PARIS — World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler conceded that he felt star-struck in the Louvre, taking in some of the Paris sights with his family before turning his attention to the men’s Olympic competition that begins Thursday at Le Golf National.
Scheffler, who bagged a second U.S. Masters title in April as one of his spectacular six tour victories this season, headlines a U.S. team that also features World No. 2 and reigning Olympic champion Xander Schauffele.
Like other athletes, Olympic debutant Scheffler is taking advantage of the absence of COVID restrictions that marked the Tokyo Games to soak up the atmosphere of the host city and watch other events.
That included a visit to the world’s biggest museum on Saturday where was able to roam freely with little attention, he told reporters.
“I could not believe how many people were in there and how big it was,” he said of the Louvre during a press conference at Le Golf National, the Olympic venue south of Paris.
“I would say the paintings were something that really took me back,” he said, mentioning Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa as part of “one tenth of the museum at most” that he saw.
After a packed PGA Tour season, including a final major of the season in wild Scottish weather at the British Open this month, Scheffler said he enjoyed having his wife and baby boy with him last week as he practiced further south in France before coming up to Paris.
The downtime included Olympic table-tennis and Scheffler plans to catch gymnastics on Tuesday before focusing on the men’s golf tournament Thursday-Sunday.
Joining his U.S. teammates for practice since Sunday, he praised Schauffele’s unchanged, down-to-earth nature after the Tokyo gold medalist also had a stellar year with two major titles including the British Open.
As he prepares at the Le Golf National, Scheffler has been able to pick the brains of his caddie Ted Scott, who was part of the U.S. Ryder Cup team that played Europe in 2018 at the same venue.
Scheffler heads a field of 60 players who will compete in a 72-hole stroke play format from Thursday.
–Reuters, Special to Field Level Media
