Scottie Scheffler Played BMW Championship While Suffering From Viral Illness

World number one golfer Scottie Scheffler has revealed that he played through the BMW Championship in St. Louis while dealing with hand, foot, and mouth disease, a viral illness that causes painful skin blisters.

Scheffler completed the four-round tournament on Sunday, shooting a 2-under-par 68 in his final round to finish tied for 12th place. He had initially turned down an interview request on Thursday, telling reporters only, “I’m sick,” before explaining his condition in detail after completing his final round.

The golfer explained that the illness struck on Monday night ahead of the tournament. The condition made it especially difficult to handle his equipment during the opening rounds of the competition.

“So to start the week it was pretty painful to grip the club,” Scheffler said on Sunday. He added, “If I was smarter maybe I would have pulled out,” but explained that he hoped to recover quickly after getting through the first few rounds.

Scheffler admitted that withdrawing from the event might have been the practical choice, given that he had already locked up the top spot in the FedEx Cup standings prior to the event. That position secured him a $23 million bonus regardless of his result at the BMW Championship. However, he decided to stay in the competition, describing the decision as “part of my stubbornness” and noting that he rarely pulls out of tournaments.

Throughout the week in St. Louis, Scheffler struggled relative to his usual standards, recording 13 bogeys over the four rounds and hitting 65 percent of greens in regulation. During Sunday’s final round, a run of three consecutive birdies briefly pushed him into the top 10 on the leaderboard. However, a bogey on the 18th hole from a fairway bunker dropped him back to a tie for 12th place.

Scheffler was coming off a dominant performance at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, which he won by eight strokes. He noted that the transition from extreme heat and high adrenaline to a sudden physical crash likely contributed to how severely the illness affected him during the week.

By Sunday, Scheffler reported that his condition was improving, saying his hands felt normal again, though his throat remained irritated. He noted that he almost instinctively offered a handshake to playing partner Cameron Young upon completing their round before remembering his illness. Scheffler stated he would focus on resting before his next tournament.

Background

The BMW Championship is the second of three playoff events that conclude the PGA Tour season to determine the FedEx Cup champion. The top 30 players in the playoff standings after the BMW Championship qualify for the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. All 30 competitors entering the final tournament retain a mathematical chance to win the FedEx Cup title.