Scottie Scheffler’s quest for his 18th PGA Tour title weathered a slight hiccup on Saturday evening, as Scheffler’s regular caddie, Ted Scott, had to leave the tournament for a family emergency.
The news was first reported by Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis.
In a Golf Channel update from the grounds of TPC Southwind, Lewis said Scott left Memphis after the conclusion of the third round on Saturday to fly home to Louisiana. Lewis also reported that two other Tour caddies with early tee times on Sunday approached Scheffler’s coach, Randy Smith, to offer their services to Scheffler, who has the second-to-last tee time alongside J.J. Spaun. Scheffler is currently two strokes behind leader Tommy Fleetwood, who is playing in the tournament’s final pairing with Justin Rose.
According to Lewis, Scheffler instead called upon Brad Payne, the PGA Tour chaplain and a longtime friend. Lewis described Payne as a life coach and spiritual guide for the Scheffler family. Payne drove from Dallas to Memphis on Saturday to be ready for Scheffler’s Sunday round.
This isn’t the first time Payne has stepped in for Ted Scott. At last year’s PGA Championship, Payne carried the bag for Scheffler during the third round while Scott attended his daughter’s high school graduation.
Scheffler tees off at 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday. You can watch the action on Golf Channel starting at 12 p.m. ET, followed by the NBC broadcast at 3 p.m. ET.
