The biggest mis-match on paper during Sunday’s singles session was World No.1 Scottie Scheffler vs World No. 61 Nico Echavarria. But more than anything, the match wound up teaching the world a nice lesson in sportsmanship.
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As Echavarria teed off on Medinah’s par-4 14th, a fan shouted out something in support of Scheffler. Clearly affected by the timing of the remark, Echavarria’s tee shot went way right and traveled only 226 yards. That’s when Scheffler stepped in, walking over towards the gallery.
“There’s no place for that,” Scheffler could be heard saying to the crowd.
But he wasn’t done coming to his opponent’s help.
After Echavarria put his third shot to the back of the green, some 30 feet away, NBC reported Scheffler conceded his long par putt. Scheffler then missed his birdie putt to make par and halve the hole.
The result kept Scheffler 3 up in the match through 14 holes and wound up not making much of a difference in Scheffler’s 2-and-1 win. Still, it was an incredibly classy gesture by the best player on the planet.
“It’s just ridiculous, somebody yelling in his swing off the tee,” Scheffler said after. “There’s absolutely no place for that. You should get 30 seconds to a minute when you’re over the ball or getting ready to hit your shot where there’s some silence, and it’s just frustrating.”
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