Scottie Scheffler has known Gary Woodland since he was a young boy.
Both Scheffler and Woodland were, and still are, members of the Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas, Texas.
The 29-year-old used to watch the 2019 U.S. Open champion practice with his coach, Randy Smith, for hours on end.
Scottie Scheffler obviously idolized Gary Woodland at the time, and the two players have become great friends over the years.
The 41-year-old has a lot of respect for the four-time major champion. In fact, Woodland recently said Scheffler is the best golfer in the world by quite some distance.
Away from the golf course, though, both men look at each other as real inspirations.
Scottie Scheffler says it’s hard to watch Gary Woodland at times
The 29-year-old spoke to reporters after his third round at the RBC Heritage on Saturday.
Scheffler was asked to share his feelings on Woodland and the mental battle that his friend is currently in the middle of.
“Yeah, Gary is a guy who I’ve looked up to for a long time,“ the world number one said.
“He worked with Randy a long time ago, starting when he was in college and when he was a young pro, and I was a young kid at Royal Oaks who was fortunate to be able to sit there and watch him practice.
“Gary was always great at letting me hang around, and I’m sure I was fairly annoying at times, but there was never a moment where he kicked me off the range.
“He always let me spend time with him, compete with him, watch him practice, do all different kinds of things.
“So he’s been a guy that I’ve looked up to for a long time. Like you said, you spend a lot of time around Gary. He’s a fantastic guy, a great competitor. The game of golf I think means so much to him and his family.
“It’s hard to watch him at times just because I know exactly what he’s going through, but the guy is so resilient. He’s so tough.
For him to show up, especially after a week like last week, which can be pretty draining mentally for him, to show up this week and continue to play and compete the way he does is pretty inspirational.“
Woodland has been struggling with PTSD since undergoing successful brain surgery in 2023 and it is a battle that the man from Topeka, Kansas, is determined to win.
With friends like Scheffler around him, he should be just fine.
What impresses Gary Woodland most about Scottie Scheffler
Woodland also spoke to reporters on Saturday at the RBC Heritage.
He was asked what impresses him most about the world number one golfer.
“What impresses me about Scottie? Everything, both on and off the golf course,“ he said.
“He’s just a stud. Does the right things.
“I learn visually, so being able to spend that much time around him and watch what he’s doing, there’s no doubt it’s helped me and helped my game.“
It must be very comforting for Gary Woodland to have someone like Scottie Scheffler to lean on during the PGA Tour season.
Judging by their comments, they both help each other out very much, both on and off the golf course.
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