By the time the dust settled on the 89th Masters Tournament, Scottie Scheffler had quietly secured a solo fourth-place finish—a performance that would be more than commendable for most golfers, but not quite the headline he was chasing. With a chance to etch his name alongside Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win three green jackets in a four-year span, the World No. 1 came up short at Augusta National.

Now, just days removed from the Masters, Scheffler is back inside the ropes—this time on the breezy fairways of Harbour Town for the RBC Heritage. And while he’s still chasing that first win of the calendar year, his opening round made one thing clear: he’s not done yet. After carding a strong 7-under on Thursday to share second place behind Justin Thomas, Scheffler spoke with reporters about the contrast between the relentless pressure at Augusta and the rhythm he’s finding at Hilton Head.

Asked whether it felt “easy” out there, Scheffler didn’t take the bait. “Did it feel easy? Easy would not be…” he drawled. “I think definitely like a less stressful round. If you compared my four rounds last week to today, today would be a much less stressful round of golf in terms of scrambling for a par.” At Augusta, Scheffler had spent much of the week grinding, saving par from precarious spots, fighting for birdie chances that never quite came. At Harbour Town? A different story.

“A lot of the stuff I had to do last week I felt like I didn’t have to do today to shoot a good score. The golf course is obviously a bit different, but I was in position most of the day today,” he said. “I hit a lot of really good iron shots. I got off to a good start.” And while he enjoyed the momentum, Scheffler made sure to check any suggestion that the game ever gets easy—even for the world’s best. “I will never say that golf is easy, ever,” he shared transparently. “Golf is hard.”

Hard or not, Scheffler is clearly dialed in—back to striking it pure and keeping himself in the hunt. The sting of not winning the Masters may linger, but if history has taught us anything, it’s this: don’t count Scottie Scheffler out for long.

Still, Scheffler’s week at Augusta didn’t go unnoticed for reasons that extended beyond the leaderboard. As the 2024 champion, Scheffler had the honor of helping Rory McIlroy into the green jacket following the Northern Irishman’s dramatic playoff win over Justin Rose. But the moment drew mixed reactions, with fans criticizing Scheffler’s quick exit from the ceremony

Scheffler faces backlash for Green Jacket moment with McIlroy

While McIlroy basked in the moment, it was Scheffler, last year’s champion, who did the honors of helping him into the jacket. From afar, it seemed like a graceful, if subdued, passing of the torch. But golf fans weren’t so convinced. Scheffler came under fire for how quickly he disappeared from the scene after helping McIlroy into the green jacket, with many interpreting his hasty exit as icy or unsportsmanlike.

The reality, as Scheffler explained later, couldn’t have been more different. “In that moment, it was such an emotional day for him,” Scheffler said. “I kind of just tried to stay out of the way and basically just get the jacket on without embarrassing him or myself. It was cool to see him get the job done,” he continued. “Really cool to be there in that moment and to congratulate him, and just see the joy in him and his family.” There was no malice, no ego—just a sincere attempt to let the moment belong to McIlroy.

“It was cool to see him get the job done,” he added. “Really cool to be there in that moment and to congratulate him, and just see the joy in him and his family.” For Scheffler, it was never about the spotlight. It was about respect—delivered quietly, but wholeheartedly.