Scottie Scheffler Looking At A Blank Canvas As He Goes For A 3rd Straight Players Championship

The Players Championship has four decades of history at TPC Sawgrass suggesting it doesn't favor a particular style of golf - power player or pea shooter, great short game or consummate iron player. And then Scottie Scheffler came along.

In one of his more remarkable performances in an astonishing season, Scheffler nearly withdrew in the second round with a neck injury, made three late birdies Saturday to at least stay in range, then overcame a five-shot deficit to win with a 64.

He became the first back-to-back winner of the PGA Tour's premier tournament, which means next to nothing to the world's No. 1 player as he goes for three in a row.

"What does last year's tournament have to do with this year?" he said Tuesday after playing a nine-hole practice round with Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.

"What does that have to do with what I'm trying to do this week? Not much, right? Like, do I start 1 under? Do I start at 2 under?" he said. "It's great to have won this tournament the last two years, but can I rely on some of those experiences when I step up on the first tee and give myself a little bit of confidence? Yes. If I missed the cut here last year, am I going to be like stepping on to the first tee and be like, 'Man, I duck-hooked that one last year, I better not duck-hook it again.' You know?"