Ted Scott revealed that Scottie Scheffler claimed that his ball-striking was a weakness when they first began to work together, as he reflected on being on the bag for the world number one.
It has been a truly remarkable few years for Scheffler. The 30-year-old went into the 2022 season on the PGA Tour still awaiting a first victory.
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As the 2026 major championship season draws to a close, Scheffler can now reflect on four major victories, with 16 further wins coming on the PGA Tour.
What Scottie Scheffler claimed was a weakness when he began to work with Ted Scott
Ted Scott has been his caddie for the large majority of that time. The pair began working together shortly after Scheffler made his Ryder Cup debut back in 2021.
Incredibly, it seems that one person who did not see such success just around the corner was Scottie Scheffler himself.
Speaking in a past Bible Caddie podcast, Scott explained what Scheffler identified as a problem within his game when their partnership began.
“It’s really amazing especially because when I first started working for him, he told me, he said, ‘I’m not a very good ball-striker’. And after week one, I was like, ‘buddy, are you sure you’re not a very good ball-striker? Who’s telling you this? What’s wrong with you? You hit everything directly at the tree I’m pointing at, driver included’,” he said.
“It’s interesting how we perceive ourselves. He’s a very confident man, he has a belief in himself, and he’s a really hard worker, super hard worker. Humble, he’ll ask for help, he’s not afraid to tell his team, ‘look, I’m struggling with this, can you help me figure this out?’ He’s just got a really cool heart to be great, and it’s been amazing to stand [next to him].”
How Scottie Scheffler’s approach play improved dramatically after 2021
In fairness to Scheffler, he had good reason to think that his ball-striking could be better.
He was actually 83rd on tour for approach play during the 2021 season. It is easy to forget now that he was a slightly contentious pick for the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits.
The 2026 season is likely to be his worst season for strokes gained approach since then.
Scheffler is currently 13th.
However, he was fourth in 2022, before finishing first in that category for three seasons in a row. So it is no wonder that Scott was left completely baffled by Scheffler’s criticism of himself.
Scheffler’s challenge for 2027 will be to return to that sort of level after a year which does look set to be a disappointment by his incredible standards.
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