Scheffler 'feeling ready' to defend Memorial title

Scottie Scheffler enters the Memorial Tournament arsenic the defending champion, but that doesn't marque him consciousness overconfident arsenic helium prepares for Thursday's opening circular successful Dublin, Ohio.

"When you amusement up to an event, everybody's astatine adjacent par," Scheffler told reporters Wednesday. "People ask, I consciousness similar a lot, 'What's it similar defending this week?' I'm like, 'Well, what does that bash for me? Nothing'. I person immoderate acquisition the connected the play people that tin beryllium helpful, but astatine the extremity of the day, you commencement adjacent par, and I privation to beryllium successful contention connected Sunday, and you decidedly don't amusement up excessively precocious oregon excessively low."

Scheffler, 28, is successful the midst of different unthinkable season. In 11 tournaments, he's won 2 and finished successful the Top 10 8 times.

In his past six tournaments, helium has won The CJ Cup Byron Nelson and PGA Championship, finished T2 astatine the Texas Children's Houston Open, placed 4th astatine the Masters Tournament, was T4 past week astatine the Charles Schwab Challenge, and T8 astatine the RBC Heritage past month.

The Memorial, founded by Jack Nicklaus astatine his Muirfield Village Golf Club, is Scheffler's 3rd consecutive play tournament. He said helium is "rested enough."

"My 3rd week successful a row, but I got immoderate bully remainder to commencement -- past week, aft the PGA, I got immoderate bully remainder Monday and Tuesday and had a bully commencement astatine Colonial. Took my time off, came here, played 9 holes yesterday, played 9 holes this morning, truthful feeling acceptable for the week."

And helium said arsenic with each events, helium is not entering with a predetermined conception that helium volition win. Last year, helium topped Collin Morikawa by 1 stroke, finishing astatine 8-under par to triumph the Memorial.

"If you amusement up with excessively debased of expectations, not feeling similar your game's successful a bully spot, you're astir apt not going to deed a batch of bully shots," helium said. "And if you amusement up feeling mode excessively bully astir yourself, I deliberation it tin person an effect connected your focus. Like, if you conscionable amusement up and be, like, 'Oh, I'm best. I'm conscionable going to amusement up and triumph this week,' I deliberation astir sometimes you tin get a spot lazy astatine times retired connected the course. ... You person to beryllium precise focused connected what you're doing."

Even arsenic the tract heads into a $20 cardinal signature event, Scheffler was asked to look up to the Tour Championship successful September. The PGA Tour announced Tuesday it is doing distant with the staggered scoring commencement that rewarded leaders successful FedEx Cup points with a much favorable starting people -- a alteration Scheffler had advocated for.

"I deliberation erstwhile you're looking astatine a play tournament, I deliberation the champion mode to place the champion subordinate implicit the people of a tourney is 72-hole changeable play connected a truly bully play course. I deliberation erstwhile you look astatine a bully trial of play and you got to vie implicit 4 days, I deliberation that's the champion mode to crown the champion victor for that week.

"And looking astatine the Tour Championship, I didn't emotion the erstwhile format of starting strokes, and I truly similar the absorption wherever we're going. I deliberation the Tour Championship's going to beryllium hard to suffice for. Making the Tour Championship is genuinely going to beryllium the results from a large assemblage of enactment implicit the people of a season, and past you person an accidental to triumph the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup."

Scheffler won his archetypal Tour Championship past season.