Scottie Scheffler could have earned a fortune by joining LIV Golf in 2022.
Landing the world No. 1 would have been a massive coup for the Saudi-backed event, but according to his caddie, the idea was a non- starter.
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Scott has made a fortune for aiding Scheffler’s riseCredit: Getty
Ted Scott has been on Scheffler’s bag for years and revealed insight into the Texan’s thinking at the time on The Gravy & The Sleeze Podcast.
“I mean, the guy, literally, when I first started working for him, was 19th in the world and he had a white golf bag,“ Scott said after Scheffler won the Tour Championship.
“I didn’t know him that well, and I asked him. I was like, ‘why don’t you have sponsors’? And he’s like, ‘well, because I just want to play with the equipment that I want to play’. And I was like, ‘okay’.
“And then I remember whenever all the LIV stuff was going on, you know, he was number one in the world at the time, I didn’t know, but I said, ‘They’re probably going to offer you like $250 million to go over there’.
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“And he said, ‘I don’t care what they offer me. They can offer me a billion dollars. I’m going to play where the best players are because I just want to beat people’.
“I was like, ‘wow, this guy’s just different’, you know. So, the $10 million [Tour Championship prize] doesn’t matter to that guy, and you know, if we were in the pool playing volleyball, he would want to beat you just as bad as he wants to beat you at the FedEx Cup.
“You know, that’s the essence of who Scottie is and that’s what he loves. So I think partially part of his superpower is that the money doesn’t distract him.“
Scheffler dominated weakened PGA Tour
Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, and Jon Rahm all wound up on LIV, which has since collapsed.
Since then, Scheffler has 22 PGA Tour wins, including four majors — double the LIV group’s combined tally (Koepka 2023 PGA Championship, DeChambeau 2024 US Open).
Scheffler has also earned $60 million more than Rahm over that time, so he has had his cake and ate it too.
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The Texan has dominated the tour for yearsCredit: Getty
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Scheffler and Scott have a close bondCredit: Getty
“You know, I was a young kid, I feel like one thing I struggled with growing up was just being so into the competition, and I felt like I just had to perform, and I was so highly competitive,“ he said after winning the Championship.
“I didn’t feel like I had the maturity that I do now, and so, I mean, my temper, when I was young, was pretty extraordinary.
“And it is something I’m always trying to rein in, but that’s part of, I think, what makes me a great player, is having that fire, having that competitive edge.
“You know, my parents were always trying to get me to do things the right way, and that was really important for me, because from a young age, I took myself much too seriously.“
Scheffler has not been on top form this year yet still finished with a $10 million check to surpass Tiger Woods as the PGA Tour’s all-time earnings leader.
I’m sure he can LIV by his decision to snub the breakaway.