“He was another guy I looked up to”: Scottie Scheffler opens up about being in awe of Jordan Spieth in his younger years

Scottie Scheffler is the world No. 1 right now, but there was a time he heavily admired Jordan Spieth. Spieth is 29 and has been a pro since 2012. Scheffler is three years his junior and turned pro in 2018, six years after Spieth.

During that time, Scheffler came to admire Spieth. He said via Golfweek ahead of the Charles Schwab Challenge:

“Jordan, he was another guy I looked up to growing up. He was always a few years ahead of me and crushing it from a young age. So he was always a guy I looked up to and was able to bounce things off of when I was thinking about turning pro, when I turned pro. He’s always been a guy that’s given me great advice, and he’s such a talented player.”

Scheffler has now arguably surpassed his former idol and become one of if not the best players in the entire world. He'll have yet another chance to showcase that at the upcoming PGA Tour event.

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Scottie Scheffler looking forward to Charles Schwab Challenge

Scottie Scheffler admitted that he was looking forward to this week. He explained that he does not participate in an event without trying to and wanting to win it all. He also added that he doesn't want to look too far ahead, though.

Scheffler also said:

“It’s nice being back here at home and being able to play an event. … to be able to sleep in my own bed this week and able to just be at home the last two days was definitely important in terms of rest. Then playing in front of a home crowd as the week goes on is always really fun."

Scottie Scheffler is looking forward to this weekend

For Scheffler, this is something he always went to as a child, so to play in it is very special:

“I grew up coming to this tournament. Being able to come here and play the golf course and compete is definitely very special for me. I’ve grown up dreaming of being out here, and now being on the other side where I’m inside the ropes and trying to do my best and compete is definitely very special."

The course and the tournament hold special memories for the world's top golfer, as he said:

“I remember showing up here with my dad and just coming out and watching. My dad loved to watch golf. When I grew up, any time I could get a chance to go to the PGA Tour, it was pretty cool. So come out here on practice round days and watch guys."

He added:

"I typically liked the practice round days more just because you could get closer to guys and I liked just watching. It wasn’t as much about the atmosphere. It was more just me watching and learning from those guys."

Scottie Scheffler is currently 4-1 to win the entire thing, ahead of Jordan Spieth who has the second-best odds of winning at 12-1. Their competition will be one to watch this weekend.