'What's the point?': Scottie Scheffler gets introspective ahead of The Open
Since winning the Masters for the first time and completing the career Grand Slam in April, Rory McIlroy publicly wrestled with the type of soul-searching that players typically try to avoid and never, if at all, speak openly about.
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'I climbed my Everest in April, and I think after you do something like that, you've got to make your way back down,' McIlroy said. 'You've got to look for another mountain to climb.'
McIlroy's return to the United Kingdom for last week's Genesis Scottish Open, where he finished runner-up, and this week's Open Championship, which is being played about 90 minutes from where he grew up near Belfast, has seemed to re-inspire the world No. 2.
But Tuesday at Royal Portrush brought a new level of deep thinking from world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
Scheffler has always been clear that golf is his job. It's a job that he loves, but a job nonetheless, and his family and faith are what are important. But towards the end of his pre-championship press conference he was asked about 'the most crushing loss' he had ever experienced.
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Instead of revisiting a near miss or poor finish, however, Scheffler launched into a refreshingly honest take on the pitfalls of success and failure.
'I said something after the [CJ Cup Byron Nelson] this year about like it feels like you work your whole life to celebrate winning a tournament for like a few minutes. It only lasts a few minutes, that kind of euphoric feeling,' said Scheffler, who won his hometown event for the first time in May by eight strokes. 'To win the Byron Nelson at home, I literally worked my entire life to become good at golf to have an opportunity to win that tournament.
'You win it, you celebrate, get to hug my family, my sister's there, it's such an amazing moment. Then it's like, OK, what are we going to eat for dinner? Life goes on.'
Scheffler, who has not shown much interests in nostalgia or retrospection during his career, went on to explain that he is driven to be the best player he can be, and the work it takes to get there is what truly inspires him. That's why he considers himself a 'sicko,' but the 16-time PGA Tour winner has learned not to seek validation in his professional accomplishments.
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'There's a lot of people that make it to what they thought was going to fulfill them in life, and you get there, you get to No. 1 in the world, and they're like, what's the point?' he said. 'Why do I want to win this tournament so bad? That's something that I wrestle with on a daily basis.
'It's like showing up at the Masters every year; it's like why do I want to win this golf tournament so badly? Why do I want to win The Open Championship so badly? I don't know, because, if I win, it's going to be awesome for two minutes. Then we're going to get to the next week, hey, you won two majors this year; how important is it for you to win the FedExCup playoffs? And we're back here again.'
McIlroy seemed to allude to professional golf's relentless march earlier this week when he referenced being on the 'hamster wheel' with the FedExCup playoffs and Ryder Cup looming following the year's final major championship this week at Royal Portrush.
The 153rd Open - Previews_LargeImage_m363078.jpg
The Open 2025: First-round tee times, featured groups at Royal Portrush
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Here's a look at the first-round tee times and featured groups for the 153rd Open Championship.
Players grappling with the angst that comes with a game that doles out far more losing than winning is nothing new. David Duval bumped Tiger Woods from atop the world ranking with his victory at the 1999 Players Championship and won the 2001 Open Championship for his lone major triumph. But he slowly faded after that, partly because of an assortment of injuries and partly because he reached a similar crossroads – Is this it?
That it is golf's best two players who find themselves driven down an existential rabbit hole is a reason to pay attention. Hoisting trophies and celebrating long-held achievements is supposed to be a goal, not a distraction.
