CHICAGO — In the final-day singles matches at the Presidents Cup on the No. 3 Course at Medinah Country Club (par 70) in Chicago, Illinois, on the 27th, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of the United States holed a short par putt at the par-4 14th and then conceded the next stroke to his opponent, Nico Echavarria of Colombia.
It was an unusually generous concession. Echavarria's third shot had flown past the flagstick and off the green, leaving him nearly 33 feet away with his fourth. Even though Scheffler held a comfortable 3-up lead, a concession from that distance is all but unheard of in a U.S.-International team competition where nothing is given away.
There was a reason. Echavarria had been disturbed by spectators as he played his tee shot on the hole. Part of the gallery made noise at him during his swing, before impact, and the shot veered sharply right. Rather than hold his finish, Echavarria slammed his club down and glared toward where the noise had come from. Scheffler, standing nearby, walked over to warn the fan who had shouted. Then, on the green, he offered the generous concession in place of the apology the American fans owed. It also read as a conviction that he would take no unfair advantage.
After the round, Scheffler said it was absurd for someone to shout just as a player was swinging on a tee shot, and that such behavior could never be tolerated. He stressed that when a player stands over the ball preparing to swing or about to hit a shot, spectators should stay quiet for 30 seconds to a minute.
Echavarria said Scheffler's decision to call out the gallery and then concede the long putt showed what the world's top-ranked player is like. He said Scheffler is truly different, a good person at his core, an outstanding player and a remarkable man.
Scheffler closed out the match 2&1 with a hole to spare, contributing to the United States' 17-13 win. He finished the event at 3-1, living up to his billing and leaving behind a story of good sportsmanship.
