To know how Scottie Scheffler plots his way around Augusta National is to understand how a handyman tackles a leaky pipe.
“It’s kind of like he’s got a toolbox, right?” says Randy Smith, Scheffler’s swing coach since he was 7. “OK, you’re going to go fix some plumbing. You look in your toolbox and say, well, this seems to be the issue — I’m going to get a crescent wrench. That fixes that problem. There’s a new deal here — well, that looks like a Phillips screwdriver, I’ll use that.”
When Scheffler, winner of two of the last three Masters Tournaments, faces a conundrum, a simple process occurs. First, he assesses. Then he selects his instrument — the same ones everyone else has, but he uses better. Scheffler has a 7-iron, but it’s his flighted 5-yard fade that is seemingly immune to wind. He has a 60-degree wedge, but it’s the one-hop-and-stop spinny chip that can outsmart even Augusta greens. He has a caddie, but it’s the one who’s seen it all at Augusta, and if he hasn’t, is not afraid to ask for help.
“I would equate Scottie Scheffler to an incredible handyman. He’s going to show up, and he has no idea what the job is, but he’s got all the tools,” says that caddie, Ted Scott. “That’s just who he is. He’s going to be very prepared.”
Why does Scottie Scheffler dominate the Masters? He’s ‘an incredible handyman’
