“Just gonna have a separate table for him” - Scottie Scheffler jokes about Masters Champions Dinner watching Bubba Watson on vacation
The PGA Tour is back this week after a brief holiday break. Along with that, the professionals' humor has returned to Hawaii.
Prior to the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions on Tuesday, Jon Rahm joked about the tension during the forthcoming Masters' Champions Dinner given how several players have made the switch from PGA to LIV.
"I think the Masters Champions Dinner’s going to be a little tense compared to how it’s been in the past." said Rahm.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler narrated the story during his presser, about meeting twice Masters Champion Bubba Watson during his vacation in Tennessee last year.
“I haven’t seen many of the LIV guys. I saw Bubba Watson on vacation this year and I told him that I was just gonna have a separate table for him in the corner by himself,” Scheffler laughed hard after this."
Augusta National will see as many as six LIV players at the Masters 2023: Patrick Reed, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson and Charl Schwartzel.
Scheffler is hopeful that players will not bring tensions during the tournament's time, especially as historic as the Masters.
“I think that stuff just takes time, things will heal and we’ll see what happens. All that stuff is not really for me. I can only show up and just try and play good golf. I’m not going to LIV anytime soon, so it’s not a concern for me at the moment.”
The World No. 2 is returning to Sentry for his fourth start of the 2022-23 season. Scottie had two top-10 finishes in his three recent starts; tied for third at the World Wide Technology Championship in Mayakoba and had a T-9 at Cadence Bank Houston Open (T-9). He was also the runner-up at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.
A good 2022 for Scheffler
2022 was a fantastic season for the talented golfer as he won all four of his titles in six starts from the WM Phoenix Open to the Masters in April. Apart from these two events, he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational and WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in between.
Overall, he finished inside the top 25 in 16 out of 20 starts in 2022. He had three runner-up finishes at the U.S. Open, Charles Schwab Challenge, and Tour Championship. With all these glories, Scottie became the No. 1 in the world and held it for 30 weeks last year.
His official prize money last year was $14,046,910, becoming the first professional to breach the $14 million bar in a single PGA Tour Season. In total, he amassed $24,796,910 in earnings, including bonuses.
Despite his successful season, the 26-year-old believes that his quick rise in the rankings didn't really help him earn the respect that should have come as a World No. 1. Scheffler, however, added that he didn't feel like living up to it.
As per Scheffler, a successful week for him is having a great attitude, committing to his shots and playing the game right way.