“Group of 10- to 15-year-old kids that are trashing me” - Scottie Scheffler mentally prepared for heckling as he eyes 3rd victory at WM Phoenix Open

Scottie Scheffler is looking to go three-peat at the WM Phoenix Open. It is expected to be a pretty raucous environment. Fans there are usually loud and fully invested in the event, especially in certain parts of the course.

Scheffler, as the reigning champion twice in a row, is no stranger to that. He knows what the course brings and how the fans there are, and he's ready for whatever they throw at him.

The World No. 1 golfer said via SB Nation:

“I’m fairly used to the heckling. Where I practice at home, I’ve got a good group of guys that we play golf with, and I get heckled pretty often. When I’m practicing on the range, there’s usually a group of 10- to 15-year-old kids that are trashing me all the time, so the heckling is something I’m pretty used to.”

He continued:

“It’s not as fun getting booed, but it’s fun getting the loud cheers out there when you do something good, but you pay the price when you hit a bad shot, too. It’s definitely fun being playable to play in front of this many people.”

This is a rare event that's like this. Most PGA Tour events are pretty laid back and the fans are quiet, but this is one where they're encouraged to be loud and proud as part of the "People's Open."

This week, it's expected that they'll be louder than ever and perhaps try to ensure Scheffler doesn't vanquish them and their course for the third year in a row as he continues his 2024 season.

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Scottie Scheffler doesn't want LIV players back without punishment

Scottie Scheffler has usually not been terribly harsh against LIV Golf players. He was one of the few that said there should be no issues in bringing in LIV stars to play the Ryder Cup, which the US team did with Brooks Koepka.

However, in the wake of Rory McIlroy's new comments that they should be able to return to tour without a penalty if they want, Scheffler is standing firm and being a little harsh on the situation.

Scottie Scheffler isn't fond of a penalty-free return for LIV players

Scheffler said via Fox News:

"You had some guys that left our Tour and then sued our Tour. That wasn’t really in great taste. Then you had some other guys that just left and they wanted to do something different. Everybody made their own decision, and I have no bad blood toward the guys that left. But a path towards coming back, I think it wouldn’t be a very popular decision, I think, if they just came back like nothing ever happened."

Scheffler isn't necessarily saying that they shouldn't be allowed back at all, but that there should be some penalties. He believes the nature in which a lot of LIV Golf players left should be accounted for.

Phil Mickelson and others left in a less than positive manner and Scheffler doesn't believe they should be allowed free entry back in without anything to suggest that what they did was wrong in the first place.