World No 1 Scottie Scheffler rewrote golf history by becoming the first player to successfully defend his title at The Players. Ahead of his bid for an unprecedented three-peat, he reflects on last year’s dramatic win in a special PGA Tour player column…
It was pretty special to win back-to-back titles at The Players, as that’s something you never really get the opportunity to do very often. It’s tough enough to win it once and I was thankful to become the first player to repeat as champion in our flagship event.
I remember putting up a good fight for four days. My caddie Ted Scott was instrumental in the win, as he kept me in a good head space the whole week.
Scheffler claimed a dramatic victory at the 2024 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, becoming the first player to defend the title
I was battling a neck injury which flared up during the second round. It became quite painful, especially when I was putting, but I’m a pretty competitive guy and I didn’t want to give up in the tournament. I did what I could to hang around until my neck got better, which it did by the weekend due to some great work by my physio.
When you get an acute injury like that, if you can wake up the next day feeling a little bit better or the exact same, it’s a win. Usually, the morning after is worse and when I woke up on Saturday, it felt a little bit better and I was able to hit some shots.
Then on Sunday, I woke up feeling fairly close to normal and went out there and had a good round.
A look back at the best of Scheffler’s brilliant final-round 64 during the 2024 edition of The Players
I headed into the final round with the intention to get off to a good start on the front nine. I felt like if I could shoot a low front nine to put myself back into the tournament, that was really my goal.
I was aiming for some early birdies and I parred the first three holes, and then the hole-out for eagle on the fourth really got me going. On the back nine, I remember hitting a lot of good shots and made some nice putts to close out my round.
Scheffler holed out from 82 yards for an unlikely eagle to mark the start of a Sunday charge up the leaderboard
It was really fun to be able to secure the win with a closing 64 and I think that’s why we put in all the work, to be able to finish off tournaments and to play well at the right time. It’s nice coming out on top for sure and it’s a great feeling.
Competing for wins on the PGA Tour is a real test both mentally and physically. I think mentally it can be very taxing but it’s also a lot of fun being in the final groups, although it can take a toll on your body and mind.
The week at The Players was certainly a physical test, with how my neck was for a couple of days. So I had put a lot into trying to win the golf tournament and, at the end of it, it was very satisfying to walk away with the trophy.
The stars of the PGA Tour head to TPC Sawgrass this month, live on Sky Sports, where Scheffler chases a three-peat, Rory McIlroy looks to win again and the iconic 17th hole will create more drama!
To me, being in contention is the most fun you can have on a golf course. We come out here to compete and try to win tournaments against the best players in the world and being in that environment, being in the arena, is a ton of fun.
It was truly a battle at The Players last year and a hard-fought week in every sense, as a lot of guys played some really good golf. A few of them finished at 19 under; but I happened to finish at 20!
Fans can watch Scottie Scheffler and the stars of the PGA Tour compete at The Players Championship throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins of the opening round on Thursday from 11.30am on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.
