Scottie Scheffler eyeing ‘special’ Olympic golf title

Scottie Scheffler is aiming to cap off a stellar season with an Olympic gold medal as he prepares for his debut at the Games. The world number one in golf, Scheffler has won six PGA Tour titles this year, including his second Masters green jacket and his second Players Championship trophy.

Scheffler will enter Thursday’s opening round of the men’s Olympic event at Le Golf National—venue for the 2018 Ryder Cup—as one of the favorites. Reflecting on the opportunity, the 28-year-old said on Monday, “It’s not very often you get to compete in the Olympics, so to be able to have a medal for the rest of your life would be very special. If I don’t, my life is certainly not going to end, but it would be extremely special to have a gold medal, and it’s definitely one of the reasons why I’m here this week.”

Despite enjoying watching table tennis, Scheffler emphasized his primary focus is the golf tournament. “I try to place an equal amount of value to all the tournaments I play,” he said.

Golf made its return to the Olympics in the 2016 Rio Games after a 112-year hiatus, but several top players withdrew, citing fears of the Zika virus. Notably, Rory McIlroy initially expressed doubts about golf’s place in the Olympics and chose not to participate, though he later competed in the Covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics and will play in France this year.

Scheffler acknowledged the challenges faced in previous Games. “I think there’s always been weird situations surrounding the Olympics—the first one with Zika virus, and the last one with Covid being a factor. I think that certainly had an effect on the Games,” he said. “And this year is kind of the first one where it will be fairly normal.”

Scheffler is part of a strong USA team that includes reigning champion Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, and Collin Morikawa. Schauffele, who recently won his first major at this year’s PGA Championship and followed it with a victory at the Open Championship, is considered Scheffler’s biggest competitor for the gold.

“I love seeing people like him (Schauffele) have success because he does it the right way—he works hard,” Scheffler said. “He’s not full of himself. We were playing a practice round today, and I was actually thinking about it like, ‘Man, Xander is the exact same today after winning tournaments as he was if he had lost the tournament by one.'”

Scheffler will make history as the first man to compete in Olympic golf while holding the world number one ranking.