Scottie Scheffler Illness: Played BMW With HFMD

Scottie Scheffler illness news landed after a Sunday 68 at the BMW Championship. The world No. 1 said he played with hand, foot and mouth disease, blisters on his hands, throat, and feet, and still posted a third straight sub-70 to finish T-12. AP reported the diagnosis after Thursday, when he turned down an interview with two words: "I'm sick." The Independent had the T-12 on Monday. Golf Digest wrote that doctors advised him to pull out. He stayed in the field.

He got sick Monday night after winning the FedEx St. Jude Championship, he said Sunday, per AP and Yahoo Sports. "If I was smarter maybe I would have pulled out, but I was playing so good I felt like if I could knock it out quickly and just get through the first couple rounds I would still have a chance." He called that part of his stubbornness. "I'm proud of how I fought. Feel like I'm starting to heal up. My throat is still bugging me pretty good. But my hands feel normal today."

Scottie Scheffler illness: blisters, a 68, no handshake

"To start the week it was pretty painful to grip the club," he told reporters, AP and Golf Digest both printed. Yahoo Sports carried the same doctors note. He almost shook Cameron Young's hand on the 18th green and caught himself. That is how the virus spreads, and how normal his hands felt by Sunday. He is a four-time major winner. Three rounds in the 60s after an opening 72 still left him T-12, not in the hunt at Bellerive.

Wyndham Clark won the BMW Championship by three shots over Patrick Cantlay. Rory McIlroy finished third. The Clark winner recap and McIlroy's solo third are the Sunday trophies. Scheffler's tape is a virus and a T-12. Painful hands early in the week, then a closing 68 once the grip came back.

Tour Championship next, and he wants rest

East Lake is next. He wants rest. "I'm still not 100% now, but I'll get some rest now and hopefully that will help," AP had him saying. The Tour Championship no longer gives the No. 1 a stroke head start. All 30 start even par. He is still FedExCup No. 1. He is still hunting another title. The hands feel normal. The throat does not. Four days to heal is the plan he gave.

Golf Digest framed the week as a medical miss he refused. He has never been one to pull out, especially in the middle of an event, he said. That stubbornness is a strength and a weakness. A closing 68 with HFMD is the proof. Clark has the trophy. Scheffler has the diagnosis, the T-12, and a flight to Atlanta.

Scottie Scheffler illness FAQ

What illness did Scottie Scheffler have at the BMW Championship? Hand, foot and mouth disease, he said Sunday, per AP, The Independent, Golf Digest, and Yahoo. It caused blisters on his hands, feet, and throat and made gripping the club painful early in the week.

Where did Scottie Scheffler finish at BMW? Tied for 12th after a Sunday 68 and a third straight sub-70, per The Independent and Yahoo. Wyndham Clark won by three shots over Patrick Cantlay. Scheffler remains world No. 1.

Will the illness affect the Tour Championship? He said he is still not 100% and that rest is the plan, AP reported. East Lake is next. Doctors had advised him to withdraw from BMW, Golf Digest wrote. He did not.