Dom Amore: Scottie Scheffler, still No. 1, ready to run it back at Travelers

CROMWELL, Conn. — Scottie Scheffler has come to trust Ted Scott implicitly, especially in navigating the TPC River Highlands course.

But there are times when Scheffler, known to be fiery, is ready to tell his caddie, “Enough, I get it.”

“Every time we stepped up on a tee box for about three years, he would just describe the hole,” Scheffler said. “And say, ‘When Bubba won here, he did this.’ After a few balls, that can get pretty annoying.”

Scheffler was half joking. In fact, Scott, who caddied for Bubba Watson as he won the Travelers Championship in 2010, ’15 and ’18, has been an indispensable resource since their link up in 2021, nowhere more than here. Scheffler has been the top-ranked golfer on the PGA Tour for 100 weeks, a feat achieved only by Tiger Woods in his prime. Last year, in a wild finish, wild in more ways than one, Scheffler added the Travelers trophy to his collection, along with its $3.6 million winner’s share. There’s nothing to prevent him from saying, “Been there, done that,” even though the Travelers is a Signature Event on the tour.

But some people can’t seem to get enough of winning championships in Connecticut, you may have heard, so Scheffler is coming back to chase another.

“What we talk about on that golf course,” Scheffler said, “I think there’s a stigma around it, that you have to make a ton of birdies to win. But it’s really about getting those looks. There are certain holes where you have to play very conservative, play to the middle of the green and just try to get as many looks for birdies as possible. I wouldn’t say we play (TPC River Highlands) very aggressively, but we try to maximize the amount of looks we get and limit our mistakes.”

Scheffler, who will turn 29 during the Travelers this year, June 19-22, is in the prime of an historic career, and he comes off a memorable year. He won nine tournaments, including The Masters, an Olympic gold medal in Paris and a record $76.3 million in earnings in 2024, plus another $28 million in sponsorships. He was arrested on his way into the PGA Championship in Louisville during what was determined a misunderstanding at a traffic stop, all charges dropped. As he defeated his close friend Tom Kim in a playoff at the Travelers June 26, climate protesters stormed the 18th green, disrupting and delaying the finish.

Along the way, Scheffler and his wife, Meredith, welcomed a new son, Bennett, who could be taking his first steps by the time the family returns to Connecticut. He spoke from his home in Dallas, via Zoom with ESPN icon Chris Berman at the Travelers media day on Tuesday.

“At the end of the year, I was very grateful for the year, very thankful,” Scheffler said. “I had some pretty significant life experiences last year. It was a lot of fun.”

Andy Bessette, Travelers’ executive vice president and chief administrative officer, sent Scheffler his gift. Aware of his love of fine coffee, he sent an elaborate roaster with a bag of high-end Kona coffee beans from Hawaii. “This is pretty intense, Andy,” Scheffler said, lifting the large contraption from its box.

“We do a lot of things to make sure we’re part of their family and they’re part of ours,” Bessette said. “Scottie can focus, he can turn on his focus and get honed in so quickly. Tiger did it, Rory (McIlroy) does it, there are a handful that do it. But watching Scottie and the way that he gets into it, when he’s feeling it, that’s the most impressive thing about him. They always called it in my day, ‘The Zone.’ He goes into The Zone.”

As a Signature Event, The Travelers, which raised $3.2 million for local charities in 2024, will again have a star-studded field. It used to be, golfers had to play in nearly all Signature Events, but that is no longer the case, so Bessette and tournament director Nathan Grube, partners for 19 years, still work to get them here. They already have the top five in the world, including Scheffler, McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas committed, and expect to have most of the top 75.

Changes to make the course more challenging, without altering the character too much, were well received by the competitors last year. After last year’s scene on 18, security protocols have been reviewed and revised, though officials don’t talk specifics on such things. A few new tweaks, a stone retainer fence visible from the clubhouse and a few dead trees removed near No. 2, are in the works, along with some new concessions including a Tree House Brewery near No. 14.

“Playing in front of the crowds we get,” Scheffler said. “It’s got a little bit of a small-town feel. You get such a great crowd, they’re always rowdy and having fun and it gets loud. Those finishing holes. The scene around 18 is so special for us. I’d always dreamt of winning that tournament. I remember watching Jordan (Spieth’s) bunker shot (for birdie in a 2017 playoff) when I was in college and trying to become a pro. It’s just one of those golf courses where there is a great opportunity for you to have a special finish. Year after year, the Travelers seems to provide that.”

His wild 2024 couldn’t end without another bizarre occurrence, a hand injury he sustained while making Christmas dinner — he tried using a wine glass to roll pasta dough for ravioli. He missed the first few weeks of ’25 after shards of glass were removed from his palm, then finished fourth at The Masters, three strokes behind winner McIlroy.

With over a month to go, Scheffler figures to be fully healed and back on top of his game in time for the Travelers, assuming he leaves the cooking to others, and the man on his bag, Scott, going for his fifth Travelers, cools it with the Bubba talk.

“Bubba’s a lefty and he likes to slice it off the tee,” Scheffler said. “And I tell Ted, ‘If you keep saying when Bubba won here, I’m going to hit you with my club.' ”