PGA TOUR
<a href="https://healthylife7.com/scottie-scheffler-battles-through-hand-foot-and-mouth-disease-to-finish-7-under-at-bmw/” title=”Scottie Scheffler battles through hand, foot and mouth disease to finish 7 under at BMW”>Scottie Scheffler played BMW Championship with hand, foot and mouth disease
Adam SchupakGolfweek
Updated Aug. 23, 2026, 6:47 p.m. ET
There’s not much that can stop Scottie Scheffler these days. But add hand, foot and mouth disease, a common, contagious viral illness mostly affecting young children, to the list
Scheffler confirmed earlier in the week that he was battling an illness but on Sunday after shooting 2-under 68 at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, which lifted him to a T-10 finish at the BMW Championship, Scheffler said that he had been under the weather all week after winning the FedEx St. Jude Championship a week ago by eight strokes
“I got sick Monday night,” Scheffler said Sunday. “That was probably the most frustrating part. Like I just, you know, 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. I’m still not a hundred percent now, but I’ll get some rest now and hopefully that will help.”
Asked if it was just a head cold, Scheffler shared for the first time that hand, foot and mouth had knocked him off his game in St. Louis. Scheffler has two sons – Bennett, 2, and Remy, born in March – and it’s safe to say he picked up HFM from one of his kids
“So 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. 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 explained. “But I think that’s part of my stubbornness, probably. 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.
“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. I actually almost caught myself shaking hands with Cam (Young) on 18, 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.”
Asked if he would work on anything in particular on his game ahead of the Tour Championship, Scheffler said no. Rest will be the best medicine
“Once you get on the course, you get the adrenaline and everything, I started to feel better,” he said. “But the blisters on hands was probably the most challenging, just because it was painful to grip the club to start the week. I was prioritizing rest so I wasn’t able to work out the way I want to, and practice the way I want to, and even warm-up for rounds the way I want to. I really just did my best to try and battle and it maybe was a poor decision playing, but I’ve never been one to try and quit.”
Adam Schupak is a Golfweek senior writer covering the PGA Tour
