The video began to resurface a couple of years ago, when Scottie Scheffler was a two-time Masters champion entrenched at No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking as fellow PGA Tour player Jordan Spieth was sliding out of the top 50 and headed for surgery on his left wrist.
Dallas television station WFAA posted a clip from the Byron Nelson Junior Championship in 2009. Scheffler was 13 and wearing pants, of course, in the heat of a Texas summer. Spieth was about to turn 16, the star attraction who shot a 62 to win by 11 shots.
Fast-forward 17 years, and both are one leg away from the career Grand Slam.
Spieth gets his 10th crack at golf’s most elusive club when the PGA Championship starts Thursday at Aronimink Golf Club near Philadelphia. Scheffler seems much closer to it, even though his first chance at winning all four majors is still a month away in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on New York’s Long Island.
“He’s three years older than me,” Scheffler said. “When I was growing up, he was always the best junior. When I got the chance to compete against him, I would watch and see what he did well. He was a great junior player. He was always a step ahead of me, and a little bit better for the most part.”