Scottie Scheffler Dealt with ‘Painful’ Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease While Playing BMW Championship

• Scottie Scheffler played through sickness at the BMW Championship
• The golfer and father of two contracted hand, foot and mouth disease
• Scheffler finished tied for 12th at the FedEx Cup playoff event

Scottie Scheffler wasn’t feeling his normal, world-No. 1-playing-self last week at the BMW Championship. 

The golfer told reporters after he finished tied for 12th at the tournament in St. Louis on Sunday, Aug. 23 that he had contracted hand, foot and mouth disease.

“So to start the week it was pretty painful to grip the club,” Scheffler, 30, said. “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 added, “I felt better as the week went on,” he said. “I got sick Monday night. That was probably the most frustrating part. Playing really good golf, and you come out of the heat and get a little adrenaline, sometimes your body kind of crashes. Then it hit me pretty good all week.”

Hand, foot and mouth disease is a “mild illness caused by viruses,” according to the Mayo Clinic. While it is common in young children, people of any age can get it, as it is caused by viruses that spread easily between people through the air. Symptoms, which usually appear three to six days after the infection, include fever, sore throat, and a rash on the hands and feet.

The father, who shares sons Bennett, 2, and Remy, 4 months, with wife Meredith Scheffler, reported painful blisters on his hands.

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Scheffler also complained of a scratchy throat throughout the week, declining interviews on Thursday, Aug. 20 after shooting sub-par (but 2-over-par) round, according to ESPN.

By Friday, the 21-time PGA tournament champ had seemingly rebounded. He shot the remaining three rounds in the 60s, but it was too little too late to recover.

Wyndham Clark nearly ran away with the FedEx Cup playoff event, and eventually won by three shots, to finish -17 over Patrick Cantlay.

Rory McIlroy, who finished third-to-last the previous week at the St. Jude Championship, rebounded to take solo third place.

For Scheffler, who said he “felt better as the week went on,” remembering that he was sick was not top of mind on Sunday, causing him to nearly shake hands with Cameron Young, per ESPN.

But as he prepares for the Tour Championship this weekend — heading into it for the fifth straight year ranked No. 1 in the FedExCup standings — he can do so with a sense of pride about how he handled the unexpected adversity.

“I’ve never been one to ever pull out of a tournament, especially in the middle of it,” Scheffler said Sunday. “That’s really frustrating for me. So I definitely didn’t want to do that going into this week, even though it was suggested. But 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.”

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