Jordan Spieth offered a sobering take on Scottie Scheffler on Sunday.
Scheffler was mowing down the competition at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas over the weekend. He shot a 10-under 61 in the first round; an 8-under 63 in the second round; and he shot a 5-under 66 in the third round. He was nine under through 16 holes in his fourth round on Sunday at the time this was published, which had him nine strokes ahead of the next closest golfer.
Spieth had a nice event and shot 62 on Sunday to put him in fourth place. But Spieth recognizes he’s a step below Scheffler, which was a tough admission.
“What he’s been doing is inspiring, given it wasn’t that long ago I was definitely better than him — and now I’m definitely not,” Spieth said after his round Sunday, via Dallas Morning News reporter Brad Townsend. “I hate admitting that about anybody, but I just watched it those first two rounds, and like I’ve got to get better. It’s very inspiring.”
Jordan Spieth on his friend and fellow Longhorn Scottie Scheffler.
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) May 4, 2025
"What he's been doing is inspiring, given it wasn't that long ago I was definitely better than him — and now I'm definitely not.
"I hate admitting that about anybody, but I just watched it those first two…
Spieth is 31 and from Dallas, Texas. Scheffler is 28 and grew in the Dallas area, so the two were top high school golfers in the state. Spieth also experienced extreme success early in his professional career as he had won three majors by the end of 2017. Scheffler’s success came later, as he didn’t win his first major until 2022.
Scheffler is currently No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Spieth is No. 58. Few things can be a bigger gut punch than shooting 19 under for a tournament and still finishing more than 10 strokes behind the winner.
