Why Scottie Scheffler refused to sign autographs for fans at the Travelers

You probably know a lot about the World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, two-time Masters winner in men's golf this year, including his proud Texan roots. That pride was on full display this week at the 2024 Travelers Championship, where Scheffler entered with a New England fan.

Although Scheffler was born in New Jersey, she was raised and continues to live in the Dallas area. And, not surprisingly, he's a big fan of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks, as you may have heard, lost to the Boston Celtics 4-1 in the NBA Finals, losing Game 5 on Monday night.

Cromwell, Conn., home of this week's Travelers, is in the middle of Connecticut, Boston's sports homeland. With that in mind, the reporter wanted to know if Scheffler faced any taunts from the New Englanders during the final NBA game this week.

“You come to New England right after the Celtics beat the Mavs…” began the reporter, before being cut off by Scheffler.

“Should I answer this question?” Scheffler is distracted, he laughs.

Scheffler then revealed that he did not expect to deal with trash talk from other experts, even Vermont native and defending champion Keegan Bradley, who is an avid Boston fan.

“Maybe Keegan, but maybe not,” Scheffler said. “I really didn't expect it from him.”

But Scheffler's disappointment at the Mavs' loss came at one point during practice at TPC River Highlands, when a fan approached the World No. 1 to write his hat. Scheffler is usually generous with fans and autographs, but one detail made this situation different.

“I got one fan today who asked me to sign a Celtics hat, and I told him no,” Scheffler joked, then laughed again in the press tent. “But other than that there isn't much communication.”

Scheffler went on to shoot a 5-under 65 on Thursday at Travelers, putting him within three shots of Tom Kim's lead.

It seems, at least in Scottie's case, revenge is a really big motivator.

Kevin Cunningham

Golf.com Editor

As executive producer of GOLF.com, Cunningham edits, writes and publishes stories on GOLF.com, and manages the brand's e-newsletter, which reaches more than 1.4 million subscribers each month. A two-time alumni, he also helps keep GOLF.com buzzing with breaking news and service content provided by our reporters and writers, and works with the technology team to develop new products and new ways to deliver engagement. site to our audience.