Scottie Scheffler came up one stroke short at the FedEx St Jude Championship on Sunday afternoon.
It looked for a while like the trophy would come down to Scheffler and Tommy Fleetwood, but J.J. Spaun and Justin Rose competed in the playoff instead.
Despite producing a three-under-par 67 in the final round, the world number one was outperformed by his playing partner (Spaun) at TPC Southwind.
Scheffler had plenty of kind words for the US Open champion after his 65 saw him make the playoff with Rose.
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Scottie Scheffler says what he thinks about J.J. Spaun after St Jude Championship
Spaun is by no means a rookie on the PGA Tour, but he was not a household name in professional golf before this season.
Spaun narrowly lost out on the Players Championship in a playoff against Rory McIlroy and later won the US Open at Oakmont with a 65-foot birdie putt on the final hole.
Scheffler would already have been impressed with his countryman before Sunday, but he might have even more respect for him now after playing together at a marquee event.
“Yeah, he’s a great player. He’s got a ton of talent. He hits it really, really solid,” Scheffler reflected on Spaun’s game.
“To win a US Open, you’ve got to grind really hard, and he’s a guy who gets the ball in play, hits it really solid, and he holes a lot of putts. He’s a tough guy to beat.
“You love seeing guys like that have success, guys that work hard and get the most out of their games, and J.J. is definitely one of those guys that’s a grinder out here.
“You always see him practicing, see him in the gym. Definitely happy to see him having the success that he has.”
The mistake that cost Scottie Scheffler a playoff place vs J.J. Spaun and Justin Rose
Scheffler could have won the St Jude Championship by a distance if his putter was on fire in the final round.
Still, he found himself in an excellent position with four holes to play before a costly mistake on the 15th at TPC Southwind.
Scheffler found the left rough with a poor tee shot, and his approach went almost 40 yards past the flag.
He then hit a solid chip to about eight feet but could not convert his par putt, leaving him too much work to do in the last three holes.
Scheffler birdied the 16th and the 18th to apply some pressure to Spaun and Rose, but had to settle for T3 with Fleetwood.
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