Winning doesn’t get old for Scottie Scheffler. Neither does the time it requires to be good

LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) — The question was a little on the morbid side, which Scottie Scheffler enjoyed only because it was different from anything he had heard the last four years while winning a staggering 27% of his tournaments. The answer made perfect sense.

If he were to be cremated when his time on Earth was done, where in golf would he want some of his ashes to be scattered?

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It took only a few seconds before Scheffler replied: “The range at Royal Oaks. That’s where I spend most of my time.”

That’s where Scheffler spent his time in the weeks before leaving Dallas to start his season in the California desert, where he lurked around the lead for three days at The American Express and then suddenly — but not unexpectedly — he was up by six shots. That seems to happen a lot with him.

There is skill, yes, but there is work.

Scheffler speaks endlessly about preparation, whether that’s getting stronger in the gym or grooving a swing that rarely misses. When he wins, he picks the ball out of the cup and stuffs it in his pocket like he just finished a money game at Royal Oaks. Then it’s time to go home and get ready for the next one.

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“Rinse and repeat,” he said with a grin on the 18th green Sunday at PGA West.

How long can it last? Winning doesn’t get old, but the work that goes into it can. It’s reasonable to wonder if the routine, the grind, can lead to burnout.

But there’s always the range at Royal Oaks, where Scheffler first showed up as a 6-year-old and Randy Smith spent two hours watching the kid’s long swing make solid contact, time after time.

“At certain levels there’s definitely risk of burnout,” Scheffler said after his four-shot victory, his ninth time winning by at least that much on the PGA Tour. “I think that’s why you have to strike a balance. But I like routine. I like practicing. I like working out. I like doing what I need to do in order to play well. That’s still fun for me.

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“I think if somebody was making me do it, then it would be a lot harder,” he said. “But I don’t feel pressure from anything external to do the things I do.”

It’s not…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/winning-doesnt-old-scottie-scheffler-144720689.html

Author : DOUG FERGUSON

Publish date : 2026-01-27 14:47:00

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