Watching Scottie Scheffler This Weekend Reminded Me of the Dodgeball Scene from Billy Madison

It doesn’t get much better than old school Adam Sandler movies. Happy Gilmore, Waterboy, Mr. Deeds. Classics on classics. But a different one came to mind this weekend watching Scottie Scheffler spank the rest of the field at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson.

Billy Madison.

Is it a ridiculous premise? A grown man going back to school, starting with first grade and working his way through high school. Absolutely. But it’s still one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen and I still watch it to this day.

Anyway, the scene that reminded me of Scottie was when Billy comes back out to recess and catches an O’Doyle-thrown dodgeball with one hand and says, “Now you’re all in big, big trouble.”

And then he proceeds to throw absolute heaters at the little kids in the class, just knocking them down one by one. Pure domination. Quick fun fact for you: Sandler was actually throwing those balls as fast as he could at the kids, the parents weren’t too happy about it (to be honest, it makes the scene even better knowing that).

But those were the vibes I got watching the No. 1 player in the world this weekend. Everyone else in the field was unmatched. Didn’t stand a chance from the word go. Scheffler just kept pouring on the birdies, making it impossible for someone to come up and get him.

He was head-and-shoulders better than everyone else in that field and he pummeled them, plain and simple.

And now that he’s got his swagger back, it feels like the rest of the sport—outside of Rory McIlroy—is in big, big trouble.

The cliche way to put it is that sometimes you just need to see one go in, like a basketball player at the foul line. Sometimes one made shot can make all the difference.

That’s what it feels like for Scottie. I could see him still winning four or five times this season, including a major championship. He’s just that good. The only thing standing in his way is a five-foot nine-inch Northern Irishman who now has the weight of the world off his shoulders.

Photo: Getty Images

Doesn’t it feel like this is all setting up a Scheffler-McIlroy duel at Quail Hollow next week? A tournament where the best two players in the world separate themselves from the field and it’s truly mano a mano for the Wanamaker.

I need it.