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USA Today
44 minutes ago
- USA Today
Scottie Scheffler becomes 4th PGA Tour player with $90 million in career earnings
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Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
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The only other competition for DeChambeau would be a YouTube match or European tour stops in Switzerland, Ireland, England or France. Justin Leonard on the rise Justin Leonard played four rounds of competition last week for the first time in eight years, making the cut at the British Open and finishing in a tie for 59th. Leonard, 53, stayed largely away from golf while working as a TV analyst, and this is only his third year playing a full PGA Tour Champions schedule. He had not played in the British Open since 2016 at Royal Troon — where he won The Open in 1997 — and he was pleased to be among three players 50 and older to make the weekend at Royal Portrush. Lee Westwood and Phil Mickelson were the others. 'It's a different kind of pressure coming over here and playing as a PGA Tour Champions guy,' Leonard said. 'There aren't many expectations. But still, it's nice to come over and play well and justify coming over.' And then Leonard with his dry sense of humor found a perk to his performance. 'Plus, think of all the world ranking points I got this week,' he said 'We've done a hard reset on the ranking. It's rough thinking there are more than 4,000 golfers out there better than I am. But I proved them all wrong this week.' His world ranking going into Royal Portrush was No. 4,689. Leonard's tie for 59th moved him all the way to No. 1,436. So now there are only 1,435 players better than him. But he has one thing going for him. Leonard has a better world ranking than Tiger Woods (No. 1,626) for the first time since the first week of 1997. Hard reset, indeed. Senior European vacation The PGA Tour Champions is taking its show out of the country next year with the Portugal Invitational set for July 31 to Aug. 2. It's part of a five-year partnership and will be the first time a PGA Tour-sanctioned event for stroke play is in Portugal. 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Two other major champions, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, missed the cut in three out of four. Schauffele was among 17 players to make the cut in all four majors. That includes Corey Conners, who made the cut in the U.S. Open but had to withdraw in the final round with injury. Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton were the only players from LIV Golf to make the cut in all four majors. That's a smaller sample size considering the goal for so many LIV players is to simply qualify or otherwise get into a major. Calamity Corner Scottie Scheffler had no such concerns at 'Calamity Corner,' the notorious par-3 16th hole at Royal Portrush for the British Open. He made birdie in the opening round and again on Friday. He began to build his lead with a third straight birdie on Saturday. And in the final round, he drilled his tee shot to 15 feet. He missed. 'It's just a hard hole, I guess,' Scheffler said with a laugh. Calamity Corner does not have quite the same familiarity as the 12th hole at Augusta National, so one more birdie might not have been as noteworthy as the time Scott Verplank made birdie all four rounds in the 2003 Masters. Scheffler thought back to the first time he played it in a practice round. 'It was raining and blowing in out of the left, and I smoked a 3-wood to 30 feet, and I thought it was a pretty amazing shot,' Scheffler said. 'And then I was playing against Sam Burns in a practice round, and he hit 3-wood to about 25 feet and made it.' Divots Even though Nelly Korda hasn't won this year, her seven-win season in 2024 gave her such a big lead that she's still No. 1 in women's golf. Korda has been No. 1 for 70 consecutive weeks, the fifth-largest streak since the women's world ranking began in 2006. ... Scottie Scheffler registered his fourth victory of at least four shots at the British Open, the most PGA Tour titles by four shots or more since Tiger Woods did it five times in 2000. ... Xander Schauffele tied for seventh in the British Open and earned $451,834, moving him past $60 million in career PGA Tour earnings. Scheffler became the fourth player to surpass $90 in career tour money. Stat of the week Scottie Scheffler, Harris English and Chris Gotterup gave Americans a 1-2-3 finish in the British Open for the first time since 1998, when it was Mark O'Meara, Brian Watts and Tiger Woods. Final word 'I've gotten everything I wanted out of this week apart from a claret jug, and that's just because one person was just a little bit better than the rest of us.' — Rory McIlroy on his return home to Northern Ireland for the British Open. ___ AP golf:
Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
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Scottie Scheffler comparisons might be closer to Jack Nicklaus than Tiger Woods
