World No.1 Scottie Scheffler isn’t pulling any punches about golf’s big divide. He’s pointing the finger straight at the players who jumped ship to LIV Golf.
“They made their choice,” Scheffler said bluntly during his pre-Masters chat with reporters. “They knew what would happen.”
The split means golf’s biggest stars now only face off four times a year, at the majors. The next showdown comes this April at Augusta National, where Scheffler will defend his green jacket against LIV defectors like Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, and Brooks Koepka.
It’s not personal though, Scheffler insists.
“I hold no ill will towards any of those guys that left,” he said. “But if we want to figure out why the game of golf isn’t back together, go ask them. Go to wherever they’re playing this week and figure out when the game’s going to come back together.”
The defending Masters champ is crystal clear about where the best golf is being played.
“The PGA Tour has by far the best players in the world,” he said. “The depth of our fields and the competition we have is still hands down the best in golf. That’s why I’m still here – I love the competition.”
There’s one rival he particularly misses facing off against: Jon Rahm.
“One of the great joys of my career is going up against Jon,” Scheffler said, his tone softening when discussing the Spanish star. “He’s a tremendous player, tremendous talent. I was definitely surprised to see him leave last year.”
Their rivalry has produced some epic battles, especially in the Ryder Cup. Out of their five matches against each other, they’ve tied three times, with each winning once.
“I definitely miss playing against him,” Scheffler admitted. “I’ll soak in all the opportunities I get to compete against him going forward.”
For now though, those chances will be limited to golf’s biggest stages – the four majors where the sport’s divided stars briefly come together to remind fans what they’re missing the rest of the year.
