“I do my best to stay out of it”: Scottie Scheffler’s classy response on getting excessive media attention ahead of 2024 PGA Championship
Scottie Scheffler is everywhere nowadays. Thanks to his recent run of nearly unprecedented success, he is the most notable figure in the sport of golf. He is the World No. 1, and the reigning Major champion. He gets a lot of media attention. He doesn't pay too much mind to all of that, and as a result he doesn't really feel like it's too much.
A reporter recently brought up the classic movie Jerry Maguire, which Scheffler has not seen. He mentioned a character in the movie seeing himself on television and lamenting how much coverage he was getting. The reporter flipped it to Scheffler and asked if he felt like he was getting too much media coverage.
Scheffler responded ahead of the PGA Championship at his press conference:
"Not really. I think sometimes I'll feel it from the fans out on the course, which is a good thing when I'm out there playing and competing. Hearing the cheers and being able to play in front of a crowd is really special. As far as media attention, not really just because I do my best to kind of stay out of it. I try to stay in my own little world. I come out here, compete, do my best. Then I go home and live my life."
Scheffler has said in the past that he tries to keep his mental game sharp and focused solely on golf. He doesn't get involved with what anyone is saying about him, and that has helped him stay even-keeled during tight contests in huge tournaments.
Despite birth of son, Scottie Scheffler is prepared for PGA Championship
Scottie Scheffler welcomed his first child recently. The World No. 1's son was born healthy, so the long wait to see just which tournaments he would or would not be able to play in is over. As a result, he is playing the PGA Championship.
At the same press conference, Scheffler said his preparation remained the same despite some recent interruptions to his schedule:
"As far as the tournament week goes, not really. I think last week obviously looked a lot different with the birth of our son, but as far as starting Saturday, I think it was basically normal preparation. Just the week before that looked a bit different."
The birth of his child certainly threw things for a loop and this is why he wasn't in the field at the Wells Fargo Championship. He was the lone eligible member of the field that didn't play, but he had prior engagements to attend to.
Now, he's back on schedule and has been preparing for the PGA Championship as he normally would any other event. That isn't necessarily good news for a field that has been unable to beat Scheffler in quite some time.
He comes in as the betting favorite to win the PGA Championship this weekend, and the fact that he didn't have any interruptions to his process bodes well for that.