Justin Thomas details how absence from social media helps Scottie Scheffler, dubs it ‘hard’
Scottie Scheffler ended his record-breaking PGA Tour season ended with the FedExCup title win on Sunday. The golfer, who made history at TPC Sawgrass, triumphed at Augusta National, and won the gold medal in Paris, marched to victory at the Tour Championship, making him the sole leader for the PGA Player of the Year accolade.
Justin Thomas tried to put Scheffler’s season into perspective and noted that he ‘doesn’t even know where to start.’ However, Thomas gave out one valuable point. The 31-year-old lauded the Masters champion’s ability ‘to get in his own little zone’ while playing. The two-time major winner noted that the World No.1 is able to block out ‘noise’ from the outside world and his absence from social media helps the process.
Thomas claimed that the process is ‘hard’ and said Scheffler has aced it. He noted that his 28-year-old Tour rival ‘wants to do is just play the best he can’ and is succeeding.
Speaking about Scottie Scheffler at East Lake after the Tour Championship finish, Justin Thomas said, as quoted by ASAP Sports:
“I don't think people understand how hard that is to do, when you're expected to win, when you're the favorite to win, when every single thing you're doing is being looked at, good and bad, on the golf course, and how hard it is to get in your own little zone and own little world and truly just quiet the noise. It's something that is just as much of a skill as being able to hit a driver in the fairway or an iron on line. He's clearly figured that out very well.”
Replying to a reporter’s query on ‘why it is hard to follow,’ Thomas said:
“I don't know, I just think it's the day and age we're in. You constantly have reminders, whether it's from people, or social media -- he's not on social media, so that definitely helps. You're not constantly reading stuff about yourself and what people are saying about you. All Scottie wants to do is just play the best he can and win as many tournaments as possible, and he's doing a pretty good job of that.”
It is pertinent to note that Scottie Scheffler does have social media accounts. The golfer has over 1.2 million followers on Instagram. However, he is not active. The 28-year-old has chosen to stay away from X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube unlike many of his competitors.
Scottie Scheffler’s dominant 2024 season explored
Scottie Scheffler lifted the FedExCup trophy on Sunday. The World No.1 capped his dominant PGA Tour season with a strong Tour Championship finish in Atlanta.
It is pertinent to note that he finished third on the competition’s gross leaderboard (without starting strokes). However, the Olympic gold medalist amassed enough lead through the season to taste victory.
Listed below is the complete breakdown of Scottie Scheffler’s PGA Tour season (Event-finish-earning):
- The Sentry - T5 - $690,500
- The American Express - T17 - $132,300
- AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am - T6 - $642,500
- WM Phoenix Open - T3 - $519,200
- The Genesis Invitational - T10 - $455,000
- Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard - 1 - $4,000,000
- THE PLAYERS Championship - 1 - $4,500,000
- Texas Children's Houston Open - T2 - $553,735
- Masters Tournament - 1 - $3,600,000
- RBC Heritage - 1 - $3,600,000
- PGA Championship - T8 - $521,418
- Charles Schwab Challenge - T2 - $809,900
- the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday - 1 - $4,000,000
- U.S. Open - T41 - $72,305
- Travelers Championship - 1 - $3,600,000
- The Open - T7 - $451,833
- FedEx St. Jude Championship - 4 - $960,000
- BMW Championship - T33 - $119,667
- TOUR Championship - 1 - $25,000,000
Scottie Scheffler became the first player since Tiger Woods in 2007 to win seven events in a single PGA Tour season. The golfer bagged the $25,000,000 bonus prize for winning the FedExCup title and took his season earnings total to a whopping $62,228,357. With this, he also broke the PGA Tour earning record.