“That’s a bit worrisome" - Scottie Scheffler shares his thoughts on lack of details about the PGA-PIF deal
The world's number one player, Scottie Scheffler, shared on Wednesday (July 12) his thoughts on the agreement between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia. He declared to feel, in general, calm, although with some concerns.
Speaking at a press conference Wednesday from The Renaissance Club, Scotland, home of the Genesis Scottish Oppen, Scottie Scheffler said that little or no information to players about the details of the negotiation or the framework agreement itself is what worries him most. It's "a bit worrisome," he said.
Scottie Scheffler expresses his concerns over the PIF-PGAT merger. 🗣
#ScottieScheffler #PGATour #LIVGolf https://t.co/ABZq9HCBzX
Scottie Scheffler also said, however, that in his opinion, the organization is taking steps in the right direction to make the best of the present situation, for all parties involved.
The following are excerpts from Scottie Scheffler's remarks, according to Golf Week and the DP World Tour News Service:
"As a player on Tour, we still don’t really have a lot of clarity as to what’s going on and that’s a bit worrisome. It’s just a framework agreement right now so I don’t know what that entails. We are not involved in any of the discussions. None of the players were involved in the original framework greet, and so we just don’t really."
Scottie Scheffler also spoke about the Senate hearing held Tuesday as part of the investigation into the PIF/PGA Tour settlement. Executive Ron Price and Policy Board Director Jimmy Dunne testified.
In this regard, Scheffler said:
"We didn’t really learn a whole lot, again ... They keep saying it’s a player-run organization, and we don’t really have the information that we need. I watched part of yesterday and didn’t learn anything. So I really don’t know what to say.”
Scottie Scheffler was emphatic in explaining how he approaches this issue: trying to involve himself as little as possible in his follow-up to stay focused on his game. He stated, however, that he "loves playing on the PGA Tour."
“I just try to keep my head down and play golf. I don’t get too involved in a lot of that stuff. I love playing golf on the PGA Tour and that’s the spot for me. I’m hoping that’s going to exist for a long time. I felt like we were doing a good job before and then the agreement happened and now we have to navigate the whole deal."
He added:
“I think the Tour is working hard to try to get us more information but like I said, it’s tough when you’re in negotiations to make everything public. It’s hard to negotiate the public side. I understand the privacy of it but I just wish that definitely our player reps need to be more involved in the process.”
What else Scottie Scheffler talked about
Scottie Scheffler also talked about his stellar season so far where he hasn't finished outside the top 12 since last October and has 10 consecutive top 10s on the PGA Tour before the Genesis Scottish Open.
In addition, he gave details on the state of his preparation, and even opined on his putting skills, something he has struggled with recently but, which, he said, is of no concern to him.
"I've played solid golf this year," Scheffler said, "I'm very proud of that. As far as going into the rest of the season I treat every week the same, showing up here with a good attitude, ready to play."
He added:
"I did take a good bit of time off after The Travelers, I was pretty tired when we got back home, so my prep for this week may not be as strong as it usually would be, but the rest for me was definitely the most important factor coming into this week and next week."
About his putting, Scottie Scheffler said:
"I think that it's all just perception [the putting issues]. I believe that I'm a very good Putter and everything kind of returns to the average and if you're hitting the ball as good as I have been in the past year it's very very difficult to make all the putts."
He added:
"As far as my golf game goes, I feel like the things that I'm working on to improve have been working significantly. I've gotten back to number one in the world and I've had a bunch of top five finishes. Granted: if I can make a few more puts, those would have been wins, but at the end of the day, I'm proud of how I've approached tournaments this year and and played solid Golf and that's what I'm focused on."
This is Scottie Scheffler's third participation in the Genesis Scottish Open. His best result in his two previous appearances was T12 in the 2021 edition, where he posted a score of 13-under 271 at The Renaissance Club itself.