Scottie Scheffler Is Done Messing Around On Eve Of 2025 Ryder Cup

Let’s be honest, losing stinks. For guys like Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 golfer on the planet, it’s a feeling that sticks to you like mud on a fresh pair of white golf shoes. After the shellacking Team USA took in the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, Scheffler isn’t just looking for a little revenge; he’s completely overhauling his playbook. And it all starts with a tournament most top guys would typically skip.

What Is the Plan?

Normally, the Procore Championship in Napa is a nice, chill post-season event. But this year, it’s basically turned into Camp Ryder Cup. Scheffler, along with nine of his American teammates, is using the tournament as a full-dress rehearsal. Why the sudden change of heart? Because last time, the prep just wasn’t cutting it.

“When I look back at the ’23 Cup, I think I halved two matches and lost two, so I think I left there without winning a single match, and that hurt,” Scheffler said, with the kind of blunt honesty you’d expect from a guy who just three-putted from six feet. “I think I could have been a little bit sharper at that tournament. That was a learning experience for me.”

What’s Different This Time For Scheffler?

Last cycle, some of the U.S. squad took a little scouting trip to Rome. It was a nice idea, but sightseeing doesn’t exactly sharpen your competitive edge. This year, Scheffler realized that taking a month-long vacation before one of the biggest events of the year is, well, a terrible idea.

“It would be unusual for me to have four or five weeks off before the Masters or the U.S. Open or something like that,” Scheffler said. “So there’s no reason that I should be doing that going into the Ryder Cup.”

It’s a simple, brilliant, “why didn’t we think of this before?” kind of logic. You don’t prepare for the Super Bowl by playing Madden on your couch for a month. You get out there and hit somebody. For golfers, that means playing actual, competitive rounds with a scorecard in your pocket.

How a Stinging Loss Fueled the Fire

The sting of that loss in Rome clearly hasn’t faded. Collin Morikawa, another member of the U.S. team, put it plainly: “It sucked. It sits with you for a little bit.” For Scheffler, it was personal. He went 0-2-2, a stat line that would make any elite athlete’s skin crawl. You don’t get to be the best in the world by being okay with not winning. That experience was the catalyst for this new, no-nonsense approach. He’s not just showing up; he’s dialing in.

Team captain Keegan Bradley sees that fire and loves it. He knows Scheffler is the kind of guy who wants the ball in his hands with the game on the line. “I think he would hope that it comes down to him in singles,” Bradley said. “I bet he, like, dreams about it. That kind of separates Scottie from the rest of the guys.”

So, as the PGA Tour season winds down in Napa, don’t mistake this for a vacation for Scheffler. It’s a business trip, fueled by the bitter taste of defeat and a burning desire to make sure it doesn’t happen again. The Ryder Cup is still a few weeks away, but for Scheffler, the fight has already begun.