Prominent on-course commentator and broadcaster Wayne ‘Radar’ Riley says Scottie Scheffler must stop “whinging”.
The American, 29, enters this week’s Players Championship as the overwhelming favourite to clinch the unofficial fifth men’s major of the year.
Should he win, he would join Jack Nicklaus as the only other three-time winner of the event.
He arrives at TPC Sawgrass where his results don’t really paint the true picture of what has transpired on the golf course.
Scheffler claimed his 21st PGA Tour title on his first start of the calendar year at the American Express then added three more top-15 finishes and a top-25.
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On each occasion, though, Scheffler has started slowly and was left with an uphill battle to make the cut and get into contention over the weekend.
Scottie Scheffler
There have been moments where Scheffler’s anger has boiled over or at least threatened to. Last week, Scheffler lobbed his golf ball into the water after a missing a par putt on the 18th at Bay Hill.
Then he ranted to his caddie Ted Scott.
The aforementioned Riley told the latest edition of the Sky Sports golf podcast that he “doesn’t know what’s going on with Scheffler” so far this season.
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He added: “I’ve heard him have a right few whinges. On the golf course you don’t really know what you’re going to get.
“When you’re a new person coming on Tour, it’s all lovely. It’s like a big old box of chocolates. You cruise out there and everything’s just ‘dandy’, as they say over here.
“As you stay on tour a little longer, seeing some things start to go wrong, you start to see players’ true characters.
“He has been having a whinge because things aren’t going his way. In the last three years, he’s only won like $100m? Stop your whinging!”
Scottie Scheffler
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Scheffler spoke to reporters about his expectations this week in his pre-tournament news conference on Tuesday.
When asked if he had struggled to meet his expectations, Scheffler flipped the script.
“I think that’s kind of a funny question,” he said.
“Because if you flipped my season around and it was like, I finished 24th last week, 12th, then third and fourth, and a win. Would your question be the same?
“Your expectations of me are living week by week, my expectations of myself are almost more shot by shot.
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Scottie Scheffler
“So I think, when you look at the perspective from the media, the media is always trying to create a story. Which can be a great thing. I think that’s part of your job.
“But when it comes to my golf game and my expectations of myself, my expectations all are based around what I want for me mentally on the golf course as being committed to what I can do and controlling that aspect.
“And so far throughout this season I’ve been really good in some spots and then some other spots I feel like I can improve in terms of my commitment to the shot.”
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