Scottie Scheffler’s Ryder Cup came to an end with a personal positive as he got one over Rory McIlroy by beating him in the singles.
In a match which ebbed and flowed, it was the world number one who got the better of the world number two in the end.
It mattered little come the finale, as Europe won out by a thin margin as Shane Lowry holed the big putt to secure the trophy for Luke Donald’s men.
Scheffler’s week in general has been miserable, and he lost all four of his opening matches before finally getting a point against McIlroy.
Indeed, Scheffler’s pairing with Russell Henley raised plenty of eyebrows, especially when Scheffler opted not to take the opening tee shot on the Saturday.
Now, the world’s best player has explained that thought process.
Scottie Scheffler says why Russell Henley teed off first when they paired up
Seeing Scheffler give the tee box up to Henley was strange at the time and caused a bit of discussion.
Brandel Chamblee found the call from Scheffler baffling but addressing the situation himself, Scheffler has explained what happened.
“Russell and I felt like with the way the golf course had changed, you know, we had anticipated the golf course playing a certain way, and then things changed for us. Kind of when you see it in competition, I think it was more important for us to have a little bit more length off the tee, and then Russell, with the way he hits his irons, we felt like we had a better chance with his lower ball flight of getting the ball in close. That was really all it came down to. It was just really seeing the golf course in competition as we were playing it,” Scheffler admitted.
“When we got done on Friday night, Teddy and Andy when I went down to the team room to go cold tub, they were sitting at the table and they had brought up the idea of us switching. The more they looked at it, we felt pretty strongly that would give us a better chance, and I think it did. Most of that was just the nature of how much the golf course changed.
“Russell is a guy that hits a ton of fairways, and we just felt, I think, a little bit more length off the tee was important, and I obviously don’t hit as many fairways as Russell. The rough this week wasn’t as penal, I think, as we anticipated. So when you see it in competition, I think that’s part of the ebbs and flows of team golf.”
Scottie Scheffler gives his verdict on beating Rory McIlroy
Of course, Scheffler’s week was not a good one but he did assert his authority over Rory McIlroy by winning the singles to give him something to go away with.
Scheffler just did enough to beat the Northern Irishman in what was the first ever match between the world’s number one and two players.
And discussing that win, Scheffler admitted it was all about the team really.
“I think when I go back and look at the first couple days of this tournament, at times, it felt like a perfect storm of things were happening against us, and today we had some stuff that seemed to go right.
And really, at the end of the match, I was just proud to be able to get a point up on the board. Like you said, it was a difficult week for me personally. I was just proud to get a point up on the board and keep this thing alive for a little bit longer,” Scheffler continued.
“I mean, I can’t speak enough to the fight that these guys have in this room. I mean, the battle that we — after the butt whooping we got the first two days of this tournament, to come back today and play like we did I think really shows a lot of heart. I think it shows a lot of spirit within our team room. Like I said, I’m really proud of these guys, and I was proud to be able to keep this thing going for a little bit longer.”
Asked specifically on being part of the first ever one-two match, Scheffler added further comment.
“I don’t really think about that stuff very often. Like I said, I was just proud to be able to get a point up on the board. We needed to get some red up on the board early and we were able to do that,” he added.
“I think everybody was surprised how good of a scare we gave the Europeans today, and you know, they had a tremendous first two days. I mean, the amount of putts I saw go in, they played amazing golf the first two days of this tournament, and that’s why they are the winners.
“For us, like I said, I’m proud of the fight and the spirit in this room. These guys are amazing. Our whole team, this was an amazing team, and I’m probably pretty gutted to not be sitting here as the winning Ryder Cup Team. But at the end of the day, Keegan, our vice captains, The PGA of America, everybody put us in a position to succeed, and at the end of the day, just wasn’t able to get it done.”
With Scheffler showing so much class, it shows yet again just why he is so loved in the game of golf.
Come 2027, though, he’ll be hoping to do far more damage than he has done in the last two Ryder Cups.
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