World number two Schauffele, who claimed Olympic gold in Tokyo, will join top-ranked Scheffler, who made a dramatic final-day surge to win in Paris, at the PGA St. Jude Championship this Thursday and Friday at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee.

Schauffele, who secured his first two major titles at this year's PGA Championship and British Open, had shared the lead after the second and third rounds in Paris, aiming to repeat his gold medal performance. However, a final-round 73 left him seven strokes behind Scheffler.

"It was bad," Schauffele admitted. "I was probably more tired than I thought I was." He added, "I was pretty bummed out. I went from thinking I could have a good look at gold to maybe silver, then to bronze, and then to, wow, I'm just spectating now."

Reflecting on the final moments of the tournament, Schauffele said, "That's sort of what happened the last seven, eight holes of that tournament. So that was a bit of a bummer, especially with how the fans were out there. It must have been such a cool feeling to be in the hunt with important shots coming down that stretch, 15 to 18."

Schauffele has since analysed his performance in an effort to avoid similar mistakes during the PGA's three-week post-season run. "I sort of identified what happened," he said. "I don't want to get back into my old habits that I've been trying to get out of in these last two or three months. I think some old ones sort of slipped in there. When I tried to put my foot down, it got worse, and I paid the price for it heavily."

Watching a tearful Scheffler on the medal podium evoked mixed emotions in Schauffele, but eventually, the Olympic spirit took over. "It's weird. I'm not going to lie. It's the weirdest feeling," Schauffele said. "When Scottie was up there and our flag was raised and he started crying up there, I was butt-hurt about my own round, and then I was sitting there like, yeah, this is pretty cool."

He continued, "I felt so emotional in that state. It's hard to explain, the swing of it. Then out here this week playing with him these next two days and we're all just trying to beat our heads in. It's a funny feeling."

Entering the PGA FedEx Cup playoff events, Schauffele stands second to Scheffler in the season points race. The 70-player field will be reduced to 50 for next week's event in Colorado and then to 30 for the Tour Championship in Atlanta.

"A sharp mental state just for these last three weeks is going to be the biggest thing," Schauffele said. "Just being able to focus, and you expect your body to make the leaps with the heat and then the altitude and the heat again." He added, "But to me, it's part of our job. We're supposed to be preparing for that during the off-season and all year long."