Hank Haney has admitted that he has changed his mind about Scottie Scheffler slightly after the world number one clinched the Olympic gold medal for the men’s golf event last week.
Heading into the Olympic Games, it was hard to gauge how significant a medal would feel to the players involved, particularly with golf dealing with issues in both 2016 and 2021.
Xander Schauffele looked to be a favourite, having won gold in Tokyo, but also clinching a second major title of the season at The Open Championship. And had he won at Le Golf National, some would have felt that he could be on the course to snatch the player of the year title from Scottie Scheffler, who had won six times before the end of June.
Some felt Scheffler would trade years with Schauffele, due to the latter winning one more major title. And it did appear that Schauffele was well-placed to win a second gold, as he was tied for the lead heading into the final round in Paris.
Hank Haney changes mind on Scottie Scheffler after Olympic triumph
However, Scheffler produced a ‘joke’ of a final round at the Olympics to take gold. The 28-year-old tied the course record by shooting 62.
And speaking on his podcast, Haney suggested that Scheffler’s win last week has forced him into something of a rethink when it comes to his player of the year.
“I think Scottie Scheffler winning propels him to a landslide player of the year in golf, player of the year on the PGA Tour, player of the year PGA of America, the whole thing. And before the win at the Olympics, I would have given the player of the year to Xander Schauffele,” he said.
“Even though Xander Schauffele won only two times so far this year and we still have three play-off events to go, but Scottie Scheffler had won six times, I would have given it to Xander Schauffele for player of the year because of the fact that Xander Schauffele won two majors, the PGA and The Open Championship. And a major trumps multiple, multiple PGA Tour victories, it just does. I don’t know how many PGA Tour victories, if you ask players, they would give up to have won a major, but it is a number, and it is a big number, it’s not a one or two number, it’s a multiple number for sure.
“But Scottie Scheffler winning the gold medal, he’s got The Masters, he’s got six wins this year plus the gold medal – they don’t even count that on the PGA Tour, I count it, I count it big time – but he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players, The Masters, he’s just won big tournaments; RBC Heritage, which was an elevated event or whatever they call it, Memorial, Travelers, he’s winning all these elevated events, and his year has just been unbelievable.”
What world number one did at Le Golf National will stay with fans for a long time
It says everything about how good Scheffler has been that Schauffele has won two majors and is the underdog for the player of the year award. In fact, even victory at the Tour Championship may not be enough to tip the scales in Schauffele’s favour.
Some think many players will still vote for Schauffele, but the manner of Scheffler’s win at Le Golf National was so impressive. He looked to be completely out of contention for the gold as Jon Rahm took a four-shot lead on the field midway through the final round.
Scheffler outscored Rahm by 10 shots in the final eight holes. And ultimately, no-one was able to keep up with the world number one once he got into his stride.
The way he put himself atop the podium is likely to stay with many people for a very long time.
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