It’s the kind of question that seems silly to ask.
Is Scottie Scheffler – historically great No. 1 in the world, good at everything, liked by everyone, long and straight driver, generational irons player, chipper all over the world and underrated putter – hard to match in team competition?!
Luckily, someone asked for it. And US Presidents Cup captain Brandt Snedeker acknowledged that, yes, in fact, actually is it.
I appreciate Snedeker engaging with the question. These team match competitions are, to some extent, one-off, to the point that you can issue a hand dismissal of basically any result (“they just made more putts”, the losing team tends to say with a shrug), which is always hard to refute, but also is not particularly interesting.
So Snedeker’s musings were a breath of fresh air.
“Yes, it’s a challenge,” he said. “I think you look at the best players in history who have played in these events, it’s always been a challenge to kind of match them.”
Let’s get specific with “the best players”, or at least with one. The golfer whose Ryder Cup team match record has always defied belief is also the best golfer of this generation, period. In Ryder Cup partner play (eliminating singles, in other words), Tiger Woods has an astounding record of 9-19-1. Phil Mickelson also has a Ryder Cup losing record. The Cup they played together? It is still among the all-time disasters of team golf.
And even though it’s relatively early in Scheffler’s career, it’s surprising to see his record in Ryder and Presidents Cups: a combined 6-11-4.
So what explains it? Earlier this week I read an interesting piece by Shane Ryan in Golf Digest in which a former type of analysis of the United States team suggested that, like the USA team in international basketball, someone like Woods or Scheffler is always getting the best of his opponent.
Snedeker offers a different theory, which is basically that it can be difficult to find just the right partner for these alpha dogs.
“I think there is an inherent – no fear for the guy who plays, but a sense of I left it. He is the best player in the world. He is so good at everything; no matter what i do it won’t be good enough“, Snedeker mused.
He knows the feeling firsthand, not from Woods or Mickelson or Scheffler, but from his experience as a Ryder Cup rookie who is paired with Jim Furyk in his prime.
“I kept thinking, No matter what I do, I’ll never hit him as straight as he does; this will not go well. So every time I hit a tee ball, I was going a little crazy,” Snedeker said.
Scheffler, as expected, makes no apologies.
Asked about his team record, he said, “I think you can always play better.”
Nor was he willing to think anything of his companions.
“I always feel confident in my teammates,” he said. “If we didn’t advance on the first tee and feel confident, those guys wouldn’t be here with me. I’m confident in all the partners I’ve had in the formats over the years.”
However, Scheffler – like Snedeker – acknowledged that the recipe required in these one-time team match settings is undeniably “different” from the week-in, week-out stroke play requirements.
“It’s totally different from playing a regular tournament over 72 holes,” he said. “Over 18 holes, anything can happen. Anything can happen in the alternative shot. And the best ball you can get away with a lot more; it’s about making birdies.”
Asked to elaborate on the problem, Scheffler’s best working theory is that he might press too hard during these weeks.
“As a hyper-competitive person, I think sometimes I can probably try too hard,” he said. “If you look at my stats over the course of my career, probably what made me struggle the most in 2023 was probably trying too hard.
“I think that when you look at this format … maybe my record is not up to what I think it should be. Could it be too hard? I think it’s definitely a factor, for sure. For me it’s different in the sense that you also have a partner with you and you play for someone other than yourself, and that’s also very different.
“Find the balance between how much you care, I think that’s something I’m always trying to figure out. For me, I think just trying less would be really important. It’s just one of those things that’s a lot easier said than done.”
So now the question becomes: who will Scheffler play with? He had many different partners in Cups, from Bryson DeChambeau to his good friend Sam Burns to Brooks Koepka, JJ Spaun, Russell Henley and more. It’s clear that Snedeker has a personality type in mind for this week:
“Trying to find someone who can manage that (pressure) and be themselves and not try to be someone else is super important. These guys are elite athletes, the best players in the world because they are unique. Scottie Scheffler, Tiger Woods, Jack, the history of these guys, they are unique. So you try to find the best way to connect with them, as our personality they feel comfortable with our personality. captains”.
One possibility is Henley again; he said he understands the intimidation factor, but he explained why he thinks his work is dynamic.
“Because I’ve spent so much time with Scottie, and Scottie and Sam (Burns) have taken me to their house over the years since they’ve been on Tour and our wives are friends, I feel like I’m more comfortable with Scottie than I would be if they put me with Tiger,” Henley said.
But then we got a hint of who may appear alongside Scheffler – someone who has played the best golf of his career this year and also someone very familiar with the world No. 1, both personally and professionally. Here’s how the start of Sam Burns’ Tuesday press conference went:
Q. Do you already know who you are going to play with?
SAM BURNS: I know, yes.
Q. Is his name Scottie Scheffler?
SAM BURNS: His name starts with an S.
And then Burns stripped this mystery down to its simplest and most logical conclusion:
“Anyone on this team would be very excited to play with the No. 1 player in the world,” he said. “And I’m definitely looking forward to it.”
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