ST. LOUIS — Scottie Scheffler’s painful week in the Show-Me State is over.
Confirming reports of his own sickness earlier in the week, Scheffler revealed after his final round at the BMW Championship that he had been diagnosed with hand, foot and mouth disease.
Blisters on his hands and feet, however, could not keep the world No. 1 down. He posted his second straight 2-under 68 on Sunday to finish inside the tournament’s top 15.
“To start the week, it was pretty painful to grip the club,” he told reporters. “If I was smarter, maybe, I would have pulled out, but I was playing so good I felt like if I could knock it out quickly and just get through the first couple rounds I would still have a chance.”
For what it’s worth, Scheffler’s taking some of the blame for the pain he forced himself to endure while walking around Bellerive the last few days.
The world’s top-ranked player admitted “stubbornness” kept him in the tournament.
“That’s probably a strength of mine and a weakness at times,” he said. “I’ve never been one to ever pull out of a tournament, especially in the middle of it. That’s really frustrating for me.”
Despite him plowing ahead and finishing 7 under for the week, Scheffler said some in his corner suggested he pull out of the second playoff event.
“I’m proud of how I fought,” he added.
Will the rest and recovery process look any different ahead of the upcoming Tour Championship at East Lake? Scheffler said he was feeling better but “still not a hundred percent now” and that his throat was still bugging him.
“I actually almost caught myself shaking hands with Cam [Young] on 18, I would have felt really bad,” Scheffler said. “I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I almost forgot.’ So that’s good news, starting to feel better. Hopefully the throat will clear up the next couple days.”
While the throat still nags him and the hands were his biggest challenge over 72 holes, Scheffler admitted that his legs felt fine throughout the tournament. He credited that mostly to adrenaline
“I was prioritizing rest so I wasn’t able to work out the way I want to, and practice the way I want to, and even warm-up for rounds the way I want to,” he said. “I really just did my best to try and battle and it maybe was a poor decision playing, but I’ve never been one to try and quit.”
