Scottie Scheffler confronted a fan and conceded a long par putt to Nico Echavarria during Sunday singles at the Presidents Cup. The fan had yelled in the middle of Echavarria’s backswing on the 14th hole at Medinah Country Club.
Scheffler was 3 up through 13 holes when the pair reached the par-4 14th. As Echavarria swung, a fan shouted “Go Scottie.” The Colombian’s drive traveled just 226 yards and finished in the right rough.
Echavarria let go of his driver after contact and turned toward the gallery. Scheffler walked across the tee box toward the rope line to address the fan. “There’s no place for that,” Scheffler said.
Echavarria’s third shot rolled off the back of the green, leaving him a 32-foot par putt from the fringe. Scheffler, facing a birdie putt of his own, conceded Echavarria’s par. Scheffler then missed his birdie try, and the hole was halved.
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The concession kept Scheffler’s lead at 3 up heading to the 15th. Echavarria chipped in for birdie on the par-3 16th to cut the deficit to 2 down. Scheffler closed out a 2&1 win on the 17th.
Scheffler did not want to discuss the moment in his television interview after the match. “To be honest with you, I don’t even really want to talk about it,” he said.
He said more in the U.S. team’s press conference after the Americans clinched a 17-13 victory. “There’s just no place for that,” Scheffler said. “I was very frustrated. It was honestly a big distraction just because we compete and work so hard to put ourselves in these moments.”
“When you have some fan who decides to insert himself into the tournament… you can say whatever you want to players, but I think there’s an amount of respect there,” Scheffler added. He said players deserve at least 30 seconds of quiet while preparing for and hitting their shots.
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Scheffler explained why he gave up the putt. “It just didn’t really sit well with me,” he said. “He would never have hit a shot as poorly as he hit, I think, off the 14th if there wasn’t a fan yelling in his swing. It was just very frustrating.”
Echavarria praised his opponent after the match. “It’s unfortunate that in some way the crowds can affect performance like that,” he said. “But we have the No. 1 player in the world who’s a class act. I wasn’t expecting for him to give me that putt for par.”
“[It] shows the character of the No. 1 in the world,” Echavarria said. “He’s just different. Even how good he is, he’s a truly amazing guy.”
Echavarria, ranked No. 61 in the world, was making his Presidents Cup debut. He did not play in Friday or Saturday’s team sessions before Sunday singles.
Scheffler finished the week with a 3-1 record. The U.S. won the Presidents Cup for the 11th consecutive time.
