Scottie Scheffler Reflects on Learning from Tiger Woods Before Tour Championship

World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler addressed the media in a press conference before beginning his first round at the Tour Championship. He aims to win his second FedExCup title at East Lake.

Scheffler reminisced about a significant moment with Tiger Woods during the 2020 Masters. In their only competitive round together, Woods posted a 10 on the par-3 12th at Augusta National, his worst score ever on that hole. Remarkably, Woods recovered and birdied five of the final six holes.

Discussing this determination on Wednesday, Scheffler stated, “When I talk about competitive instincts and about intensity each week, that’s stuff that I learned just by watching Tiger.” He recounted his experience playing with Woods: “I’ve only played with him once in competition — it was at the Masters… I just remember walking up to that first green watching him read his first putt and I was like, ‘Holy smokes, this guy is into it.’ That was my main takeaway, just the intensity that he brought to each and every shot. That’s definitely something I’ve tried to model in my game.”

Scheffler started the 2026 playoffs strong by winning the FedEx St. Jude Championship, which placed him in the top position. He also secured a T12 finish at the BMW Championship last week.

Scheffler will begin his first round at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, playing alongside Matt Fitzpatrick.