Scottie Scheffler has his mind blown after watching table tennis at the Paris Olympics

SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — Scottie Scheffler said he got a fairly rude awakening this week at the Olympics that he is not one of the best players in the world.

At table tennis.

Scheffler, No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings, is in Paris readying for his first appearance in the Olympic golf competition. During his pre-tournament press conference on Monday, Scheffler said that he was able to attend the men’s table tennis competition the previous afternoon, taking in a match involving Woo-jin Jang, the top-ranked player in South Korea, and Daniel Gonzalez of Puerto Rico. Kang won the match, 4-1. Scheffler has been noted for his prowess at ping pong, er table tennis, in the U.S. team room at the Ryder Cup last September at Marco Simone. He said his experience watching some of the best in the world was an education.

“I think at one time I would have considered the table tennis that we played elite,” he said. “I'm pretty sure it's far from it [now].”

Of course, Scheffler knows the table game won’t be his focus this week.

“It would be extremely special to have a gold medal and it's definitely one of the reasons why I'm here this week,” said Scheffler, who already has won six PGA Tour events in 2024, including his second career Masters title. “I loved going to watch table tennis yesterday, but that's not why I showed up.”

Still, Scheffler wasn’t afraid to dream. It was pointed out that the first gold medal in golf at the Olympics was earned at the 1900 Paris Games by American Charles Sands, who also competed in tennis that year.

“Could I be a multi-sport athlete in the Olympics? I don't think so,” Scheffler said. “But sometimes I have irrational self-confidence, and maybe if I really put my mind to it.

“But I don't think you'll be seeing me out playing tennis in the Olympics any time soon, the table version or the regular version.”