Scottie Scheffler had hand, foot and mouth disease at BMW Championship
Mark GiannottoUSA TODAY
Aug. 24, 2026, 11:17 a.m. ET
Scottie Scheffler finished 10 shots off the lead at the BMW Championship one week after dominating the field to begin the PGA Tour’s FedExCup playoffs, and it turns a painful (but temporary) health issue was at least partly to blame for the sudden downturn in performance
Scheffler revealed after Sunday’s final round at the BMW Championship that he was diagnosed with hand, foot and mouth after becoming sick on Aug. 17 before the event began. The world’s No. 1 golfer said he still wasn’t feeling 100% after carding a 68 to finish in a tie for 12th place on the leaderboard
“You get blisters on your hands and in your throat and on your feet, so to start the week it was pretty painful to grip the club,” Scheffler told reporters at Bellerive Country Club outside St. Louis. “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.”
“But I think that’s part of my stubbornness, probably,” he added. “That’s probably a strength of mine and a weakness at times. Like, I’ve never been one to ever pull out of a tournament, especially in the middle of it. That’s really frustrating for me. So I definitely didn’t want to do that going into this week, even though it was suggested.”
Hand, foot and mouth disease is a mild, but highly contagious viral infection that’s common in young children. Scheffler has two young sons with wife, Meredith – 2-year-old Bennett and 4-month-old Remy
Scheffler said the blisters on his hands were the toughest to deal with because of the pain it caused gripping the club, and it forced him to adjust his workout and warm-up routines. His condition got better as the week wore on and adrenaline on the course helped, but his throat was still bothering him Sunday. It nearly led to an unfortunate interaction with playing partner Cam Young on Sunday
“My hands feel normal today. I actually almost caught myself shaking hands with Cam on 18,” Scheffler said on Sunday. “I would have felt really bad. I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I almost forgot.’ So that’s good news, starting to feel better. Hopefully the throat will clear up the next couple days.”
“I really just did my best to try and battle and it maybe was a poor decision playing,” he added, “but I’ve never been one to try and quit.”
Scheffler had already qualified for this week’s Tour Championship prior to the BMW Championship and leads the season-long FedExCup points standings heading into the final event of the 2026 FedExCup playoffs
