Scheffler to use different caddie at BMW Championship

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler is going with a PGA Tour caddie for the BMW Championship as his regular looper, Ted Scott, deals with a family emergency at home in Louisiana.

Scott had to leave immediately after the third round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and Scheffler used longtime friend Brad Payne from the College Golf Fellowship.

This week, he has turned to Michael Cromie. He usually works for Chris Kirk, who missed qualifying for the BMW Championship by one shot.

“He works really hard and does a good job. We’re both learning a new golf course this week, so it’s been fun,” Scheffler said.

The family matter involving Scott was kept private, though Scheffler said he has spoken to him a couple of times, and the family was in good spirits.

“I think Ted’s where he needs to be right now, and I think caddying is probably the last thing on his mind, as it should be,” Scheffler said.

Scheffler finished one shot out of a playoff last week at the TPC Southwind. He remains the No. 1 seed in the FedEx Cup at the BMW Championship and already is assured of a $5 million bonus for staying at the top going into the FedEx Cup finale next week at East Lake.

Scheffler said Cromie was learning a lot of the minutiae that often go unnoticed by spectators, such as when he likes to snack and how often to drink, and how he likes to get the yardage and other conditions communicated to him.

There's also the matter of getting yardages from tee-to-green.

“Brad did a great job stepping in, but Brad is a friend, he’s not a professional caddie,” Scheffler said. "I think when you have a professional on the bag, it’s a bit different. It's not that I don’t trust Brad to do the numbers. It was just something that I think both of us probably thought it was a good idea to be double-checking each other.

"Going into this week, it will be kind of more of a normal routine for me in terms of preparation over the shot and stuff like that," he said. “It’s nice for me to be able to walk up to the ball, see the shot that I can imagine hitting, and then when the numbers come, we start trying to really dial it in.”

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