Ahead of the final round of last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship, Scottie Scheffler was thrown a curveball.
His caddie, Ted Scott, had to return home because of an undisclosed family medical emergency. Entering Sunday’s round two strokes behind the lead, the world No. 1 had Brad Payne, a friend who lives in Dallas, on his bag as they finished T3.
For this week’s BMW Championship, though, Scheffler has Michael Cromie looping for him. Cromie is Chris Kirk’s regular caddie, but his season ended at the FedEx St. Jude, the first of three FedEx Cup playoff events.
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What’s it been like just adjusting to having Cromie on the bag?
“It’s been good,” Scheffler said Wednesday in his pre-tournament press conference at the BMW Championship at Caves Valley. “Mike’s a great guy. He works really hard. He does a good job and you know we’re both learning a new golf course this week, so it’s been fun.”
In fact, there are similarities to Scott.
“[Cromie will] ask some questions about things that basically he’s just going to try and fill in as best he can this week, just asking the little stuff,” Scheffler said. “A lot of it is just more routine, like, ‘hey, how do you like me to give you the numbers?’ And when I say I’m hitting a hold shot, he’s like, ‘well, what does that mean?’
“Just little stuff like that that we’re figuring out as the week goes on … It’s like, ‘hey, what’s your hydration? What do you like to eat?’ Just a little stuff like that.”
How did this partnership come about?
Scott is friends with Cromie. And though Payne filled in on Sunday, he’s not a professional caddie, so the four-time major winner wanted someone with more experience as he aims to win back-to-back FedEx Cup titles.
“I think when you have a professional in the bag, it’s a bit different,” Scheffler said, “It’s not that I don’t trust Brad to do the numbers. It was just something that I think both of us probably thought it was a good idea to be double-checking each other and this week it’ll be more kind of a normal routine for me in terms of preparation over the shot and stuff like that.
“Like doing the numbers myself is just a bit more work, doing that over a four-day event, I think, can take a toll on you.”
As for Scott, Scheffler didn’t reveal why he’s not at the BMW Championship.
“Ted’s where he needs to be right now,” Scheffler said, “and I think caddying is probably the last thing on his mind as it should be. I’ve been able to talk to him a few times. Family is in good spirits, everybody seems to be doing well.”
