Guess what happened when Scottie Scheffler went to California to prepare for the Ryder Cup? He won another golf tournament

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[PHOTO: Jed Jacobsohn]

It’s not that Scottie Scheffler makes winning look easy. It’s never easy to win on the PGA Tour. What Scheffler has been doing so well the past four years as he has cemented his place as the No.1 player in the world is produce a level of golf that makes winning always look possible.

The wins come as a product of that relentlessness.

RELATED: Lanto Griffin says the quiet part out loud, ‘I kind of wish Scottie wasn’t here this week’

He got another one today, his sixth victory of the year, at the Procore Championship, the ostensible warm-up event to the upcoming Ryder Cup. With a five-under 67 on the North course at Silverado Resort in Napa, California, Scheffler was able to overtake US teammate Ben Griffin for a one-stroke victory.

Scheffler’s first win in America’s Golden State constitutes the 19th official PGA Tour title of his career, all of them coming since he broke through at the 2022 WM Phoenix Open. He also won the Olympic gold medal in 2024.

The reigning Open and PGA champion, Scheffler has made 20 tour starts this year and has 20 finishes inside the top-25 and 17 in the top-10. His victory today, after posting 19-under 269, constitutes his 15th straight finish of T-8 or better.

“[Being in contention] is the stuff that I think as competitors we live for. It’s the most fun,” said Scheffler, 29, whose 19 PGA Tour titles equals the number collected by fellow Texans Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw. “Finishing 15th is not really all that interesting at times. It’s much more interesting to be coming down the stretch having a chance to win the golf tournament. It’s a ton of fun. Ben and I had a great battle today. I was fortunate to be the winner this week, but he’s going to bounce back.”

Leader after 36 and 54 holes, Griffin had a chance to win outright or force a playoff after finding the green at the par-5 18th hole. But he left his eagle try from 60 feet six feet short of the hole and then he pulled the next one to tie. The Ryder Cup rookie, seeking his third win of the season, ended up with a 70.

“I was trying to make eagle; putt was just a little slower than I expected,” said Griffin, who birdied his first three holes but had only one more the rest of the day. “I don’t know if I hit my line on the last [putt], but I looked up and it looked like it was breaking pretty good to the left and I tried to play it straighter to right-centre. I felt like just wasn’t quite as sharp from short range as I needed to be, but I’ll get to work this next week and hopefully make every single one of them at the Ryder Cup.”

RELATED: The clubs Scottie Scheffler used to win the Procore Championship

As to the matter of failing to hold off Scheffler, Griffin replied: “Well, you know, you expect it. I knew I needed to shoot a lower round. He’s a hell of a player.”

Well, yes, you do expect it. And, perhaps more importantly, Scheffler exhibits an attitude that suggests that he expects it. Which sort of follows execution. Scheffler led the field in birdies (26), strokes gained/tee to green (14.508), strokes gained/approach (8.797) and proximity (25.0 feet). That’s the standard Scheffler playbook.

“I did some good stuff over the course of four days, especially over the weekend,” said Scheffler, who trailed Griffin by eight shots after 36 holes, but cut into the deficit with a third-round 64. “Felt like my game got better as the week went on and played some really nice golf Saturday and Sunday to be sitting here.”

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In addition to the victory, Scheffler left Napa with something else – a sense of readiness for the Ryder Cup. Ten of the 12 US players competed at Silverado, and all of them made the cut and got in four rounds. Of course, their best player came to win and did just that. Now he can concentrate on leading the American squad at Bethpage Black next week.

“I always focus as much as I can on my preparation going into tournaments; that’s what gives me confidence, and I feel like I’m as prepared as possible for the Ryder Cup,” he said. “I think we’re all excited for the tournament to get started. We’ve got three days in New York to compete and have fun. We’re all looking forward to it.”

Well, the guy does like to compete. He also likes to win. He’s won at least six times in two straight seasons. The only other guy since 1983 to do that is Tiger Woods.