Scottie Scheffler's hot streak nearing end as Masters champion admits he's 'emotionally drained'

Scottie Scheffler’s remarkable run could be set to end at this week’s RBC Heritage, after the world No. 1 admitted he was ’emotionally drained’ following his victory at the Masters.

Scheffler is a man in form, and capped off his hot start to 2024 by winning his second green jacket at Augusta National last Sunday. On the back of his historic victory, it was straight back to work for the American, who returned to action at this week’s RBC Heritage at Harbour Town.

He marked his comeback with a two-under-par 69 in Thursday’s opening round in South Carolina, slightly underwhelming amid his recent high standards, with Scheffler six shots behind leader J.T. Poston in a tie for 28th.

In the aftermath, the 27-year-old revealed a slight bit of emotional fatigue had kicked in. “It would have felt better if I got off to a better start, but I tried to give myself a little bit of grace there,” he said.

“I got pretty frustrated towards the middle of the round because I was playing good, felt like I was hitting good putts, and my speed was maybe a touch off. I was out on some of my reads.” Revealing he even hit a shank during his opening round, Scheffler went on: “I shanked the bunker shot on 3.

“I shank it a decent amount, but never in competition, so I could — I tried to kind of give myself a little bit of grace there. It clearly was just a mental lapse and I wasn’t quite into it yet. Tried to give myself a little bit of time… I think I was maybe too settled down to start the day.

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Scottie Scheffler won the Masters at Augusta

“I wasn’t quite into the competition. I think maybe it was a bit of fatigue, whatever it was. But I felt like I was still kind of getting adjusted to the golf course.” The world No. 1 also admitted his win at Augusta National led to him not putting in the preparation he usually would heading into a tournament.

“I’m used to a bit more prep work if that makes sense,” he went on “On the greens I felt like I maybe was just over-reading some of my putts, seeing too much break coming from greens like last week where they’re so fast and there’s so much break. It’s a little bit unusual coming to a golf course like this where it’s a different type of grass and they’re much flatter and then you’ve got to play grain.

“I didn’t get my normal amount of work in that I typically would on the greens.” Scheffler will no doubt be keen to bounce back to his best heading into the weekend. He will kick off his second round on Friday at Harbour Town alongside playing partner Jordan Spieth at 6:30 p.m. BST.