When Ted Scott ended his long-standing partnership with Bubba Watson in 2021, he began a new chapter by joining forces with Scottie Scheffler. Little did he know that he would one day have to speak to the World No. 1 as if he were a five-year-old to get him into the right mindset. Yet, that is exactly what Scott did during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, which led to Scheffler’s gold medal.
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“I think the greatest moment I’ve probably ever had as a caddy was at the Olympics,” Scott said on the Frenchie & The Coach podcast. “… So here we are on Friday, and he missed another short putt, and he threw his putter on the hole 6. He literally launched it, and then when I went and picked it up, he’s like, ‘I’m going to break it.’ I’m like, ‘No.’ He’s like, ‘No, I’m serious. I want to snap it, and I’m going to put it with my lobs.’”
By this point, Scheffler had grown increasingly frustrated, prompting Scott to step in. Matters got worse when the World No. 1 topped his 3-wood into the tall grass on the next hole. However, with the other players walking alongside them, Scott struggled to get Scheffler alone for a conversation. He finally found the opportunity on the 8th, when Scottie Scheffler hit the green on a particularly difficult par-3 while the other two players in the group missed. Seeing his chance, Scott decided it was time.
“So, I literally talked to him like a 5-year-old,” Scott explained. “I was like, ‘Listen, man. Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to look me in my eyes. You’re going to listen to every word I’m going to say. You’re not talking until I’m done. You got it.’ He’s like, ‘Yeah.’ I’m like, ‘You got it.’ That’s very risky, right? … But I wrote down three things on a piece on the back of my pen sheet.”
Scott had prepared three simple instructions on the back of his sheet, hoping to get Scheffler to stop overthinking and focus on the basics. He asked the golfer to forget everything he knew about putting and follow those three pointers instead. The approach initially seemed to work, as Scheffler sank a 20-footer. However, the reprieve did not last long. On the ninth hole, he missed a six-foot putt and began getting frustrated again.
“He misses it, and he starts freaking out again, and he’s like, ‘I can’t read the greens.’ And like an idiot, I go, ‘I can read the greens. I can read the greens.’ He’s like, ‘Okay, you’re in.’ I’m like, ‘What am I doing?’ … So we go to hole 10. He’s got like a 10-footer, and I read it like I’m mad. I’m like, ‘Right here, man. Yeah, right here.’ And I kind of walk away like, ‘Dear Lord, please, one time let me read a putt… totally selling it.”
Scheffler made the 10-footer and converted his next putt as well. The change in his body language was immediate. His shoulders were back, and he appeared to have regained his composure and confidence. Scott felt he had successfully shifted his player’s mindset at a crucial moment. Scheffler then shot a 29 on the back nine, and the pair headed to the practice range to await the remaining scores.
When they learned that Tommy Fleetwood had made a bogey, confirming Scheffler’s Olympic gold medal, Scott revealed how the World No. 1 thanked him and credited him for the win.
“He turned to me and said, ‘Ted… there’s no way that I’m even on the podium without what you did for me on Friday… That was incredible,’” Scott recalled. “And so that brought tears to my eyes. It was an incredible moment. Just to be a part of that cuz it’s rare to be able to help somebody in the midst of frustration.”
Their bond remained strong, as they won 21 PGA Tour events and 4 majors together. Interestingly, though, besides Scott treating Scottie Scheffler like a child, Scheffler himself has admitted he is “a child.” That same year, speaking on the Pardon My Take podcast about how much he pays Scott, the World No. 1 revealed that he relies on someone else to manage payments to his caddie.
“We have a girl that helps us pay bills basically because I’m a child and I can’t keep track of all that stuff.”
Clearly, Scottie Scheffler and Ted Scott have the perfect dynamic, which continues to produce results.