Scottie Scheffler Has Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, Played Through Blisters at BMW Championship

Scottie Scheffler told reporters on Sunday that he's been dealing with hand, foot and mouth disease during the BMW Championship that caused blisters on both his hands and throat.

"So to start the week it was pretty painful to grip the club," he 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."

Scheffler ultimately finished seven under for the tournament, which had him in a tie for 12th at the time of publication. He came into the tournament atop the FedExCup standings and was guaranteed to remain in that spot even had he withdrawn from the BMW Championship.

With his place in the 30-player field for the TOUR Championship already secured, Scheffler acknowledged that perhaps pulling out of the BMW Championship rather than soldiering through his illness might have been more prudent.

"I think that's part of my stubbornness, probably. That's probably a strength of mine and a weakness at times," he noted. "I've never been one to ever pull out of a tournament, especially in the middle of it. That's really frustrating for me. 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."

Scheffler started the tournament shooting a two-over 72 but followed it up with rounds of 65, 68 and 68, looking far more like the player with two wins and 12 top-10 finishes this season.

"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. I'm still not 100 percent now, but I'll get some rest now and hopefully that will help."

The winner of the TOUR Championship will claim a $10 million bonus and a five-year PGA Tour exemption. Scheffler had already clinched the $23 million bonus for finishing atop the FedExCup standings for the season, which he guaranteed with last week's first-place finish at the St. Jude Championship