World No. 1 and reigning FedExCup champion Scottie Scheffler rewrote golf history by becoming the first player to successfully defend THE PLAYERS Championship last year after closing with a stunning 8-under 64 at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. He reflects on a memorable triumph ahead of his hat-trick attempt from March 13-16, 2025. By Scottie Scheffler It was pretty special to win back-to-back PLAYERS titles. That’s something you never really get the opportunity to do very often. It’s tough enough to win one PLAYERS, 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 as 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, and then on Sunday, I woke up feeling fairly close to normal and went out there and had a good round of golf. 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 No. 4 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. 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, it’s 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. 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 and a few of them finished at 19-under; and I happened to finish at 20. That’s some really good golf around The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.
Fans can watch Scottie Scheffler and the stars of the PGA TOUR compete in THE PLAYERS Championship on Astro Golf Channel and DAZN.
