee shot went into the left rough. Scheffler went over to the left rough and threw a few balls in the grass.
The first shot skipped off the fringe and checked to a stop 2 inches short of the target.
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