FILE PHOTO: Golf - The Masters - Augusta National Golf Club - Augusta, Georgia, U.S. - April 10, 2022 Scottie Scheffler of the U.S. poses in his green jacket with the trophy after winning The Masters REUTERS/Brian Snyder
(Reuters) - Masters champion Scottie Scheffler said on Tuesday a key reason behind the remarkable success he has enjoyed over the last 13 months on the PGA Tour is a support team that helps him shut out the background noise and focus on golf.
Scheffler transformed into a bona fide PGA Tour star from a player on the rise while winning four times in 2022 and he has already triumphed twice this year, including in his most recent start at The Players Championship.
Speaking to reporters ahead of his title defence at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play event in Austin, Texas, world number one Scheffler was asked if there was a secret to success on the PGA Tour.
"If there was a secret, you would have seen a lot more guys do it than just Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus," Scheffler said at Austin Country Club where play begins on Wednesday.
"It's a tough question. It's different for everybody. I think I've developed a good recipe for good golf out here and that will be something that I'm going to try to not change in the future."
Scheffler has so far managed to remain unaffected by the greater expectations that come with the territory of being a major champion and already has six top-10 finishes in nine events this season.
The 26-year-old American has had the same coach since he was around seven-years-old, the same trainer from when he was in high school and has known his manager "my whole life" and feels that consistency has a positive impact on his game.
"I have a great team of people around me that help keep me grounded and help me be able to go out here and do my best and not think about all the other stuff. I can go out here and focus on golf and just go out and play," said Scheffler.
"And so I have a great team around me that's helping me do that and just going to kind of stick to the programme that we've been doing for years and go from there."
The reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year is the top seed at this week's match play event and is in a group with Tom Kim, Alex Noren and Davis Riley. Winners from the 16 groups advance to the knockout stages.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
