{"id":899238,"date":"2026-09-17T13:52:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T13:52:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/899238\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T13:52:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T13:52:16","slug":"is-scottie-scheffler-failing-as-a-global-golfing-ambassador","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/899238\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Scottie Scheffler Failing As A Global Golfing Ambassador?"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a lot to like about Scottie Scheffler<\/a>. Generational talent? Check. Nice guy? Check. Fantastic to watch when in full flow? Check.<\/p>\n

On the other side of the coin, he\u2019s not the swashbuckling, charismatic entertainer many would like him to be. To an extent, this isn\u2019t his fault \u2013 he\u2019s found an approach he perceives to be advantageous and he\u2019s not trying to be someone he\u2019s not.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Even if I\u2019d like him to be slightly more gregarious, it\u2019s hard to find fault with any of that.<\/p>\n

Latest Videos FromGolf Monthly<\/p>\n

One thing he absolutely should be criticised for, though, is the fact he\u2019s seemingly allergic to leaving America for more than a fortnight each year.<\/p>\n

The World No.1<\/a> should be a global ambassador for the game and he falls well short in this department. His reticence to leave his bubble and travel the word is both confusing and slightly self-centered.<\/p>\n

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To be clear, I’m talking mainly about the autumn here, when the Tour Championship has finished and there isn’t a ‘meaningful’ PGA Tour event for several months. Clearly I understand why he plays in America from January to August, two weeks in July aside.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the case for the defence to see if there\u2019s merit in any of it. Philosophically, does he owe anything to anyone? Why should he leave his comfort zone to travel around the world? Why should he change a routine that\u2019s made him so successful in the first place?<\/p>\n

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I can see both sides of this argument, but when you reach such heights, you have to acknowledge some things are bigger than you. Being World No.1 comes with certain inferred responsibilities.<\/p>\n

While you\u2019re the custodian, you should make an effort to promote the game globally and give back to a sport that\u2019s provided you with so much.<\/p>\n

I know some people will disagree here, and that\u2019s fine. If you see things as black and white, I doubt I\u2019ll be able to change your mind. But the fact is most Americans \u2013 in a golfing and wider sense \u2013 are pretty atrocious at leaving their homeland. There\u2019s no question this is detrimental to the global golfing ecosystem.<\/p>\n

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Another argument is he\u2019s recently become a father of two. I understand that, but I\u2019d counter with four points: his career dictates he\u2019s away from home a lot anyway, his family could easily join him abroad (he\u2019s plenty rich enough to afford a private jet), he barely travelled before having children and plenty of others play around the world while having families.<\/p>\n

Patrick Reed<\/a> is an apt example here given he\u2019s American and also has two children. Every European golfer seems to manage a two-circuit schedule, too.<\/p>\n

The best excuse is the Presidents Cup \u2013 something I\u2019d like to see removed from the schedule \u2013 but I\u2019m still not buying that as it only happens every couple of years. It\u2019s hardly as if he hangs around in Europe after the Ryder Cup to play some fall events, either.<\/p>\n

Scheffler could be playing in the BMW PGA Championship <\/a>this week, but instead he\u2019s in America preparing for another demolition of the International Team. However, I\u2019m confident in saying he wouldn\u2019t have been at Wentworth<\/a> anyway \u2013 he\u2019s never played there.<\/p>\n

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\"Patrick\n<\/p>\n

Patrick Reed plays on the DP World Tour regularly <\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

‘A Debt Incurred’<\/p>\n

We recently asked Gary Player \u2013 the most prolific international golfer of all time in terms of global tournament wins \u2013 for his views on whether Scheffler should travel more.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I admire about Scheffler is that he’s very much a family man. Your family is so vitally important, and I was deprived of that because I had to travel away from my family from South Africa,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt least he’s lucky, he lives in America. When he finishes a tournament, most of these guys have their own jets so they’re back home on Sunday night and they can see them.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I would like to see Scheffler, who’s such a wonderful golfer and such a very nice man, to travel and promote golf internationally<\/a> more than he does, because we have a debt incurred.<\/p>\n

\u201cGolf has done so much for us, and I wish Scottie would travel and play just a little more. I would say five tournaments a year, like Nicklaus did, like Palmer did, like Sam Snead did, like Trevino did, like Tom Watson did.\u201d<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t agree more with Player. The Open, the Scottish Open, the Ryder Cup and the Olympic Golf Tournament are the only professional events outside North America Scheffler has played in since he joined the PGA Tour full-time in 2020. To me, that is inexcusable.<\/p>\n

Let that sink in. He hasn\u2019t competed in a single DP World Tour event that wasn\u2019t co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour. He\u2019s never taken part in the Australian Open. He’s never ventured to Asia.<\/p>\n

He’s made noises recently about being intrigued by certain regions and events outside America, but actions speak louder than words. He’d be welcomed with open arms at any golf tournament in the world.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Scottie\n<\/p>\n

Scheffler plays the Scottish Open and The Open each year<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

I just don\u2019t understand why he won\u2019t leave his bubble. Getting out of your comfort zone and playing in different conditions on different styles of courses with different types of grasses can only make you a better golfer. It clearly helped the development of players like Brooks Koepka<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I suppose if you only ever play in America on identikit courses, there\u2019s not much benefit. Well, apart from the fact the Ryder Cup is away from home every four years. Did he compete in Europe before Marco Simone in 2023? No. Did that contribute to the World No.1 returning one point from a possible four? Almost certainly.<\/p>\n

Next year, the Ryder Cup takes place at Adare Manor, a parkland course, in September. The BMW PGA Championship is staged on a parkland course in September. I\u2019ll let you decide if he could have gleaned anything useful from visiting Wentworth over the years.<\/p>\n

European fans have so much time for the likes of Billy Horschel \u2013 and even Reed \u2013 because they\u2019re prepared to travel, they have respect for the fans and they recognise the magnitude of the tournaments. They\u2019re not sheltered and closed off to the golf world beyond American shores.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Gary\n<\/p>\n

Gary Player has urged Scheffler to play more around the world<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

A barrier to greatness?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a question about whether you can truly be considered a great of the game if you haven\u2019t won around the world.<\/p>\n

Tiger<\/a> Woods was hardly a prolific traveller, but he won events in Thailand, Australia, Dubai, Germany and Japan outside of the Majors and World Golf Championship. Jack Nicklaus won the Australian Open six times.<\/p>\n

Arnold Palmer claimed titles in England, Spain, Australia and Latin America, Tom Watson triumphed in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia and Gary Player won on every golf-playing continent. Rory McIlroy<\/a> has been victorious in seven different countries. You get the point.<\/p>\n

To be clear, it\u2019s not just Scottie \u2013 the likes of Jordan Spieth<\/a>, Justin Thomas<\/a> and Xander Schauffele<\/a> also have a lot to answer for \u2013 but the issue is magnified given his position at the top of the world rankings.<\/p>\n

Is Scheffler a great golfer? Yes. Is he a great of the game? Given his reluctance to promote golf internationally, I don\u2019t think he can be classed as such.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s a lot to like about Scottie Scheffler. Generational talent? Check. Nice guy? Check. Fantastic to watch when…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":899239,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,622,82],"class_list":["post-899238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=899238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/899239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=899238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=899238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=899238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}