U.S. team takes largest lead ever against Europe at Ryder Cup

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Webb Simpson was disappointed when his second-place finish at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational didn’t give him a big boost in the standings for the United States team for the Presidents Cup. He had started the week 11th but only jumped one spot. So, with just three weeks remaining to play his way into the top eight automatic qualifiers, Simpson decided to call U.S. Captain Tiger Woods. “I thought I was going to move up more and I didn’t, and he told me to play better, so that was funny,â€� Simpson recalled Wednesday with a grin. “I said, Fair enough.â€� Simpson is currently 149 points out of the No. 8 spot held by Gary Woodland – and none of the players ranked higher than him are competing this week at the Wyndham Championship in the regular season finale. The team will be finalized after the BMW Championship. Woods will then make his four Captain’s Picks after the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, which will be played Oct. 28-Nov. 3 in Shanghai. But Simpson, who has a win and two other top-three finishes at the Wyndham Championship, wants to go ahead lock down his spot. The Presidents Cup will be played Dec. 9-15 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia. It will be the 13th time the biennial event has been contested with the Americans holding a 10-1-1 advantage. “You want to qualify because from BMW to HSBC, that’s a long waiting period and that gives guys who are maybe not quite on his radar a chance to play their way onto the team,â€� Simpson said. “So yeah, I’m thinking about it a lot. I want to make it. “That was my first team event in 2011 in Melbourne and I can’t imagine how cool it would be to play for Tiger, the guy that we all grew up watching. Yeah, I hope I’m there.â€� Jordan Spieth also has Presidents Cup aspirations – and he comes to the Wyndham Championship with a much taller task in front of him. He’s ranked 27th in the U.S. standings after two uncharacteristically quiet seasons that have seen Spieth post a combined total of just eight top-10s finishes. Spieth, who lost in a playoff at the 2013 Wyndham Championship in his only other appearance at the event, isn’t assured of a spot in the first two Playoff events, either. He’s currently 67th in the FedExCup and only the top 70 make to the BMW Championship, being played this year at historic Medinah Country Club. Spieth has played in every Presidents Cup since Fred Couples picked him as a rookie in 2013, as well as every Ryder Cup.  Making the U.S. Team is a “massive goalâ€� for the three-time major champion, who calls the international match play events the “most fun weeks of the year.â€� “I understand that as of now I’m pretty far out of it, but I’m not going to think much about it,â€� Spieth said. “The best way for me to, you know, deserve a pick is to take care of my own business over the next few weeks.  … “With this many years, I’m aware of when I’m close and I’m aware when I’m not. So, I’m just trying to stay as patient as possible, give myself as many birdie putts, greens in regulation being an important stat for me over the next few weeks, and should work my way up and have a chance.â€�

