Scottie Scheffler was struggling. A major winner’s classy gesture followed

Keegan Bradley performed with Scottie Scheffler on Saturday afternoon. On Friday night time, he couldn’t wait. 

“Yeah, I’m always impressed,” Bradley stated. “I’m impressed watching Viktor [Hovland] play. I’m impressed watching Collin [Morikawa] play. I believe I’m enjoying with Scottie tomorrow. I’m excited to look at him play. This youthful era of gamers is thrilling to look at.

“I love being out there and playing with these guys.”

Then Bradley and Scheffler obtained to East Lake Golf Club’s ninth. 

Notably, it had been 5 years since Bradley had been to East Lake, interval, the place the PGA Tour performs its season-ending Tour Championship. And earlier than this 12 months, 2018 was additionally the final time he’d gained, too. The 2016 ban on anchor-putting had stung the 2011 PGA Championship winner. His placing had suffered. He had struggled to seek out kind. But this has been a comeback season for the now-37-year-old. 

Last October, he gained the Zozo Championship. In June, on the Travelers Championship, he gained once more. And simply have a look at these placing stats. This season, he’s twenty sixth in Strokes Gained: Putting; for comparability, simply two seasons in the past, he was 186th. Things have been so good, they’re mentioning Bradley amongst these up for a captain’s choose for the U.S. Ryder Cup group. 

But man, he half-jokes, why does everybody hold bringing that up?! So Bradley’s leaning into it. 

“Yeah, I think about it every second,” he stated. “I would like to sit here and lie to you guys and say I’m not thinking about it, but like periodically throughout the round, it will pop into my head. But it’s impossible for me not to think about. So I’m sort of trying to embrace it. I’m playing good golf. But the FedExCup’s most important right now.”

Scheffler’s season, in the meantime, has been other-worldly. His entire profession has been really, albeit simply 5 years outdated. Last 12 months, he gained 4 occasions, together with on the Masters. This 12 months, he’s gained twice, together with on the Players Championship. But it’s greater than that. Most of his numbers throughout the board have people whispering Scheffler’s identify with that Tiger Woods dude.

“He could end up with the best ball-striking season of all time,” Rory McIlroy stated earlier this week. “He’s hit the ball as good, if not better, than Tiger hit it in 2000. Which is the benchmark for all of us.”

But again up. Did you discover a few phrases above? Here they’re once more. In italic.   

Most of. 

Scheffler isn’t placing properly. Maybe it’s him. Maybe it’s his putter. Maybe it’s golf. But he’s 145th in SG: Putting. And the outlier has been a topic this 12 months. He’s maintained he’s OK, that the lip-outs will lip in and so forth. But this stuff can put on on you. And creep into different elements of your sport. Doubt has no out-of-bounds stakes.  

You at the least needed to be questioning that Thursday, in the course of the opening spherical of the Tour Championship, when Scheffler made two bogeys and a double over a five-hole stretch in a one-over 71. He was thirtieth within the 30-man area that day in SG: Putting, and the lead that he had entered with, because of a staggered-strokes format, was gone. But Friday was higher. Scheffler shot a 65. He was fifth in SG: Putting.   

But Saturday was a large number. 

Nothing fell. On the par-5 sixth, Scheffler three-putted from 11 toes. On the par-4 seventh, he three-putted from 71. On the par-4 eighth, he dropped an 11-footer. 

Then Bradley and Scheffler obtained to East Lake Golf Club’s ninth. 

Where Scheffler rolled in a 3-footer for par. 

And the enjoying companion who had been excited to be his enjoying companion put out his proper fist as he stood about 10 toes away. 

And forty-five holes into enjoying for an $18 million first prize, Bradley walked towards the professional who was going by means of some issues that he had as soon as suffered by means of.

And they fist-bumped. 

And they walked off the inexperienced collectively. 

Now, that is nothing uncommon, nor did Scheffler begin raining all the pieces in, although he did end with makes of 12, 12 and 6 toes. And perhaps you missed it. And perhaps who cares. 

But rattling, proper? All the feels. 

“Sportsmanship by Keegan there to congratulate him on that up-and-down,” announcer Jim Nantz stated on the CBS broadcast. 

Damn proper. All the feels. 

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Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his function, he’s liable for modifying, writing and creating tales throughout the golf area. And when he’s not writing about methods to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native might be enjoying the sport, hitting the ball left, proper and brief, and consuming a chilly beer to scrub away his rating. You can attain out to him about any of those matters — his tales, his sport or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.