RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Scottie Scheffler won the FedEx St. Jude Championship by eight shots last week in Memphis. Alex Slitz via Getty Images
Scottie Scheffler’s health took a hard hit after his win in Memphis.
The top-ranked golfer in the world revealed Sunday, after finishing T12 at the BMW Championship in the second FedExCup Playoff stop, that he was dealing with hand, foot and mouth disease.
Scheffler said he first got sick on Monday night, one day after his eight-shot win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship , and that he’s been dealing with blisters on his hands and feet and in his throat.
“That was probably the most frustrating part. Like I just, you know, playing really good golf, and you come out of the heat and get a little adrenaline, sometimes your body kind of crashes,” Scheffler said. “Then it hit me pretty good all week. I'm still not 100% now, but I'll get some rest now and hopefully that will help.”
Things got so bad that Scheffler said he was struggling to even grip a club early on in the week.
“If I was smarter maybe I would have pulled out, but I was playing so good I felt like if I could knock it out quickly and just get through the first couple rounds I would still have a chance,” he said. “But I think that's part of my stubbornness, probably.”
Even with the illness, Scheffler had a pretty decent week at Bellerive Country Club. After opening with a 2-over 72, Scheffler posted three rounds in the 60s and closed his week with a 2-under 68. That got him to 7-under on the week, 10 shots back from winner Wyndham Clark .
He managed to pull that all off without going through a normal workout or pre-round routine.
“I was prioritizing rest so I wasn't able to work out the way I want to, and practice the way I want to, and even warm-up for rounds the way I want to,” he said. “I really just did my best to try and battle and it maybe was a poor decision playing, but I've never been one to try and quit.”
Despite his finish, Scheffler will still enter the Tour Championship next week in Atlanta as the clear leader in the FedExCup standings. The final event of the postseason doesn’t have the old staggered strokes starting format, however, so Scheffler won’t have any advantage entering the week.
But now that the worst of his illness is behind him, Scheffler feels like he’s in a pretty good spot.
“I'm proud of how I fought,” Scheffler said. “Feel like I'm starting to heal up. My throat is still bugging me pretty good. But my hands feel normal today … Hopefully the throat will clear up the next couple days.”
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