Matt Fitzpatrick had a pretty awkward time at the BMW Championship. He was paired with the world No. 1, Scottie Scheffler, for two straight rounds. But then Scheffler suddenly went very quiet. After two days of barely hearing a word from him, Fitzpatrick started wondering if he had somehow done something to annoy him. The real reason had nothing to do with Fitzpatrick. Scheffler was dealing with a bad illness. He later revealed that he had hand, foot, and mouth disease during the BMW Championship. The illness gave him painful blisters in his throat and on his hands, which also made it hard for him to hold the golf club.
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The good news is that Scheffler is feeling much better. “Yeah, hands are all good, totally back to normal. I have a couple ulcers still in my throat, but I feel way better than last week. I’m talking and eating and drinking normally,” he said.
Scheffler, laughing as he told the story at East Lake on Thursday, recalled the exchange word for word: “Fitzy was laughing, I played with him on the 1st tee last week, and he said, ‘Man, I thought I pissed you off or something. You didn’t talk to me for two days.’ I was like, ‘No, man, I just couldn’t speak.'”
Scheffler and Fitzpatrick played together in the first two rounds at Bellerive Country Club. It was a big pairing because both players were high in the FedExCup standings. But Scheffler did not seem well from the moment he arrived in St. Louis.
Reporters noticed something was off right away. Scheffler’s voice sounded very rough after his first round. He also skipped his usual media duties and only said that he was not feeling well before leaving for the clubhouse. For a player who usually talks to reporters no matter how his round goes, it was clear that something was wrong.
The timing could not have been worse. Scheffler said he started feeling sick on Monday night, just one day after his eight-shot win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis. He went from playing some of his best golf to feeling sick almost overnight.
By the time he played at Bellerive, Scheffler was still trying to manage the illness. He turned down an interview on Thursday and told reporters that he was sick. It was not until after his final round on Sunday that he explained what he had been dealing with.
This is where the story gets even more interesting. Scheffler had a good reason he could have used to skip the week. He had already secured the FedExCup Playoffs points lead and the $23 million bonus after his win in Memphis. So, he had nothing major to gain from playing in the BMW Championship.
Scheffler later admitted that staying in the tournament may not have been the smartest choice. He said his stubbornness played a part. He sees that quality as both a strength and a weakness. Scheffler rarely walks away from a tournament once he starts, and this time was no different, even though he was not feeling well.
His illness also affected his game. Gripping the club was painful early in the week, and it showed in his numbers. He ranked 31st in the field in strokes gained on approach at Bellerive, which is normally one of his strongest areas. Still, he fought through it and finished tied for 12th. After opening with a 72, his worst score in 18 holes since the U.S. Open, he bounced back with three straight rounds in the 60s.
Fitzpatrick and Scheffler have become friendly rivals over the past few seasons. They have also shared the spotlight at some big events. The two were tied for the lead at the 2023 BMW Championship and played together in the third round of the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
Because they know each other well, Fitzpatrick was comfortable enough to ask Scheffler why he was so quiet instead of simply ignoring it. What looked like the “silent treatment” was actually just Scheffler trying to battle through an illness.