26-year-old Scheffler’s success story in golf

Scottie Scheffler lifted trophies three times out of five championships he competed for. In addition, he is ranked No. 1 in the world just 42 days after his first win on a golf tour. He is writing a new success story for the PGA.

Scheffler earned his third tour win on Monday in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play held in the Austin Country Club in Texas after finishing second in the tournament last year.

He beat Kevin Kisner in the final on Monday for a 4-and-3 victory. The highlight of the match was Scheffler tying with Kisner with a successful bunker shot for a birdie on the par-5 12th. In the semifinal against Dustin Johnson held the day before Scheffler closed him out for a 3-and-1 victory. Scheffler won despite a tight schedule of competing against seven players for five days playing 120 holes. In the Round of 16 on Sunday, he beat by one hole Billy Horschel who won last year against Scheffler in the final.

Scheffler received 2.1 million U.S. dollars in prize money and is ranked the world’s No. 1 along with the top position in terms of this season’s prize money and FedEx Cup points. His world’s No. 1 ranking only came 42 days after his first tour win, which is an achievement that took 252 days even for Tiger Woods.

Scheffler grew up mostly in Texas and attended the University of Texas. He became the world’s best golfer in front of his parents and wife on Monday. “To be out here and win this golf tournament in front of the fans down here is really special. Like I said, I always dreamed of playing in this tournament, and just to be out here was a treat,” Scheffler said after his win.

It is believed that his potential was unlocked by working with caddie Ted Scott since November last year. Scott who had worked with Bubba Watson until last year met Scheffler in a Bible study. Scheffler who had not gotten a single win for 70 competitions until his first win in the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Feb. 14 now won three times in five tournaments, including a win in the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 7.


Hong-Gu Kang windup@donga.com