Scottie Scheffler hasn’t spoken to Jordan Spieth since the conclusion of The Open last weekend in England, but the World No. 1 understands his fellow star’s decision to withdraw from this week’s 3M Open.
Spieth just finished a stretch in which he played nine events in 11 weeks. It’s all in an effort to get inside the top 50 of the FedEx Cup standings, which would solidfy his spot in next year’s high-purse, high-profile Signature Events. Spieth has already played 19 events this season, the same number he competed in all of last year.
His efforts have born little fruit. Spieth currently stands at No. 55 in the season-long race with just two weeks remaining in the regular season after this event. His best finish in his past five starts was a tie for 56th at the U.S. Open.
“From my point of view it’s understanding for him to maybe need a week off, especially as he tries to grind and make his way into the Top 50 to get back into the bigger events next year,” Scheffler said at his press conference Wednesday in Blaine.
Spieth finished near the bottom of the leaderboard at last week’s major, missing the cut at 10-over par. Scheffler noted this sport is mentally “more of a grind than anything.”
“Physically, it can wear you down as well,” he said, “but mentally it can being challenging just from … the grind it is in order to play a tournament.”
Scheffler and his fellow Texan play “a lot” of golf at home and he said Spieth “works super, super hard.” This week may have simply been the right time for a reset.
“I’m sure he’s bummed not to be here this week,” Scheffler said. “But like I said, he’s worked really hard this season and played a lot of tournaments. So I’m sure he wishes he could be here, but rest and time at home is also important as you try and play good golf.”
