Former PGA Tour player turned CBS Sports analyst Johnson Wagner believes Scottie Scheffler‘s growing popularity has reached a point where it is beginning to create challenges for his playing partners.
Scheffler has established himself as one of the biggest attractions in men’s golf over the past few years. His breakthrough came at the 2022 WM Phoenix Open and he has been virtually unstoppable ever since, amassing 19 further victories – including four majors – and an Olympic gold medal.
So it was no surprise he was a huge draw at last week’s 3M Open, where he made his debut in the Detroit-based event and finished runner-up to rising star Jackson Koivun.
Wagner told Golf on CBS that the crowds following Scheffler were “amazing” and noted that the level of enthusiasm and support felt reminiscent of the Tiger Woods era at its peak.
“The crowds were outstanding all week long,” he said. “He teed off, it was pretty darn early on Thursday, and there were reports of 10,000 to 15,000 people out there following him, getting to see him for the first time.
“What I’ve noticed this year, especially how many times I’ve walked with him, he is the draw. It is ridiculous.”
The crowds were just as large during the final round, Wagner said, where Scheffler played alongside Brian Harman. Scheffler tore round TPC Twin Cities on Sunday. He hit the turn in 3-under and registered five birdies on the back nine but ultimately finished three strokes behind Koivun.
“Brian just needed to get the honour, because I think the whole back nine he was teeing off second,” said Wagner. “And once Scottie hits, people are moving down the fairway.”
According to Wagner, Harman was forced to step away from several shots. “Harman backed off multiple times, I think it was on 11, it was a couple of other tee shots, he had to back off of tee shots because of the crowd,” Wagner said. He added: “And it’s just like it was playing with Tiger. I couldn’t imagine playing in the group in front of them, or in the group behind, because it’s just people either swarming the greens or scattering. But the crowds were amazing.”
Scheffler himself commented on the fan support after the tournament. He said, “Yeah, this week was tremendous. The fans were great this week, the tournament was really solid. Yeah, was able to do some good stuff and hear some cheers. It was definitely a lot of fun with the fans this week.”
The world number one finished second for the fifth time this season, posting rounds of 64 and 63 over the weekend. He ended up three shots back of Koivun, who secured his maiden PGA Tour win on his third professional start.
Scheffler acknowledged the difficulty of catching Koivun, who started the final round with a six-shot lead. “I knew I was going to need a really low number regardless,” Scheffler said. “I wanted to get something really low on the front nine and kind of put myself on the leaderboard. I didn’t quite have that, I think I was only 3 under on the front so I wasn’t able to really apply too much pressure early on. Overall was a pretty solid week.”
Since winning The American Express in January, Scheffler has struggled to close out tournaments despite playing well. He has finished second five times, often falling just short of the winner.