In 2024, at Riviera on par 5-11, Scottie Scheffler missed a 5-foot birdie putt. This led to him getting visibly angry as he threw the ball into the trees. Who knew he would be reminded of the incident two years later, and he’d have to laugh it off?

A reporter brought the incident up at the pre-tournament presser of the 2026 Genesis Invitational, saying that Scheffler threw the ball into the crowd because he was a little frustrated that week, given his past results. Scheffler initially had to clarify that he threw the ball in the trees, and later came his explanation.

Scottie Scheffler laughed and told the media, “The trees were okay. You’ve played golf before, though, right? Yeah, it’s frustrating. No. I think competition is kind of its own thing. Stupid questions. (Laughter.) No, I’m just playing.”

In Scheffler’s defense, when you spend your entire life trying to become good at this game, it is actually healthy to have a level of frustration when results don’t match the work.

“I think it’s healthy to have a level of frustration with that, just because it takes so much work to get out of here. And especially when you feel like you’re doing something right and doing things the right way and not getting the results,” Scheffler said.

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Scheffler started playing golf at the age of six, and it’s been more than two decades. All these years, one thing has remained constant: competitiveness. He won 75 events between 2004 and 2010 as a junior golfer, and he has carried that fire ever since. Scheffler knows he is a competitive guy, and he doesn’t mind it because he does the grind.

“It sucks. I hate it; I really do [hate losing]. We work so hard for such little moments. I’m kind of a sicko; I love putting in the work, I love getting to practice, and I love getting to live out my dreams,” he said a while ago.

That’s why, when Scheffler finished T3 at the Phoenix Open and T6 at Pebble Beach before coming to Riviera in 2024, it’s easy to understand why he was that angry. Despite that collapse of composure, Scheffler finished the 2024 tournament in a tie for 10th place (T10) with a score of 8-under par.

While Scheffler is known to be calm most of the time, it isn’t always the case, especially when he is performing poorly on the greens.

For instance, during the 2025 Tour Championship, Scheffler slammed his wedge into a bunker after a disappointing splash-out on the 14th hole in the second round. Then at the TPC Southwind 2025, he slammed his club multiple times into the sand after an approach shot found the bunker.

Apart from that, Scottie Scheffler arrives at the 2026 Genesis Invitational with a clear goal.

Will Scottie Scheffler finally win at Riviera?

Despite six professional starts at Riviera, Scheffler has yet to find the winner’s circle, with a string of solid-but-not-winning finishes. His record here is solid but lacks the last-day finish: T10 in 2024, T12 at 2023, and T7 in 2022. His best result at the Genesis Invitational is a third-place finish in 2025. The event, however, was played at Torrey Pines last year.

But this season, Scheffler is currently the “hottest on the field,” riding a wave of momentum. Scheffler won his season opener, marking his 20th career victory at the American Express. Then he finished T3 after a “dig-it-out-of-the-dirt” rally, correcting a grip issue mid-tournament at the WM Phoenix Open. And with a T4 finish after a historic final-round 63 that included three eagles and a record-breaking 150+ foot putt at the AT&T Pebble Beach, Scheffler comes to the Riviera.

He currently holds the record of 18 consecutive top-10 finishes. So, if he carries that momentum and wins the 100th Genesis Invitational, he will achieve something that neither Woods nor Nicklaus ever could. Tiger Woods, the tournament host, famously went 0-for-11 as a professional at Riviera without a win. Similarly, Jack Nicklaus played the venue 14 times without a victory.