Scottie Scheffler revealed after finishing the BMW Championship that he had been battling hand, foot and mouth disease throughout the tournament, an illness that made it painful to even grip his clubs.
The world No. 1 had turned down an interview request on Thursday, telling reporters simply, "I'm sick." After closing out the tournament on Sunday with a two-under 68, he offered more detail on what he had been dealing with.
"So to start the week it was pretty painful to grip the club," Scheffler said. "If I was smarter maybe I would have pulled out, but I was playing so good I felt like if I could knock it out quickly and just get through the first couple rounds I would still have a chance."
Scheffler arrived at the BMW Championship coming off an eight-shot victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and had appeared to be finding top form heading into the three-week conclusion of the PGA Tour season.
In hindsight, he said, pulling out would have made more sense given how little was at stake. He was already guaranteed to finish No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings through the BMW Championship, which came with a $23 million bonus.
Why the seeding barely mattered
Seeding will not matter much next week either. At the Tour Championship, held at East Lake Golf Club, all 30 players who qualify need only win the tournament outright to capture the FedEx Cup.
"I think that's part of my stubbornness, probably. That's probably a strength of mine and a weakness at times," Scheffler said. "I've never been one to ever pull out of a tournament, especially in the middle of it. That's really frustrating for me. But I'm proud of how I fought. Feel like I'm starting to heal up. My throat is still bugging me pretty good. But my hands feel normal today."
His only slip once feeling closer to normal, he said, was almost shaking hands with fellow competitor Cameron Young after their round.
A rough week on the course
Scheffler put together three straight birdies that briefly pushed him into the top 10, but a bogey from a fairway bunker at the close dropped him back. He hit only 65 percent of greens in regulation for the week.
"I felt better as the week went on," he said. "I got sick Monday night. That was probably the most frustrating part. Playing really good golf, and you come out of the heat and get a little adrenaline, sometimes your body kind of crashes. Then it hit me pretty good all week."
"I'm still not 100% now, but I'll get some rest now and hopefully that will help," Scheffler said.
