Owings Mills (USA), Aug 14 (AP) – Scottie Scheffler is adjusting to a temporary change in his golfing routine for the BMW Championship due to his regular caddie, Ted Scott, attending to a family emergency in Louisiana. Scott's unexpected departure came right after the third round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, prompting Scheffler to rely on Brad Payne, a close friend from the College Golf Fellowship, for immediate assistance.
This week, Scheffler has enlisted Michael Cromie, typically the caddie for Chris Kirk, who narrowly missed qualifying for the BMW Championship by a single stroke. Scheffler expressed confidence in Cromie's capabilities, noting, "He works really hard and does a good job. We're both learning a new golf course this week, so it's been fun."
Details about Scott’s family situation remain private; however, Scheffler has managed to keep in touch and reassured everyone that Scott's family is maintaining a positive outlook. "I think Ted's where he needs to be right now, and I think caddying is probably the last thing on his mind, as it should be," Scheffler acknowledged.
Despite the changes, Scheffler's recent performance remains strong, having finished just one shot shy of a playoff at TPC Southwind. He continues to hold the No. 1 seed in the FedEx Cup at the BMW Championship and is already guaranteed a $5 million bonus for maintaining his lead heading into the FedEx Cup finale next week at East Lake.
Cromie is currently acclimating to Scheffler’s personal preferences, from understanding when he prefers to snack to gauging how often he needs hydration. Additionally, he is learning the intricacies of providing accurate yardages and other course conditions essential for Scheffler’s strategy. The focus on precise yardage from tee-to-green remains critical.
Scheffler appreciated Payne’s assistance last week, saying, "Brad did a great job stepping in, but Brad is a friend, he's not a professional caddie. It's not that I don't trust Brad to do the numbers. It was just something that I think both of us probably thought it was a good idea to be double-checking each other."
With Cromie on board, Scheffler anticipates a more routine preparation process. "Going into this week, it will be kind of more of a normal routine for me in terms of preparation over the shot and stuff like that," he explained. "It's nice for me to be able to walk up to the ball, see the shot that I can imagine hitting, and then when the numbers come, we start trying to really dial it in." (AP)
(Only the headline of this report may have been reworked by Editorji; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)