PGA Tour rookie Will Chandler admits initial shock to being paired with $61M-worth Scottie Scheffler

Will Chandler already had the best time of his life two weeks as he was grouped with $61 million worth golfer (as per Forbes) Scottie Scheffler for the final round of the WM Phoenix Open. At the end of that round, the rookie had a far better finish than Schefller.

In the latest episode of the Golf Sub Par podcast uploaded on Tuesday, February 18, Will Chandler shared his experience of that day. When asked by one of the hosts of the podcast about what was going through his mind when he found out that he was going to be teed up with the No. 1 player in the world, Chandler said:

“I was like, ‘Dang, I'm playing with Scottie, he won like a million times last year.’ I had never met him. Cam Young was also in our group. I don't think I'd ever met him either, and they were awesome—obviously great players, and they seemed like great people too, so it was good. We were very much doing our own thing, me and my caddie, so I didn't talk to them a bunch, but they were great, yeah.” (26:10 onwards).

With just three PGA tour games under his belt, Chandler tied with Justin Thomas and Robert MacIntyre in sixth place and took home over $300,000 in prize money.

When he was asked what he bought with the prize money, the 27-year-old said:

“No, no. I'm not buying anything crazy. I mean, the money's great, but I love the game so much that I don't get too caught up in that. You know, as long as I have enough money to play and practice and travel, I'm good.” (at 35:20).

You can watch that entire podcast by Golf Sub Par with Will Chandler here :

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Will Chandler's journey to participating at the 2025 WM Phoenix Open

Will Chandler is No. 296 on the OWGR rankings, and thus, he had to qualify for this year’s WM Phoenix Open. A month ago, not even in his wildest dreams would he have thought that he could be playing in the WM, let alone being grouped with Scottie Scheffler for the final round of the tournament.

Will Chandler is an alumnus of the University of Georgia. Last fall, he earned his PGA Tour card via PGA Tour Q-School, presented by Korn Ferry.

On Monday, prior to the tournament, he qualified for the WM Phoenix Open, and with his first-ever top-10 career finish, the American rookie has automatically qualified for the Mexico Open at Vidanta, starting February 20.

At the end of the WM Phoenix Open, Chandler finished six strokes ahead of Scottie Scheffler. In the final nine, Scheffler continued to stumble, whereas Chandler continued to rise, hitting four birdies, including a 23-foot birdie at the 17th.

The tied sixth place at the WM Phoenix Open earned him a paycheck of $310,500—five times more than his previous paycheck. When he finished as runner-up at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Magnit Championship last summer, he won $58,250 in prize money.

Apart from prize money, Will Chandler has also earned 91.67 FedExCup points, which will help him maintain his TOUR status for 2026.