Scheffler says he played BMW Championship with hand, foot and mouth disease

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Scottie Scheffler wrapped a most ordinary performance by his standards with his 13th bogey of the week in the BMW Championship. Turns out it was a most extraordinary week given his health.

“I'm sick,” Scheffler said while turning down an interview request Thursday.

After he closed with a 2-under 68 on Sunday, Scheffler offered a few more details. He said he was dealing with hand, foot and mouth disease that causes blisters.

“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 was coming off an eight-shot victory in the FedEx St. Jude Championship and appeared to be hitting his stride at just the right time for the three-week conclusion to the PGA Tour season.

In hindsight, Scheffler said it would have been prudent to pull out with so little at stake. He already was assured of being No. 1 in the FedEx Cup through the BMW Championship, which earned him a $23 million bonus. Seeds don't even matter next week at the Tour Championship because all 30 players who advance only have to win at East Lake to capture the FedEx Cup.

“I think that’s part of my stubbornness, probably. That’s probably a strength of mine and a weakness at times,” Scheffler said. "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,” he said. “Feel like I’m starting to heal up. My throat is still bugging me pretty good. But my hands feel normal today.”

His only mistake — aside from three bogeys — was nearly shaking hands with Cameron Young when they finished because he was feeling back to normal.

Scheffler had with three straight birdies that briefly got him inside the top 10, but he closed with a bogey from the fairway bunker. Scheffler hit only 65% of his greens this week.

“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% now, but I’ll get some rest now and hopefully that will help.”

See AP’s full golf coverage here

Scottie Scheffler prepares to hit on the first fairway in the final round of the BMW Championship golf tournament, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Scottie Scheffler hits from the first tee in the final round of the BMW Championship golf tournament, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Scottie Scheffler hits from the first fairway in the final round of the BMW Championship golf tournament, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Scottie Scheffler hits from the second tee in the final round of the BMW Championship golf tournament, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

HONOLULU (AP) — Tropical Storm Moke was swirling past Hawaii on Sunday, close enough to dump heavy rain on Big Island communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Lala.

The National Hurricane Center located Moke's center about 320 miles (515 kilometers) south-southwest of Hilo around midday. Top sustained winds were around 40 mph (65 kph), though the real impact is expected from rainfall in places where last weekend’s hurricane flooded communities, triggered mudslides and damaged roads and power lines. Two deaths linked to the hurricane have been reported in Hawaii.

Forecasters expected Moke to produce as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) of total rain across the Big Island, and up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) in some isolated places, enough to cause life-threatening flooding and mudslides for the windward and southeast slopes, especially in steep terrain and over areas affected by Lala.

In eastern Maui, the next in the island chain, up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain was expected, and the other islands may get an inch or two (between 2.5 and 5 centimeters), according to the hurricane center.

As with Hurricane Lala, the Big Island was expected to bear the brunt of Moke's rain and winds as the storm moves westward, south of the island chain. After moving away from the islands, Lala was downgraded and remained a strong tropical storm on Sunday far out in the Central Pacific.

The northeast coast of the Big Island saw the heaviest total rainfall from Lala, at 43.54 inches (1.1 meters), according to the weather service. More than 6,700 customers, most of them on the Big Island, remained without electricity on Sunday, according to poweroutage.us.

Ahead of Moke's approach, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green urged people to prepare by restocking food, medicine and other essentials.

In the eastern Pacific, meanwhile, Tropical Storm Iselle formed earlier Sunday and was gaining strength, far away from Mexico's southwest coast.

Iselle had top sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph) on Sunday afternoon and was about 535 miles (860 kilometers) southwest of the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula. No coastal watches or warnings were in effect for Iselle as it moved to the northwest at 16 mph (26 kph).

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Iselle could become a hurricane in another day or two and would kick up strong ocean swells on Baja's western coastline starting Monday.

A woman and child walk past a debris-strewn street in Naalehu, Hawaii, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, after a severe weather system went through the area. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

This NOAA satellite image taken Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, shows the water vapor of Tropical Storm Moke as it advanced toward Hawaii's Big Island. (NOAA via AP)