15 years ago, Scottie Scheffler and every junior golfer in Dallas were chasing Jordan Spieth
DALLAS — Scottie Scheffler has a chance this week push his 2024 earnings over $50 million and put a cap one of the best seasons in PGA Tour history.
Fifteen years ago, he was just trying to keep up with the big kids.
The summer of 2009 saw a 13-year-old Scheffler chasing a 16-year-old golfing star in the final round of the Junior Byron Nelson Championship.
It wasn’t much of a chase. Jordan Spieth was just that much better than the rest of the field, firing a final round 62 (9-under) at Lakewood Country Club to win by 11 shots, his second of what would be three straight victories at the prestigious tournament.
In classic Spieth fashion – even back then – our archived coverage of the tournament showed him having a little frustration off the tee, even en route to a 62. It didn’t matter much. Spieth went on an unconscious run of birdies.
“I told my caddie during it, once I was three or four under, I told him don’t tell me what I’m at, or else I’ll start thinking about what I can shoot,” he told WFAA’s George Riba at the time. “Don’t tell me what I’m at until I got about two holes left. And that’s what happened.”
Then our cameras turned to a skinny kid in baggy black pants: Scheffler, then an eighth-grader at Highland Park Middle School. Scheffler, like the rest of the field, finished far behind Spieth. But he still shot a final round 72, keeping pace with competitors who were several years older than him.
