You would think Ted Scott’s job is easy. Okay, maybe not the easiest, but relatively easier. After all, what guidance does an elite ball-striker like Scottie Scheffler need? That’s somewhat true. Scott does agree caddying for Scheffler is mostly free of hiccups because of his zeal to triumph and mental toughness. But then that’s a two-edged sword. 

The world rarely sees Scottie-the-superlative-competitor. He stays calm even after overcoming a five-stroke deficit to win the PLAYERS Championship. His only emotion on the course is after a missed putt. A gasp, a frustrated putter throw, or maybe chunking a ball to the lined trees. Otherwise, the world no. 1 is a man in full control of himself, unless it comes to pickleball or volleyball. 

Scott plays pickleball with his employer and good friend often. He knows how fierce the Dallas resident can be when competing, and well, now the world also knows. Scott came for a chat on the SiriusXM/PGA Tour Radio. Among many things, he shared how it feels to compete in a game of pickleball against the two-time major winner. 

“You know what? He is a killer. When we play pickleball his only goal is to hit me. So he is just the fiery competitor and most people don’t realize that.” The reason most people don’t is because Scheffler has no signature moves. He doesn’t twirl a club like Tiger Woods, clench his fists like Bryson DeChambeau, or even roar like Rory McIlroy. Scheffler is not a showman, but he is no less a competitor. 

Scott shared another incident that features Sam Burns. Before the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Burns and Scheffler were playing pool volleyball. Now, both are very close friends, but it wasn’t just a ‘friendly’ match. The duo were ‘dunking each other’ over an argument on whether a ball crossed the line or not, as Scott recounted with a burst of hearty laughter. A while ago, Smylie Kaufman revealed Scheffler’s competitive side, remaking it as “psychotic.”

Sam Burns, and 2x Masters winner played pickleball for two hours, with Golden Tate and Kaufman. Tate showed off his impressive skills and even used his custom pickleball paddle. Kaufman and Burns were not feeling up to it as they had enough after a while; “Scotty and Sam are like psychotic competitors, right? Like, even I would say Scotty more so than like at that point.”

To be clear, Scheffler’s competitive side is not a cause of concern for Ted Scott in any way. Neither does his passion ever come in the way of Scott’s job. Rather, he compared working with Scheffler vis-à-vis Bubba Watson. The two are quite different in their approach. 

How Scottie Scheffler is different than Ted Scott’s former employer

Before joining Scheffler’s team, Ted Scott spent 15 years with Bubba Watson. They won two Masters and eight further PGA Tour events together. The duo split in 2022. The LIV Golf pro said they parted mutually as he was unsure about his future ten years from then. Scott, speaking in a recent podcast, shared his experience with Watson. 

The veteran caddie revealed, unlike Scottie Scheffler, Watson wasn’t a ‘great communicator.’ It didn’t make his job harder, though. Rather, their styles were different, and Scott adapted to both. Scott also revealed there were times when he called out Watson for his on-course antics. Although the veteran caddie was going to get fired, Bubba Watson called him up to say thanks and promised he would work on his body language. 

It’s something that Ted Scott told Scheffler as well before he joined. Safe to say, their partnership has also found solid ground. It has rewarded Scott financially as well. He was the highest-earning caddie of the 2024 season, pocketing more than some struggling PGA Tour icons.