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (AP) — Even with four majors, three legs of the Grand Slam and 20 victories around the world, it's a little early to be making Scottie Scheffler comparisons. And yes, it's a bit silly. But one moment is worth noting. His four-shot victory at the British Open complete, Scheffler saw 15-month-old son Bennett coming toward him on the 18th green at Royal Portrush. The toddler face-planted going up the slope. Scheffler eventually scooped him into his left arm, his right hand holding the claret jug. This was pure joy. It was reminiscent of Canterbury in the 1973 PGA Championship. Jack Nicklaus, who that week broke the record for most major titles, was coming off the 18th green after the second round when 4-year-old son Gary ran out to meet him. The Golden Bear carried off his cub. 'My favorite photo in golf,' Nicklaus said years later in a Facebook post that he ended by saying, 'Family first, golf second.' Sound familiar? 'He plays a lot like I did,' Nicklaus said in late May at the Memorial, and perhaps that's where any similarities should start. Comparisons with Tiger Woods are natural because they are separated by a generation, and no one has been this dominant for such a long stretch since Woods. Scheffler has stayed at No. 1 for the last two years and two months. But their games, their styles, their paths are not all that similar. Everyone saw Woods coming when he was on 'The Mike Douglas Show' at age 2, when he won the Junior Worlds six times and both the U.S. Junior and the U.S. Amateur three straight times. He made a hole-in-one in his pro debut. He won his first PGA Tour event in his fifth start. Scheffler spent his first year as a pro on the Korn Ferry Tour. 'I played with him a lot in college, and he was not that good,' Bryson DeChambeau said with a laugh. He now refers to Scheffler as being 'in a league of his own.' Woods was all about power and putting. Scheffler is fairways and greens. Woods was overwhelming, winning the Masters by 12 shots, the U.S. Open by 15 and the British Open at St. Andrews by eight for the career Grand Slam at age 24. Scheffler is relentless. He can take the drama out of a major without notice. He's the first player to win each of his first four majors by at least three shots since J.H. Taylor more than a century ago, when the British Open was the only major and had fields smaller than a signature event. Nicklaus picked up on this at the Memorial without ever talking to Scheffler about it. Before the tournament, Nicklaus spoke about his approach to golf — more emphasis on the tee shot (left-to-right shape, like Scheffler) and the approach, less dependence on putting for a good score. And when he got the lead, Nicklaus did what was required. Scheffler won that week by four shots. 'Once I got myself into position to win, then you've got to be smart about how you finish it,' Nicklaus said. 'And that's the way he's playing. He reminds me so much of the way I like to play.' Scheffler was quick to point out he was just over one-fourth of the way to matching Woods' 15 majors (and his 82 tour wins, for that matter). Scheffler most likely can never reach his appeal. Woods was special, a corporate dream. He came back to win at Pebble Beach when trailing by seven with seven holes to play. Fans didn't dare turn away without fear of missing a shot they might never see again. Scheffler won the British Open and mentioned Chipotle. He was trying to explain, as he did when he first reached No. 1 in 2022, that golf doesn't define him. That's what was lost in his remarkable monologue earlier in the week at Royal Portrush. The joy comes from getting to play, getting to work, getting better. The goal is to win. And then he goes home to a wife and son. He is about faith, family and then golf. Fame isn't part of the equation. Scheffler mentioned two Chipotle restaurants at home in Dallas. He can no longer go to one of them because he is recognized. At the other one he's just a guy at the counter trying to decide if he wants extra guacamole. 'I try to live as normal of a life as possible because I feel like a normal guy,' he said. 'I have the same friends I had growing up. I don't think that I'm anything special just because some weeks I'm better at shooting a lower score than other guys are.' There was one other Scheffler comparison. Nicklaus doesn't believe he could have achieved all that he did without his wife, Barbara, whom he honored this year at the Memorial and who is universally regarded as the first lady of golf. Nicklaus played his 164th and final major at St. Andrews in 2005 and said that week: 'I'm not really concerned about what my legacy is in relation to the game of golf, frankly. I'm more concerned with what my legacy is with my family, with my kids and my grandkids. That's by far more important to me.' Scheffler's emotions began to pour out at Royal Portrush only when he saw Meredith, the girl he first met as a high school freshman and finally dated as a senior. He made his PGA Tour debut at the Byron Nelson that year at 17. He recalled being at her house the week before when a promotion about the tournament came on TV. Meredith said to him: 'Wait a minute. Isn't that what you're doing?' Scheffler said she's a fast learner. 'Every time I'm able to win a tournament, the first person I always look for is my wife,' he said Sunday. 'She knows me better than anybody. That's my best friend. It takes a lot of work to be able to become good at this game, and I wouldn't be able to do it without her support.' To the rest of golf world, he's the No. 1 player in the world, now the 'champion golfer of the year.' Fame won't escape him now even if it doesn't define him. ___ On The Fringe analyzes the biggest topics in golf during the season. ___ AP golf:
