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Issue No. 203 | May 18, 2025 | Read Online
Scottie Scheffler opened his 2025 PGA Championship week on Tuesday with a typically great press conference, during which he discussed many things, including one of his favorite topics: Presence.
My college coach did a really good job of helping me kind of learn that skill. He really preached when you're at the golf course, you're at the golf course, when you're in class, you're in class.
I don't want to be at home hanging out with my wife thinking about my golf swing. I don't want to be out here at the golf course thinking about being at home.
We have certain time throughout the day, and I think when you're in the present, you're able to make the most of those situations, whether it be enjoying them to the fullest or getting the most out of the work that I put in when I'm at the golf course.
Scottie Scheffler | 2025 PGA (Tuesday)
This is aspirational, of course, something all of us can probably learn from. It is in Scottie’s quiver of tremendous skills. There are many. It is one of the innumerable characteristics that make him who he is, which is currently the best golfer on the planet.
(I find it a bit amusing, as well, that he is so focused on staying in the present when all I can think about with him is the future, with what he could eventually be.)
And yes, Scottie staying of the moment and in every shot, is an extremely important factor to his success. But it is his presence, his gravitas, his aura that are beginning to tilt major championship leaderboards in his direction until all the trophies start tumbling down the table into his bag.
We saw both versions on display on Sunday in what turned into a rout. Presence on the front, awareness of what he was doing wrong, patience that he could fix it. And then presence on the back. A name that shifts leaderboards and affects golf shots from 1,500 yards away. Both are a huge problem for everyone else in the game. Both led to Scottie climbing into a different stratosphere on Sunday evening at Quail Hollow.
One that few have occupied.
Today’s newsletter is presented by Meridian Putters, whose (speaking of!) presence I have been grateful for over the last year. Meridian, like the person we are discussing, very much knows who it is and what it wants to be.
It would be easy for a putter company that has found success like Meridian has, to chase shiny objects, to play different games. Meridian has refused on every front. All they want to do is make beautiful putters that their customers can afford.
When I asked founder, Ryan Duffey, recently about how hard it is to stay disciplined, he admitted that it is but also that they have a north star, noting that he refuses to chase the trends (an example: torque-less putters) that so many in golf are leaning into.
I don't know if it's the right move to not make a torque-less putter, but I know right now we're sticking to what makes us Meridian, which is putters that provide different feels to the player and putters that are high quality and that look clean.
It's easy to get distracted. I've gotten distracted once or twice.
We're the putter company that thinks that when Tiger says he likes to hook putts, you don't get that with a torque-less putter. We're in that camp where feel matters, and we're sticking with it.
Ryan Duffey | Meridian Putters
I love the idea of doubling down on what you do best, and I love that Meridian is only concerned about what it does best, not what everyone else is doing. That’s right out of the PGA champion’s playbook and something I aspire to myself.
OK, now onto the news.
I’ll be back on Monday afternoon with plenty of other thoughts on the final round, what happened with Rory, what to make of Bryson and Rahm and plenty of other goodies.
Tonight, though? Tonight, let’s talk about Scottie.
1. Wavering would be an understatement for what Scottie did on the front on Sunday. Drunkenly stumbling around with no direction and even less of a clue about which window the ball was coming out of is probably a more apt description.
He went out in 37, and somehow it looked a lot worse than that.
Lesser players may have panicked. Lesser players may have parlayed that 37 into 39 on the back and kicked the tournament away.
Scottie is no lesser player.
He said he realized after six holes that his swing was too short. He fixed it over the last three, but the ball was still sailing left. Why?
“I told Teddy walking up [to] 9 tee, ‘That one felt pretty good. I don't know why that was left again,’” said Scheffler. “He was like, ‘Well, maybe you're aimed over there. Just try and hit a little further right.’”
A true “one of us” moment. Just try and hit it a little further right? That’s what I do! It’s what a three-time major winner does apparently, too.
Staying present. Staying in his swing. Staying in his world even when that world looked to be completely crumbling from the outside looking in.
He hit his first three fairways on the back and his first six greens. He asserted himself and his dominion over this golf tournament in a way that his front nine led you to believe was going to be impossible. He did not try to do too much.
“When I stepped on the tee on Thursday,” Scottie explained, “I'm not thinking about what's going to happen on Sunday. I'm preparing for a 72-hole event. That's what I tell myself on the 1st tee: It's 72 holes. That's a lot of time. That's a lot of holes. That's a lot of shots.
“I always focus on my preparation, and so when I show up on the 1st tee, I just tell myself to stay patient, remind myself that I'm prepared for this and go out and just compete.”
Presence.
[Jason here] When Scottie talked earlier in the week about being present at home and on the course, it made me want to somehow capture both qualities, which is what came out in the illustration. Though I was half expecting during the front nine that I would have to rework the final illustration into a pile of blocks, knocked over by a pink Roman soldier or something equally ridiculous.
2. The top of the board started throwing haymakers at the champ coming home. They badly needed it. Rahm got him in a corner and seemingly wouldn’t let him loose. Bryson threw a few, and others took a look as well, but the Spaniard slung the most of anyone.
He couldn’t protect himself though, and he was eventually undone by a left hook of his own …..
This post will continue below for Normal Club members. If you aren’t yet a Normal Club member, you can sign up right here.
If you are, keep reading!
Tony Finau said it on a pre-recorded interview on the ESPN broadcast before the main event: It’s Scottie. We know he’s not backing up.
Before Scottie was Scottie, you could maybe talk yourself into him doing something dumb and bringing folks back into it. Now? He’s closed his last eight 54-hole leads. Now? Chasers know they have to be perfect to have any hope at all. Even after that first nine.
“On 12 green when I hit my putt, at the same time I heard a cheer from 10,” said Rahm. “I was fully aware that was a Scottie birdie. I just could tell, you're there enough times.”
That’s presence.
3. I compared him to Tim Duncan on Saturday evening.
The more I think about it, the more I like that comparison. Duncan was never flashy, never overwhelming, never going to run past you or fly over you or power through you. But he was also an auto double-double every night. He was never going to miss the playoffs. He was never going to take a possession off.
I was hunting around for something on TD this weekend, and I found this terrific excerpt on him entering the NBA Hall of Fame.
Tim Duncan personified that Aristotle quote: “Excellence is not an act but a habit.” You do not see his greatness shine through in a single play or even a single game. His game seemed easy enough to emulate when you view it in isolation, but when you zoom out and look at what he was able to produce across the totality of his career, that is where his greatness truly comes out. … Tim Duncan understood the value of playing long-term games with long-term people.
Xander said this about Scottie on Sunday after his round.
The way he plays, I don't think he'd mind [going another 72 holes]. … Do 144-hole tournaments, just wear everyone out.
Xander | 2025 PGA
What Anthony Edwards does is breathtaking. But what Tim Duncan does is beautiful. Lightning is stunning, it will make you gasp in awe. Water, though (as NLU Neil has pointed out, WHAT UP NEIL?!) … water will leave you wondrous.
Water over a rock — if given a long enough window of time — will make you ache in awe.
4. I think about Randy Smith, Scottie’s coach who — when Scottie was a teenager — said that he didn’t care if Scottie was the best player in the world at 15. He wanted him to be the best player in the world at 25.
“He's a bit of a crazy person at times, but he's a savant when it comes to teaching me the golf swing, and he's a pretty special guy as well,” said Scottie of his coach. “I think, especially when you're as competitive as I am, when you're younger and things aren't going the way they're supposed to, Randy always did a really good job of reminding me that it was a long journey to become good at golf.”
Long term games with long term people.
It’s so tricky to balance this idea of playing the long game with one of staying grounded in the now, especially in today’s world where you are only as good as your last shot. They are certainly more connected than it seems, though, and Scottie does it as well as anyone in sports.
