Scottie Scheffler was unable to defend his Masters’ title at Augusta this year, but the PGA Tour star still managed to make headlines.
Scheffler’s awkward interaction with Rory McIlroy, inside Butler Cabin after McIlroy completed the career slam with a playoff win over Justin Rose on Sunday, left many golf fans scratching their heads.
As the most recent winner, it was Scheffler’s job to help put McIlroy into the coveted green jacket. But fans couldn’t help notice Scheffler’s quick exit as soon as McIlroy had placed his arms into the jacket.
Ahead of the RBC Heritage this week, Scheffler offered some insight into the moment and explained that he was essentially trying to let McIlroy have his moment.
“In that moment – it was such an emotional day for him, I kind of just tried to stay out of the way and basically just get the jacket on without embarrassing him or myself,” Scheffler, who is also defending his title at the RBC Heritage, told reporters with a laugh.
“I got to watch the whole celebration, I watched the finish and it was really cool for me to be able to see because I don’t have the understanding of what it’s like to be asked about the career Grand Slam, but I have a small understanding of what it’s like ‘Hey, you’ve accomplished this but you haven’t accomplished that’ and it can be very taxing on people sometimes.”
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Scheffler said the moment McIlroy won looked like a moment of “relief.”
“It was cool to see Rory be able to get the job done and definitely from the outside, it looked a bit more like relief than anything.”
Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world and the pre-tournament favorite, shot a 3-under 69 on Sunday to finish at 8-under 280 for fourth place.
Scheffler is back at Hilton Head hoping to pick up his first win on the PGA Tour this year. McIlroy will not compete – a decision that came long before his win at Augusta National.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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