What's the point of it all? says Scheffler, ahead of Open quest
The 29-year-old is the bookmakers' favourite after a stunningly consistent season including winning the PGA Championship and during his pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday he spoke of his growing love for links golf.
But when asked how long he celebrates his victories, an introspective Scheffler veered off into questioning what was even the point of being the best golfer in the world.
"It feels like you work your whole life to celebrate winning a tournament for like a few minutes," Olympic champion Scheffler said. "It only lasts a few minutes, that kind of euphoric feeling.
"To win the Byron Nelson Championship 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, hug my family, my sister's there, it's an amazing moment. Then it's like, okay, what we eating for dinner? Life goes on."
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Scheffler has been world number one for 112 consecutive weeks and has earned more than $87 million in prize money on the PGA Tour and says he loves living out his dreams.
But he admits he has a daily wrestle for what it all means.
"Is it great to be able to win tournaments and to accomplish the things I have in the game of golf? Yeah, it brings tears to my eyes just to think about," Scheffler said.
"That kind of sense of accomplishment is a pretty cool feeling. But at the end of the day, I'm not out here to inspire the next generation of golfers. I'm not out here to inspire someone to be the best player in the world because what's the point? This is not a fulfilling life.
"It's fulfilling from the sense of accomplishment, but it's not fulfilling from a sense of the deepest places of your heart.
"There's a lot of people that make it to what they thought was going to fulfil them in life, you get to number one in the world, and they're like what's the point? I really do believe that because what is the point?
"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. I'm kind of sicko; I love putting in the work. I love the practice, living out my dreams. But at the end of the day, sometimes I just don't understand the point."
Scheffler has a 14-month-old son Bennett with his wife Meredith and said they remain more important than any golf accolades.
"I'm blessed to be able to play golf, but if my golf ever started affecting my home life or it ever affected the relationship I have with my wife or my son, that's going to be the last day that I play out here for a living," he added.
"This is not the be-all and end-all. This is not the most important thing in my life. That's why I wrestle with, why is this so important to me? I'd much rather be a great father than I would be a great golfer." REUTERS
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Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
What's the point of it all? says Scottie Scheffler, ahead of British Open quest
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Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
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CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
Schauffele starting with blank canvas for Open defence
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland :Xander Schauffele is super-excited at the prospect of trying to defend his British Open title at Royal Portrush this week but says he will have to come up with a different plan to the one that took him to victory 12 months ago. "I think a blank canvas is a great place to start. You can paint many different pictures to win a tournament. You've just got to do the right one," the American told reporters on the County Antrim coast on Tuesday after practice. The 31-year-old produced a blemish-free final-round of 65 at Royal Troon last year to win his second major title to go along with his gold medal from the Tokyo Olympics. He was the third American in four years to win golf's oldest major but while that experience will hold him in good stead for the days ahead, he said Portrush's Dunluce Links will throw up a completely new test of his renowned links golf skills. "It's an interesting thing just because my thoughts of playing really well were at Royal Troon," he said. "Coming here, I feel like I'm trying to re-learn this golf course, get comfortable with certain sight lines, some blind tee shots. If I can get myself in the mix, that's when I think I would have an advantage. That's where my biggest edge would be. "I can lean on experience at other points in time, but I think the most fun and the biggest advantage I would have is coming down the stretch if I can get close to that lead." With the perils of a links course's sloping greens, cavernous bunkers, knee-deep rough and the wild weather associated with Britain's coast, it is hardly surprising that defending the title is treacherous. The last player to do so was Ireland's Padraig Harrington in 2008 and Schauffele knows the luck of the draw and getting lucky with the weather could be vital this week. "This week is a pretty good example of having to deal with a wave. There's typically a good wave and a bad wave in an Open Championship," he said. "You just keep your fingers crossed that you're in the good wave and try and play well. "If you're not, fight for your life and make the cut and then try and do something on the weekend." For a player who grew up in San Diego, it might be surprising how he has embraced the challenge of links golf. But he said 16-hour trips in the car with his dad as a youngster helped him learn to be creative. "We drove up to Bandon Dunes from San Diego. It took about 16 hours. I was 13 years old," he said. "We played three or four days in a row. I think it was just Pacific Dunes and Bandon Dunes at the time. We got the real weather. My rain gear stopped working. It was that much wind and rain. "I had a blast. As much as it was nice to look forward to a hot shower at the end of the day, I had so much fun for some reason trying to figure out how to play golf in that weather." With wind and rain expected to batter Portrush at times over the next five days, he will draw on those experiences again.
