“It wasn’t fun,” Higgo admitted. “I obviously played terrible last year. If you look at how I used to swing it till now, it’s completely different. That whole time frame, it’s tough to play competitive.” After a season marked by both triumphs and injuries, Higgo now finds himself atop the Sanderson Farms Championship at 6-under par. While that alone is an achievement, the South African is prouder of the lessons he has gathered along the way.

Just weeks ago, he was paired with Scottie Scheffler at the Procore Championship. Though he didn’t win, he walked away with something more valuable. Facing the world No. 1 is rare — and cinematic, given how easily Scheffler rewrites records. And when you do get that chance, you leave with a lesson, a new perspective, or even a sense of awe. That’s exactly what Garrick Higgo carried forward.

“I learned a lot. I couldn’t tell you how much I learned, but I learned so much just by watching,” Higgo told the media. “He’s an inspiration for all of us. He’s set the bar so high. It’s just phenomenal how high his skill level is,” Higgo recalled while answering a question at the press conference in Jackson, Mississippi.

Scheffler’s final round at the Procore Championship showed why Higgo praised him. After a bogey at 11, he chipped in for birdie on 12 and went on to post six birdies against one bogey, winning his sixth PGA Tour title of 2025 at 19-under-par.

Higgo shot even-par 71 to finish tied seventh at 14-under, five back. “Obviously, he’s got a great mind too, but it’s just amazing how good he hits the golf ball, and he’s putting great, and he chips great. So yeah,” he said.

Scheffler has turned his putting into a weapon this season. He leads in Strokes Gained (+2.743), ranks top 10 in birdie-or-better conversion, and is 18th in one-putt percentage. His clutch shots at Procore only reinforced Higgo’s words.

After a bogey at 11, Scheffler briefly lost the lead to Ben Griffin. He responded immediately on the par-5 12th, hitting an up-and-down birdie to reclaim the solo lead.

His season is full of similar moments. At the BMW Championship, he chipped in from 82 feet out of thick rough on 17 for a birdie that sealed the win. At the PLAYERS, he buried a 28-foot birdie putt on a par-3.

For Higgo, such shots highlight Scheffler’s resilience. His own year has been marked by fragility after tearing his hip labrum, an injury that nearly required surgery. Instead, he chose to play through the pain.

“It wasn’t hurting me in my swing, but walking made it really bad, and then it would pinch the next day,” he said. “So just figuring out how I can avoid that.” These changes enabled him to return and win the Corales Puntacana Championship, his second PGA Tour victory. This came after a four-year wait, with his first being at the Palmetto Championship in 2021.

That’s what made Procore week meaningful. Unlike others chasing FedExCup points, Higgo already had status through 2026 and a PLAYERS spot. What he needed was confidence — and he found it watching Scheffler.

And he has not been the only one.

Scottie Scheffler’s undeniable mark on pro golfers

Just like Scottie Scheffler inspired Garrick Higgo, so was Justin Hastings, who launched his PGA Tour career this year. While Higgo’s pairings came on Sunday at Napa Valley, Hastings found himself side by side with the No. 1 in round three. A look to his side, and the rookie forgot how to breathe. “Yeah, it was unreal. I just found myself constantly having to take deep breaths and slow myself down.”

Apart from young golfers, even veterans like Jordan Spieth, who have been trying to find their footing for a while, can’t ignore Scheffler’s rising dominance. After watching the New Jerseyan clinch his first victory of the season at the CJ CUP Byron Nelson, Spieth said, “What he’s doing is very inspiring, 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 right now, and I hate admitting that about anybody.”

On the other hand, Scheffler dislikes being called an inspiration. Ahead of the British Open, he admitted that being put on such a pedestal is not fulfilling for him.

“I’m not out here to inspire the next generation of golfers. I’m not out here to inspire someone to be the best golfer in the world because what’s the point? This is not a fulfilling life. It’s fulfilling from the sense of accomplishment, but it’s not fulfilling from a sense of the deepest places of your heart.”

This humility does not change the reality for golfers like Higgo or Hastings, who see the standard Mr. Inevitable keeps setting. They will always treat it like a compass.