When you have the greatest golfer in the world on your team, who are you supposed to pair them with in four-ball and foursomes?
It’s an age-old question that plagued United States captains throughout Tiger Woods’ career, and now it’s beginning to apply to Scottie Scheffler.
Scheffler managed to score just one point at each of the past two Ryder Cups, both of which Team Europe won. At Bethpage Black last year, he played sessions with Russell Henley, J.J. Spaun and Bryson DeChambeau. They went 0-4, with Scheffler scoring his lone point in singles.
On Tuesday, U.S. Presidents Cup captain Brandt Snedeker acknowledged the challenge of finding the right match for the World No. 1, then downplayed its importance.
“I think there’s an inherent kind of — not fear for the guy they’re playing with, but a feeling of I’m letting him down,” Snedeker said. “‘He’s the best player in the world. He’s so good at everything; no matter what I do isn’t going to be good enough.’ So trying to find someone who can handle that and be themselves and not try to be someone else is super important.
“We’re going to keep doing that. We’re going to keep trying to find the best pairings for Scottie and the rest of the 11 players on our team. Getting back to Scottie, Scottie Scheffler is not going to be the reason we win or lose this (Presidents) Cup necessarily. It’s going to have to be 12 people pitching in and doing their job.”
There’s a good chance Scheffler plays with his longtime friend Sam Burns, if you ask Burns.
Burns opened his press conference by confirming he already knows who he’ll play with this week at Medinah. When asked if his name was Scottie Scheffler, Burns replied, “His name starts with an S.”
They go back to junior golf, with Burns from Louisiana and growing up near Scheffler in Texas. But they haven’t been paired together at an international event since 2023. They went a combined 0-3-1 as partners at the 2022 Presidents Cup and the 2023 Ryder Cup.
In 2024 at Royal Montreal, Scheffler earned two points in three matches as Henley’s partner. He also teamed with Collin Morikawa to win one four-ball session.
Henley admitted he would be less comfortable partnering with someone like Woods, but he has befriended Scheffler over the years.
“There certainly is the pressure of I want to do well for my team and country,” Henley said. “I want to hold myself to a high standard. But I don’t know that I necessarily struggle with (playing alongside Scheffler) as much.
“I think just also because Scottie just makes me feel really comfortable, he’s a really good teammate and I don’t feel like he has an intimidating way about him around me. Maybe others feel that way. I don’t. I like playing with him and I get excited to play with him if I’m paired up with him.”
What does Scheffler think of all this?
“I always feel confident in my partners,” he said Tuesday. “If we didn’t step up on the first tee and feel confident, those guys wouldn’t be standing there with me. I’ve been confident in all the partners I’ve had across formats over the years.”
The four-time major champion acknowledged that even for players he is close with — like Burns and Henley — it is difficult to know how to interact with them while they strategize in a team golf setting.
“You’re kind of put into these new situations where — even some of my best friends, I don’t know exactly what to say to them in the heat of the moment,” Scheffler said.
“So a lot of learning those types of tics and stuff like that of how to be a good partner to whoever I’m with out there is part of it as well, and that’s a big part of the preparation going into these next few weeks.”
Another chemistry-based partnership could be Chris Gotterup and Jacob Bridgeman, who are making their U.S. team debuts after collecting seven PGA Tour wins since 2024. Gotterup has won five times, and Bridgeman earned his first two this year, including last week at the Biltmore Championship Asheville.
“I think me and him got out of school at the same time and played on the Korn Ferry (Tour) for both a year at the same time, roomed pretty much all the time together out there, and rookie year, did that together,” Bridgeman said. “Got past the keeping our card the first year thing. We leveled up all the same as we’ve gone throughout our careers. It’s been a lot of fun to do with him. My wife and his girlfriend with really close. We spend a lot of time together and that in itself has made a pretty good relationship. We like to pick at each other pretty good. We both take it well.”
