World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler deflected a question Sunday about his Saturday benching at the Presidents Cup. The exchange has divided opinion among golf observers.
NBC reporter Cara Banks asked Scheffler about U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker’s decision to sit him in Saturday afternoon’s foursomes. The World No. 1 had just beaten Nico Echavarria, 2 and 1, in singles.
“I mean, do you want to talk about today’s match?” Scheffler said. “I just played some golf out there. You want to talk about that?”
Scheffler spoke with NBC while the Cup was still undecided. The U.S. later rallied from three points down to win 17-13 at Medinah Country Club outside Chicago.
Opinion Divides Over Scottie Scheffler’s Answer
Scheffler defended his captain when Banks raised the comments. He said a captain can second-guess every decision when a week goes poorly. He said Snedeker had put the team in position to succeed.
Reaction split after the interview. Some observers felt that Scheffler’s response was unnecessarily rude.
“Scottie struggles sometimes with finding the right perspective,” Brentley Romine of Golf Channel said. “He wasn’t made available Saturday afternoon, and Sundays are also the day to encapsulate the entirety of the event, not just the birdies and bogeys of his singles match. Perfectly fair questions by Cara, and ones that everyone wanted to know the answers to.”
While the other faction believes the question was ridiculous.
“What a ridiculous interview by Cara Banks. Good on Scottie for calling her out,” a fan said.
The Americans took 9.5 of 12 singles points and won 17-13. PGA Tour called it the largest Sunday comeback in Presidents Cup history. The U.S. is 14-1-1 all-time in the event, with 11 straight victories. Scheffler finished 3-1 for the week.
Snedeker’s Stated Reasons for Benching Scottie Scheffler
Scottie Scheffler had an interesting back and forth with Cara Banks on NBC after she asked about not playing the afternoon session yesterday.
Snedeker announced the move Saturday, after the morning four-ball session. The International team led the U.S. 8.5-5.5 through three sessions.
Scheffler and Sam Burns had just beaten Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune, 2 and 1. They trailed after 14 holes, then won the next three. Snedeker made the call with several holes left in that match.
Snedeker said Scheffler had been carrying the team. It was “time for us to carry him for a session,” he said.
“We were trying to do our best to get these guys in a good situation,” Snedeker said. “I love Scottie Scheffler to death, that was a really tough decision to sit him this afternoon. But I wanted to get him some rest and wanted him to get ready to go tomorrow in singles.”
He said he had not planned the move. Golf Channel reported that Cameron Young and Chris Gotterup’s morning win complicated his plans.
Snedeker later confirmed that Scheffler learned of the decision on television. He said he could not reach the 30-year-old first, but took the news well.
Scottie Scheffler’s Sudden Decision Starts New Controversy After Presidents Cup