Scottie Scheffler might be a creature of habit who cherishes his routine, but he’ll be forced to get a little uncomfortable in the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Scheffler positioned himself to chase down Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose in the final round of the PGA Tour’s first leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs. Eagle-eyed golf fans who have become accustomed to seeing the world No. 1 working alongside caddie Ted Scott likely noticed the all-word looper was nowhere to be found in the final round.
Scottie Scheffler Takes on Final Round in Memphis Without Ted Scott
Scott had to leave Memphis prior to the final round of the tournament to return home to attend to a private family matter. According to PGATour.com, Brad Payne stepped in for Scott to make the 18-hole trek around TPC Southwind with the four-time major winner.
While Scheffler is particular about his routine and even some of his equipment, a last-minute change like this shouldn’t make him feel completely uncomfortable. In fact, Scheffler had to call Payne out of the bullpen at the 2024 PGA Championship where he looped for his boss in the third round while Scott returned home for his daughter’s graduation.
Coincidentally (or not perhaps), Scheffler’s worst round of the weekend came with Payne on the bag. Scheffler shot a third-round 73 at Valhalla on his way to finishing eight strokes behind eventual champion Xander Schauffele for the weekend. Of course, it’s hard to make much out of that experience for Scheffler when it was one day earlier Scheffler was arrested on his way to the course. He was famously booked at the police station, returned to the course and shot a 5-under 66.
Why Scottie Scheffler Called on Brad Payne as Replacement
So maybe there is something to read into that one-round sample size with Payne. Scott returned for that Sunday round, and Scheffler fired a 6-under 65.
“I think having Teddy out is always helpful,” Scheffler told reporters after the final round of the 2024 PGA Championship. “I’ve talked a lot about how great his for me out there on course and keeping me in a good head space. Obviously (Saturday with Payne) was a bit of a different day, but it’s up to me to come out and hit the shots and execute, and (Saturday) I wasn’t able to do that, and (Sunday) I got off to the slow start, but we did a good job of staying patient adn coming otu and having a really, really nice back nine to have a decent finish this week.”
Payne is no stranger to Scheffler nor the rest of the Tour. He serves as a chaplain for players on Tour and is close with Scheffler from their native Dallas.
As for what Payne brings to the table, Scheffler has made it clear in the past he’s not looking for anyone to replace Scott. In fact, the job requirements are quite simple.
“It’s one of my older friends who travels week to week out here as the tour chaplain,” Scheffler told reporters in a press conference in May of 2024. ” … I trust him to rake a bunker more than my buddies.”
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