Scottie Scheffler’s efforts to win a third green jacket are hampered by the high pollen number in Augusta.
The defending champion was significantly excluded while he discussed his prospects to keep the title he won in 2022 and 2024.
But he played any impact of a light disease, saying Tuesday: “Sniffs will not stop me.”
He added: “This rain and this pollen here … I leave my car in the morning, my eyes start to water. It’s a bit worse than normal years. But I feel good, ready to roll.
Scheffler finds himself in the middle of a fallow period on the title front, not having celebrated a victory in 2025 after claiming less than nine last year. The painting which takes place as an collapse would be absurd, especially because it ends two first in its last six departures, but it is out of character for the world n ° 1.
There is also a natural question to ask on the impact of a bizarre hand injury at Christmas, when it has undergone a reduction in the manufacturing of ravioli with a wine glass. His towers of 67, 62, 69 and 63 in Texas the last time, where he finished the finalist to Min Woo Lee, would suggest that recovery is over.
Scottie Scheffler has trouble with the pollen account in Augusta before his defense of the title
Scheffler is twice winner in Augusta, emerging victorious in 2022 and again in 2024
His plan in Augusta was to play the rear nine on Wednesday after limiting with an 18 full Sunday and the outside half on Tuesday.
He said, “It is certainly the most prepared that I felt all year round. I talked a lot about my preparation and my intention on the tee in Pebble Beach (in January), feeling exactly where I was when I was when I finished the year just because I had taken so much time.
“ It was a different feeling because the dead season, I think you are always really excited to go out and play. This year, an injury was definitely a different feeling of what I have had in recent years.
“But with regard to the preparation, it is certainly as prepared as I felt in any event this year, and I am delighted to do the tournament.”
Despite his sequence without victory, Scheffler will naturally rank like the favorite here, although there was an increasing conviction that Rory McILroy is the man to beat.
McILroy recently took advantage of trying to imitate Scheffler’s ability to forget the bad blows. On the other hand, the American wants to take part of the “freedom” of McILroy’s play.
He said, “I think when you look at a lot of players here on tour, I think there are a lot of things we can learn from each other. Like Rory, I feel like I have always been someone who really played freely. Whenever I played with him, he sweeps him very hard on the T-shirt, and I have the impression that he does a very good job by playing for free and sometimes loose.
“It’s really easy for me to notice it. It is much more difficult to go there and to say: “Hey, I will play freely”, then do it. I think that in golf often, it’s easier to say than to do.
“So when you look at the historically formidable players, guys like the Rory Mcilroys and Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and all these guys, they were really good to notice things in which they could improve. Being actually able to do it is really the thing in which they were the best.