On Sunday, he was asked about his goals.
I don't focus on that kind of stuff. I love coming out here and trying to compete and win golf tournaments, and that's what I'm focused on.
After this week, I'm going to go home and get ready for next week's tournament, and the show goes on. If I show up and miss the cut next week, I'm going to have to answer questions of what went wrong and just start over again on Thursday.
That's one of the things that can be frustrating about our game, and it's also what's great about our game. If I had a tough day today and came in with a loss, I could step back up on the tee Thursday next week and have another chance to win a tournament.
It's an endless pursuit, and it's a lot of fun. It's definitely one of the great joys of my life to be able to compete out here.
Scottie Scheffler | 2025 PGA
Presence and presence, you see, are more connected than it seems.
5. The last thing. Man. You probably saw it. 😭
I remember in 2022 at Match Play in Austin, Scottie’s dad going up to him after he became No. 1 in the world and saying he was more proud of who he was as a person than how good he is at golf. That was my intro to Papa Scheff.
I was blown away by what he conveyed.
Dad was back on Sunday.
“Words can’t describe what we just watched,” he said. “You are the toughest guy and the sweetest boy. I’m so proud of you right now. Thank you for never giving up.”
I am closer to being Scottie’s dad than I am to being Scottie. I mean that in terms of age (although talent and achievement apply as well). It is not difficult to envision saying the same thing to one of my kids after a tournament baseball game or a dance recital.
What a message, one that has almost surely helped Scottie figure out who he is and what he wants to be. One that has shaped him even more than he is shaping golf.
After Rory won the Masters, he said something that has been ringing in my head since. It was simple and straightforward, but it explains a lot about us as people. He was asked about giving away that 2011 edition, and in the middle of a longer answer about that time of his life, he said this.
I probably didn't understand myself.
Rory | 2025 Masters
Scottie, who is older now than Rory was then, has seemingly rarely struggled with that problem. He understands himself. Understands who he is and what he wants to be. Doesn’t get too far into the future or stay too deep in the past.
He is present, but he also has presence. The former has led to the latter, and it is perhaps the rarest combinations in all of golf. One that makes you feel like this could just keep going on forever.
Thank you for reading until the end.
As a Normal Club member, your support allows me to cook on these after major championship Sundays. I don’t have to run around doing 20 different things to pay the bills. I can just sit and think and write and hopefully deliver something you enjoy reading. Thank you for that, I do not take it for granted.
Issue No. 203 | May 18, 2025 | Read Online
Scottie Scheffler opened his 2025 PGA Championship week on Tuesday with a typically great press conference, during which he discussed many things, including one of his favorite topics: Presence.
My college coach did a really good job of helping me kind of learn that skill. He really preached when you're at the golf course, you're at the golf course, when you're in class, you're in class.
I don't want to be at home hanging out with my wife thinking about my golf swing. I don't want to be out here at the golf course thinking about being at home.
We have certain time throughout the day, and I think when you're in the present, you're able to make the most of those situations, whether it be enjoying them to the fullest or getting the most out of the work that I put in when I'm at the golf course.
Scottie Scheffler | 2025 PGA (Tuesday)
This is aspirational, of course, something all of us can probably learn from. It is in Scottie’s quiver of tremendous skills. There are many. It is one of the innumerable characteristics that make him who he is, which is currently the best golfer on the planet.
(I find it a bit amusing, as well, that he is so focused on staying in the present when all I can think about with him is the future, with what he could eventually be.)
And yes, Scottie staying of the moment and in every shot, is an extremely important factor to his success. But it is his presence, his gravitas, his aura that are beginning to tilt major championship leaderboards in his direction until all the trophies start tumbling down the table into his bag.
