Scottie Scheffler unmoved by US Open setback, ready to bounce back at Travelers

The world number one was a hot favorite at Pinehurst last week after claiming his fifth victory of the season at the Memorial Tournament a fortnight ago.

But the 27-year-old finished 14 shots behind winner Bryson DeChambeau after winning his fifth straight round over par.

The Masters champion told a press conference: “Well, I didn’t really think about it much when I was shooting under par, so I probably won’t think about it too much when I’m shooting over par. by.

“It’s just one of those deals, like when I was playing well and was able to survive on tougher golf courses.

“It’s just one of those weird little stats. It’s not like I played that bad and shot over par.”

Scheffler expressed frustration with the schedule last week, suggesting that scheduling the Memorial Tournament – ​​one of the PGA Tour’s eight “signature” events – the week before the third major of the year was not not ideal.

Since then, it has been announced that the Jack Nicklaus-hosted tournament will be moved a week earlier than in 2025 to allow more preparation time for the US Open.

The concept of lucrative tournament events with limited participants is in its first year and was developed in response to the threat from Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf.

Scheffler has generally received the series favorably but expects further changes to be made to the format in due course.

He said: “As far as playing multiple weeks in a row, having the opportunity to play two-up makes it a lot easier to get guys around the golf course, especially if we’re asked to play multiple weeks of following these events.

“As far as the on-course product goes, I think it’s great to have the best players together as often as possible on our Tour, and how to achieve that is the biggest question to ask.

“I think as the year progresses into the offseason, I think we’ll have a lot more of those discussions to look at.”

The Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn., is the last of this year’s marquee events.

Reports on the eve of the event suggested there had been no significant developments in the Tour’s ongoing discussions with the Saudi Public Investment Fund over a possible tie-up with LIV.

Scheffler said: “I don’t know if they’re doing well or if they’re doing bad. I hope they continue to improve but it’s out of my control, so I’m not too worried.”

Scheffler was confirmed this week as part of the U.S. team for this summer’s Olympics.

He said: “Representing your country is really special and to do it on the Olympic stage is going to be quite surreal. I’m just excited to go there and experience the Olympics.”