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In the last three months, Scottie Scheffler has achieved what many would call a career’s worth of success. The 25-year-old has won four of his last six starts, including the Masters, to ascend to No. 1 in the FedExCup and Official World Golf Ranking. Scheffler has amassed a 1,236-point lead in the FedExCup, meaning it would take at least two victories for even second-ranked Cameron Smith to catch him, a significant lead in the world ranking and also earned over $10 million in prize money. Yeah, that’s not a bad start to the season. It’s been an eventful few months for Scheffler, who also signed with TaylorMade after his first two PGA TOUR victories. Last week, he got to enjoy some downtime after his life-changing victory at Augusta National. He was able to relax, be at home with his wife, Meredith, and reflect on his recent successes. During his off-week between the Masters and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans – he’s playing alongside fellow Texan, and former Zurich Classic champ, Ryan Palmer this week – GolfWRX.com’s Two Guys Talkin’ Golf (TG2) podcast caught up with Scheffler to talk equipment, signing with TaylorMade, winning the Masters, and what his first big purchase was following the major victory. Enjoy the Q&A below (which has been slightly edited for brevity). GolfWRX.com: Congratulations on the Masters victory, Scottie. Awesome win. Here at GolfWRX, we’re all equipment junkies. The first question we have is, you started off great this year, playing really well, and then you signed with TaylorMade, What made you want to join the TaylorMade team? Scheffler: Yeah, there’s a few different reasons. That’s not a decision I’ll make very lightly. I would say first and foremost would be the driver. I already used the (Taylormade P-7TW) irons for awhile. I like the irons. But the (TaylorMade Stealth Plus) driver, when we did testing over the winter, I saw some pretty nice gains. It was one of those things, like, I know I’m going to use this driver, I know I’m going to use the irons, so maybe let’s see if we can work something out. Just because having consistency with their brand, obviously I trust what they do. To be part of the family and be part of the team was pretty cool for me, and so we wanted to work something out with them, and we were able to get it done. I’m happy to be part of the team. GolfWRX.com: On that note, you had a Nike VR Pro Limited fairway wood in the bag for a long, long time. What did it take the team at TaylorMade to do to get that VR Pro out of your bag and into a TaylorMade Stealth? Scheffler: There’s a few things. One of the things I’ve struggled with was actually hitting 3-woods too far, and also just not seeing all my shots. These guys did something to the (Fujikura Ventus) shaft, honestly I can’t even remember what they did, but it was something with the tipping. They may have tipped it a couple extra inches and moved some weight around the head, and then started with a higher loft and bent it down. Adrian (Rietveld, Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade) and those guys, they did all kinds of stuff to it. … Austin was a good area for me to be like, ‘OK, I’m only going to hit this off the tee maybe a few times, let’s put it in the bag and see what I can do with it.’ And it was a pretty seamless transition. I saw the shots I wanted to see. My mishits were more accurate with the TaylorMade than they were than my Nike. I’ve seen some significant improvements already. GolfWRX.com: So you’re 25 years old and having this unbelievable year. Where do you see yourself going from here? Scheffler: I don’t really look too far into the future, so right now I’m just getting some rest at home. I think the last few weeks have been pretty draining emotionally, especially The Masters with it being a major. But then there was all the hype in Austin, that being a place that’s also so special to me and really wanting to win that event. Right now I’m just emotionally drained. So I’ve just been chilling at home, getting some rest, doing stuff around the house, just being normal. It’s been great. Going from here I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing. I’ve put myself in a good position in the FedExCup. I just got my first major. For me, I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing, working hard, keeping up the work in the gym, and just keep trying to improve. Goals for me, and stuff like that, nothing’s really going to change. GolfWRX.com: How much are you going to wear the Green Jacket over the next year? Scheffler: You know, it’s kind of funny. I put it on the other night. Meredith and I were just sitting around – I thought it’d be kind of a funny joke – we were having dessert, and I just went back in the other room and grabbed the Green Jacket and put it on to eat my ice cream with the jacket on. Just being us at home, having fun with it. Honestly, probably not too much. It’s just one of those cool things I’ll keep in the golf room. I want to represent the club well. I’m only going to wear it for certain, special occasions. GolfWRX.com: So like you said, you’re going to take a break. What does Scottie Scheffler do in this time? What’s your plan of relaxing between now and the next time you tee it up? Scheffler: You know, we have a little backyard here at our house. I went to Lowe’s yesterday and got some pool equipment to clean the pool. We’re redoing the grill area in the backyard, and I asked one of the guys that helps us around the house what I should do to clean the leaves up, and he was like, ‘You have to get this leaf vacuum.’ Now I’m kind of jacked up about the leaf vacuum. So I’m going to go to the store after this and get that. Just clean, get outside. The weather is so good here at home. I’m used to being outside practicing, but right now I’m just getting a bit of rest, maybe go clean the yard, go for a swim. Just do nothing. GolfWRX.com: So yeah getting back to a little bit of club stuff, you play the P7TW – the Tiger Woods iron – but TaylorMade also makes the P7MB. What made you go with the TW over, say, the P730 or the P7MB? Is it a Tiger influence, or was it a performance difference? Scheffler: I would say the reason I tested it was definitely a Tiger influence. I used the P730’s for a number of years, and I played with Tiger at The Masters in 2020, and I watched him it. He hits it so solid and he flights it so well and does all kinds of stuff with the ball. It kind of clicked in my head, I was like, ‘I used Nike clubs for so long when he was helping develop those irons.’ I’m like, why wouldn’t I at least test his new irons with TaylorMade because they’re his irons, and he obviously had some influence in the process of developing and producing the irons. I went home in the off-season, tested them out, and I saw that I was able to hit more shots with them. I was able to flatten out the flight a little bit more if I wanted to hit it low or hit it through the wind. And when I wanted to hit it higher, I could do that, as well. It gave me a little bit more variety in what I could do with the golf ball than the P730. And it’s not a big difference, it’s just when you put yourself in a 20mph wind in your face and want to flatten it out a little bit. I can flatten it out and have the ball be a little bit more stable with the head. It’s only a couple yards, but for me it felt like a huge difference. GolfWRX.com: You’ve achieved something literally every golfer has dreamed about, I’m curious what you’re feeling right now. World No. 1, and you just put on the Green Jacket for the first time. Can you put that feeling into words for golfers who have always wanted to feel what you’re feeling? Scheffler: Yeah, the walk up 18 was pretty special. Sunday had been such a long day and such a grind. Teddie (Ted Scott, his caddie) and I just enjoyed the walk up 18. What I’m feeling right now is it still hasn’t really sunk in. I’m pretty tired. I’ve just been chilling at home and enjoying the moment. Meredith always asked me how I would want to celebrate getting my first win, and winning tournaments what I wanted to celebrate, and one of my favorite things is just going back and just living our normal lives. Really, we’ve just been hanging out at home, reflecting the last few days, and trying to let it sink in. GolfWRX.com: If you could go back and give your 10-year-old self advice on life or your golf career, what would you go back and tell him? Scheffler: I’d probably tell my 10-year-old self not to take myself so seriously. I think you really build up what you’re doing at the time in your head, and I had a good support system around me that helped me not do that as much. But, when you’re a kid, sports are so important to you. So for me, just don’t take myself so seriously and understand that bad things are going to happen. It’s not a perfect game or perfect science. Just enjoy it. GolfWRX.com: Well said. Any idea what’s going on the Champions Dinner menu next year? Scheffler: You know, my guess would be, I’m from Texas, so y’all can probably predict 90% of my menu. I’m a meat and potatoes guy. I hope everyone there enjoys their meat and potatoes. If not, they might be going hungry.

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In Gee Chun shot a 3-over 75 on Saturday, and saw her 6-shot lead shrink to three strokes heading into the final round of the Women’s PGA Championship.

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