ATLANTA – World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler got back on track Thursday at the Tour Championship, where he turned his two-stroke lead into a five-shot advantage thanks to an opening 65.
Scheffler explained his missed cut in Memphis was an anomaly and his tie for 21St at The Open was the result of a “weird little injury” on Saturday and Sunday at St. Andrews.
How weird?
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“Probably TMI, but I had what’s called a pilonidal infection. It’s an infection at the top of your butt crack. You can look it up,” he said. “It was really hard for me to bend down. It was really hard for me to make a swing on Sunday. Walking was actually extremely difficult.”
Scheffler had what is medically called a pilonidal cyst, which normally occurs when hair punctures the skin and then becomes embedded. In Scheffler’s case, he had a member of the DP World Tour medical team perform a procedure that relieved the pressure following his final round in Scotland and he said he needed about a week before the pain subsided.
“I don’t know if any of you have ever had something like that, but if you talk to someone who does, it is excruciatingly painful,” he said. “It was brutal.”
Scheffler began the week at East Lake No. 1 on the post-season points list and at 10 under in the event’s strokes-based scoring. Thanks to his opening round, he’s now 15 under and leading Xander Schauffele by five shots.