Soaked Scheffler battles elements to make solid British Open start
Scheffler, playing alongside former Claret Jug winners Shane Lowry and Collin Morikawa, got caught in torrential rain midway through his opening round at Royal Portrush.
Scheffler only hit three fairways off the tee, but as the skies cleared, he produced two stunning approach shots to birdie the 16th and 17th and card a 68 to remain well in contention for his first British Open victory.
"When it's raining sideways, it's actually, believe it or not, not that easy to get the ball in the fairway. Thank you guys all for pointing that out," Scheffler told reporters.
"Really only had one swing I wasn't too happy with on maybe the second hole, but outside of that, I felt like I hit a lot of good tee shots, hit the ball really solid, so definitely a good bit of confidence for the next couple rounds."
Scheffler made headlines on the eve of the tournament when he said his life was "not a fulfilling" one despite his status at the top of the sport.
The 29-year-old said the "euphoric feeling" from winning a golf tournament lasts barely a few minutes before he moves onto his next target.
Scheffler said he has received nothing but support from the rest of the field over his comments.
"At times I feel like maybe I should be a little less honest. Maybe I shouldn't have said the stuff I said yesterday because now I'm going to get asked about it more," he added.
"But really it's just a matter of perspective, and I've had some players come up to me and say that they feel and think the same things.
"If anybody has disagreed with me, they haven't said it to my face."
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April 28, 2025 – The trial begins again, with the new jury panel. May 2, 2025 – The complainant in the case, who cannot be identified under a publication ban, takes the stand for the first time in the trial. Her testimony ends up spanning nine days, including seven of cross-examination. May 16, 2025 – The trial faces another major upheaval, abruptly converting from a jury to a judge alone in order to avoid a second mistrial. Carroccia rules to discharge the jury after one juror sent a note to the judge indicating some members of the panel felt two of the defence lawyers were laughing at them as they came into court each day. The move to a judge-alone trial was initially opposed by prosecutors, who argued that switching gears weeks into their evidence could harm their case. But that changed when the judge made it clear the trial would otherwise go back to square one. 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