“You made this place brutal today” - Scottie Scheffler tells Jack Nicklaus that he ‘barely survived’ the course at the Memorial Tournament
Scottie Scheffler won the Memorial Tournament 2024 on Sunday. The World No.1 golfer closed with a 2-over 74, his highest final round in two years, to extend his impressive run of form. However, the Masters champion later revealed that he ‘just did enough’ to survive at the Muirfield Golf Club.
Following his one-shot win over Collin Morikawa, Scheffler shook hands with the tournament host Jack Nicklaus. During the exchange, the legendary golfer called Scheffler a “survivor.” The 27-year-old golfer thanked the veteran and stated that the course was “brutal” to play. The golfer revealed that he “didn’t do a whole lot great” to take the victory.
Scottie Scheffler told Jack Nicklaus after his Memorial Tournament win, as quoted by PGATOUR.com:
“You made this place brutal today… This is a tough place to close out. I didn’t do a whole lot great today, but I did enough.”
For the unversed, Scottie Scheffler’s win at the Memorial Tournament was his fifth of the season. The ace golfer came into the weekend with wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players Championship, the Masters and the RBC Heritage.
The golfer took the winner’s prize check of $4,000,000 to beat his single-season earning record of $21,000,000.
Scottie Scheffler lists reasons why Muirfield is a tough course to play
Scheffler attended the winner’s press conference along with Nicklaus. The champion golfer took the opportunity to reveal he was playing under some pressure this weekend. He went on to list out reasons why Muirfield was a tough course to play.
Replying to a media query about the course difficulty, Scottie Scheffler said (at 3:03):
“I think the wind was up… Like you got holes like 18 where it's really hard to hold the green, at 17 I was in between clubs and if I hit seven iron, I really don't think it would have even been possible for me to hold the green with it. So, I tried to just smash an eight iron and get it up there.
The firmness of the greens makes this golf course so difficult because the areas are already so small. Then when you get the wind up and the greens it's almost impossible sometimes to hit the ball in the right area.”
However, Scheffler added that it wasn’t the hardest win he managed this year. The 27-year-old stated it’s ‘hard to rate the difficulty of wins.’ He claimed that his ‘satisfaction’ was sky-high as he managed to win the event hosted by Nicklaus. The Masters champion dubbed it ‘special’ to win this weekend and shake the Golden Bear’s hand as a winner.
It is pertinent to note that Scheffler’s win came just days ahead of the 2024 US Open at Pinehurst. The golfer’s stellar performance at the demanding Muirfield has made him a favorite for the upcoming major.