Shirt untucked and hat askew, Scottie Scheffler looked a little dishevelled as he ambled around Quail Hollow between storm delays on Tuesday.
As a visual it didn’t belong in the same postcode as a mugshot in orange prison scrubs, but it would seem the PGA Championship has fostered a habit of bringing the unexpected from him.
We are almost a full year on from that most surreal of scenarios, derived from his arrest at this tournament for driving through a police cordon. Bonkers and bizarre in equal measure.
And perhaps the same might be said of pre-tournament narratives here, which would seek to see the approaching days exclusively through the lens of Rory McIlroy. If the latter’s win at Augusta brings the fascination of seeing him unburdened and unleashed on a course he effectively owns, then what of the world No 1?
It is only by Scheffler’s ludicrous standards that there was, until 10 days ago, muffled talk of a slump, with origins traced to an incident almost as strange as his ‘misunderstanding’ with the Louisville Metro Police Department. That would be the severe hand injury he sustained at Christmas while cutting ravioli with a wine glass and the four winless months it preceded.
Taking an eight-stroke victory at the CJ Cup was an emphatic way of closing that conversation, if indeed it was needed after five top-10 finishes from eight starts in his fallow period. It has also presented the most tantalising of possibilities for this week, because it pits Scheffler against McIlroy when both are in hot form.
There has been talk of a Scottie Scheffler slump until the last few days ahead of the PGA Championship this week
We are almost a full year on from the world No 1 being arrested at the tournament for driving through a police cordon
Scheffler secured an eight-stroke victory at the CJ Cup to put talk of a dip in form to bed
He will contest the first two rounds in the same grouping as Masters winner Rory McIlroy
That they will contest the first two rounds in the same grouping with defending champion Xander Schauffele has potential to fuel debate around who, at their best, would have the edge. Never one to shout the odds, it is nonetheless undeniable that Scheffler feels his close to his peak.
‘I definitely started off the year a bit more challenging than I would have expected to going into the off-season just because of the injury,’ he said here on Tuesday evening.
‘Was it more difficult than I thought? I don’t think so. I knew it wasn’t going to be super easy, but at the end of the day, stuff happens. Life happens. I don’t regret anything that I did. It’s just one of those deals that happens in life. Sometimes you get hurt, and I can’t live in a bubble.’
And now? ‘I’ve talked a little bit about how I felt like my game was trending, so it was nice to see some results from a lot of hard work to start the year, and I feel like my game is in a good spot. I think it would be silly to say I can’t ride a little bit of that momentum going into this tournament.’
History tells us that when Scheffler’s game is in a ‘good spot’, only a traffic misdemeanour can get in the way. His length off the tee and second-shot accuracy is certainly a massive asset on this 7,626-yard brute of a course, compensating for never having played a PGA Tour event here. By contrast, McIlroy has won four titles on this track and has the perfect right-to-left shot shape for the layout.
Together they are seen as the favourites, alongside Bryson DeChambeau, whose huge hitting will also be a vast strength on a course soaked through by rain the past two days. Like Scheffler, the LIV rebel won his most recent tournament, so confidence will be no issue.
His eyes are fixed on a rematch with McIlroy, after his front-nine schooling in the last round at Augusta. DeChambeau said: ‘I think it’s a golf course that sets up for Rory pretty well, and I think it sets up well for me, too. We’ll see.
‘Hopefully we can have another go at it again like the Masters.’
