It’s been a fortnight of surprises for world number one Scottie Scheffler, even if him ending up on the top step of the podium at Le Golf National was far from surprising to anybody who’s been paying attention to Tour golf in 2024.
The Texan was reduced to tears as the United States’ National Anthem rang out at the Medal Ceremony in Paris, having completed his incredible come-from-behind victory with a back-nine 29.
“I guess maybe my own reaction,” he said when asked what surprised him on the week. “I didn’t really know what it would be like to stand on the podium, and I felt like the week was a challenging week because I felt like I was playing really well, and I just was not getting anything out of it, and I was just falling further and further behind. I just kept telling myself to wait until I got hot because I knew once I started making some birdies, I felt like they were going to come in bunches just with the way I was playing.”
Another surprising factor is the number of people who’ve asked to see the Gold Medal, and he’s been only too happy to oblige, even though he didn’t bring it with him to meet the media ahead of the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
“Honestly, it’s a bit heavy around the neck,” he joked. “No, I brought it for a deal this morning, and I promptly put it back in my backpack.
“It’s fun. I was definitely surprised at how many people want to see the medal. I feel like there’s a lot of stuff in golf where they’ll say congratulations, but I think a lot of people get a lot of joy from seeing the medal, and it’s pretty cool, so that part has been fun. I’ll have it with me the next couple weeks because I’m not going home so it’ll stick around.”
The Claret Jug is one of the game’s prized possessions that can be (and regularly is) enjoyed by many who find themselves in the company of a champion, and though you can’t drink from an Olympic Gold Medal, you can certainly wear it and have your picture taken, unlike the Masters Green Jacket which Scheffler got fitted for for the second time earlier this year.
“I feel like one of the coolest things about it is there’s not really many rules of who can and can’t wear it,” he explained. “With the green jacket it’s pretty strict, when you’re out representing the club with the green jacket.
“It’s a bit of a different feeling with the Olympic medal. It’s like, yeah, sure, you can wear it, take pictures, do whatever you want. A lot of my friends have gotten a good amount of joy out of that, and it’s been fun.
“I brought it to the golf course with me last week a few times because some people who have never texted me really asking for anything at all were like, hey, man, can you bring the medal out? We all want to take a picture with it. It was really fun bringing it out to the course and showing the kids out there and taking pictures with my buddies. It was a lot of fun.”
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