Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 golfer is all over the news these days. He’s looking ahead to the home stretch, which this year includes the highly anticipated BMW Championship. He has a stellar mark of 17 PGA Tour wins to his name, including four majors. His MVP-level domination regularly has fans riveted on the beautiful game of golf. This week, that hasn’t been the case, as a fundamental shift in his typical support staff takes center stage.
Scottie Scheffler’s regular caddie, Scott, has been instrumental in each of Scheffler’s 17 victories on the PGA Tour. Last week, however, Scott had to return home to attend his daughter’s graduation, creating a temporary gap in Scheffler’s caddy lineup. That’s where Brad Payne, president of the College Golf Fellowship, answered the call during the final round of last week’s tournament. He beamed as he carried Scheffler’s bag in his absence.
Payne caddied for Scheffler in the third round of the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla. His years serving golfers allowed him the intuitive feel that the golfer’s stance should be second nature. His calming presence made for a seamless transition during an important time in Scheffler’s life. Now he’s battling for further success on the PGA Tour in a very competitive and deep field.
As Scheffler prepares for the BMW Championship, he’s bringing on Michael Cromie as his caddie this week. Cromie is perhaps best known for his work with Chris Kirk. After last week’s tournament, Kirk is now 51st in FedEx Cup points. Only the top 50 golfers move on to the BMW Championship. This adds additional stress to competitors who are hungry to move up their leaderboard positions.
To describe a man like Scottie Scheffler, who’s proven his talent and determination on the golf course. While that might be an extraordinary one-off, as he deals with this interim caddie change, all focus will be on him this week at the BMW Championship. The golfer is just trying to keep his game sharp without his decades-long caddy.
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