Kevin Kisner believes the only glaring absence from Scottie Scheffler’s resume is a dominant performance in Team USA colors after the world No. 1 clinched his second FedEx Cup title.
Scheffler surged to victory at East Lake to win the Tour Championship on Sunday, coming from three shots back to beat Viktor Hovland by three and win the $10 million season finale.
At just 30 years old, Scheffler has four majors, 22 PGA Tour wins, and a 172-week run as world No. 1 under his belt, and Kisner believes the only stages for him left to conquer are the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup. Scheffler produced woeful performances by his high standards in the past two editions of the Ryder Cup.
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After an impressive debut at Whistling Straits in 2021, Scheffler has secured just two points from nine matches at Marco Simone and Bethpage as Team USA slumped to defeats at the hands of Luke Donald’s Europe. Scheffler has a losing record from his two Presidents Cup appearances, too, taking 3.5 points from his nine matches against in the Internationals.
NBC analyst and four-time PGA Tour winner Kisner, an assistant captain to Keegan Bradley at Bethpage, says the next stage of Scheffler’s evolution is to lead from the front in team competition.
“There is no more limit for him. He’s already at the top ceiling,” Kisner told ‘Fore Play.’ “I mean, where else do you go when you lead every stat and you made 130 million bucks and you win every FedEx cup and you just beat everyone?
Kisner has called for Scheffler to dominate at Medinah in three weeks -Credit:Getty Images
“What I want to see is him dominate a President’s Cup or a Ryder Cup. The one thing I haven’t seen him absolutely do is just take a team on his back and win it for him.”
Scheffler has a chance to go about repairing his record in team matches when the Presidents Cup begins at Medinah Country Club in Illinois in three weeks. The Ryder Cup follows at Adare Manor in the Republic of Ireland in September 2027.
Scheffler finished top of the qualification standings for the Presidents Cup after his third PGA Tour win of the season. Brandt Snedeker will announce his captain’s picks to complete his 12-man roster on Tuesday.
Kisner appears to be in no doubt that Scheffler will right the ship in team competitions; he described the world No. 1 as a “robot” after his clinical performance to finish top of the pile at East Lake.
“There are so many aspects to his game that people don’t really highlight,” he said. “Like his chipping and bunker play and all the course management stuff that he and Ted [Scott, caddie] do. He never hits a shot until he’s fully prepared. Has the same pre-shot routine every time.
“He’s a robot. That’s why I don’t think people go crazy about him. He’s not jumping around and flying out of the trees like Tiger [Woods], making 80-footers. He just does the same thing every time.”