We saw both versions on display on Sunday in what turned into a rout. Presence on the front, awareness of what he was doing wrong, patience that he could fix it. And then presence on the back. A name that shifts leaderboards and affects golf shots from 1,500 yards away. Both are a huge problem for everyone else in the game. Both led to Scottie climbing into a different stratosphere on Sunday evening at Quail Hollow.
One that few have occupied.
Today’s newsletter is presented by Meridian Putters, whose (speaking of!) presence I have been grateful for over the last year. Meridian, like the person we are discussing, very much knows who it is and what it wants to be.
It would be easy for a putter company that has found success like Meridian has, to chase shiny objects, to play different games. Meridian has refused on every front. All they want to do is make beautiful putters that their customers can afford.
When I asked founder, Ryan Duffey, recently about how hard it is to stay disciplined, he admitted that it is but also that they have a north star, noting that he refuses to chase the trends (an example: torque-less putters) that so many in golf are leaning into.
I don't know if it's the right move to not make a torque-less putter, but I know right now we're sticking to what makes us Meridian, which is putters that provide different feels to the player and putters that are high quality and that look clean.
It's easy to get distracted. I've gotten distracted once or twice.
We're the putter company that thinks that when Tiger says he likes to hook putts, you don't get that with a torque-less putter. We're in that camp where feel matters, and we're sticking with it.
Ryan Duffey | Meridian Putters
I love the idea of doubling down on what you do best, and I love that Meridian is only concerned about what it does best, not what everyone else is doing. That’s right out of the PGA champion’s playbook and something I aspire to myself.
OK, now onto the news.
I’ll be back on Monday afternoon with plenty of other thoughts on the final round, what happened with Rory, what to make of Bryson and Rahm and plenty of other goodies.
Tonight, though? Tonight, let’s talk about Scottie.
1. Wavering would be an understatement for what Scottie did on the front on Sunday. Drunkenly stumbling around with no direction and even less of a clue about which window the ball was coming out of is probably a more apt description.
He went out in 37, and somehow it looked a lot worse than that.
Lesser players may have panicked. Lesser players may have parlayed that 37 into 39 on the back and kicked the tournament away.
Scottie is no lesser player.
He said he realized after six holes that his swing was too short. He fixed it over the last three, but the ball was still sailing left. Why?
“I told Teddy walking up [to] 9 tee, ‘That one felt pretty good. I don't know why that was left again,’” said Scheffler. “He was like, ‘Well, maybe you're aimed over there. Just try and hit a little further right.’”
A true “one of us” moment. Just try and hit it a little further right? That’s what I do! It’s what a three-time major winner does apparently, too.
Staying present. Staying in his swing. Staying in his world even when that world looked to be completely crumbling from the outside looking in.
He hit his first three fairways on the back and his first six greens. He asserted himself and his dominion over this golf tournament in a way that his front nine led you to believe was going to be impossible. He did not try to do too much.
“When I stepped on the tee on Thursday,” Scottie explained, “I'm not thinking about what's going to happen on Sunday. I'm preparing for a 72-hole event. That's what I tell myself on the 1st tee: It's 72 holes. That's a lot of time. That's a lot of holes. That's a lot of shots.
“I always focus on my preparation, and so when I show up on the 1st tee, I just tell myself to stay patient, remind myself that I'm prepared for this and go out and just compete.”
Presence.
[Jason here] When Scottie talked earlier in the week about being present at home and on the course, it made me want to somehow capture both qualities, which is what came out in the illustration. Though I was half expecting during the front nine that I would have to rework the final illustration into a pile of blocks, knocked over by a pink Roman soldier or something equally ridiculous.
2. The top of the board started throwing haymakers at the champ coming home. They badly needed it. Rahm got him in a corner and seemingly wouldn’t let him loose. Bryson threw a few, and others took a look as well, but the Spaniard slung the most of anyone.
He couldn’t protect himself though, and he was eventually undone by a left hook of his own …..
This post will continue below for Normal Club members. If you aren’t yet a Normal Club member, you can sign up right here.
If you are, keep reading!
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