Scottie Scheffler rebounded mightily this week in the first round of the Tour Championship in Atlanta after missing the cut earlier this month at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis. But when he spoke Thursday about his previous tumbles down the leaderboard, the world No. 1 veered into “TMI” territory.
“You know, I really wasn’t playing bad. I played good at the Open. I had kind of a weird little injury thing that prevented me from playing my best on Saturday and Sunday, and then I was — if not for that, I would have felt like I had a really good chance to win the tournament,” Scheffler said, per Golf.com, in which he referenced his time at St. Andrews in July.
Scheffler, who shot a 74 in the final round of the British Open, then elaborated on the injury and how it contributed to his struggles on the course.
“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. 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,” he explained.
The condition, which is also referred to as a pilonidal cyst, typically “occurs when hair punctures the skin and then becomes embedded,” according to the Mayo Clinic. If the cyst becomes infected, the outlet notes that “the resulting abscess is often extremely painful.”
Scheffler, 26, reiterated that sentiment, describing the condition as “excruciatingly painful.” That said, he kept mum as to how things possibly transpired.
“Yeah, I’m not going to say it here. I’ll tell you after because that would really be TMI,” he said with a laugh.
Fortunately for Scheffler, it took “about a week” to recover following a procedure to alleviate the pressure.
Scheffler, who won this year’s Masters back in April, finished the opening round Thursday with a five-under for 65. He enters Friday in the first place.
