‘What is the point' – Emotional Scottie Scheffler reveals reason he could QUIT golf in worrying interview at The Open
THE world's best golfer Scottie Scheffler has revealed he will QUIT the sport if his day job gets in the way of his family life.
The world No1 opened his heart on the struggles of being a superstar sportsman, saying: 'I just don't understand the point.'
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Scottie Scheffler's Open press conference veered into a deeper search for meaning
Credit: Getty
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Scheffler with his wife and baby boy, before winning the PGA Championship in May
Credit: Getty
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Scheffler has revealed he will QUIT the sport if his day job gets in the way of his family life
Credit: Alamy
And he even admitted that it it interfered with his family life with wife Meredith, 29, and their one-year-old son Bennett, he would simply hang up his putter and walk away.
Three-time major winner Scheffler, whose best finish in The Open is tied seventh last year, said: 'I love being a father.
'I love being able to take care of my son. I love being able to provide for my family out here playing golf. That's why I talk about family being my priority because it really is.
'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.'
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Scheffler, 29, had an existential moment as he considered his chances of winning The Open at Royal Portrush.
The devout Texan is golf's most dominant player since Tiger Woods was in his prime.
But in the build-up to the season's final major, he questioned his desire to be the No1 golfer on the planet and how winning golf tournaments feels 'unfulfilling'.
He said winning golf tournaments, which he has done 21 times at various levels – including an Olympic gold in Paris last year – does not satisfy him.
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Scheffler said: 'Playing professional sports is a really weird thing to do. It really is.
'Just because we put in so much effort, we work so hard for something that's so fleeting.
Scottie Scheffler channels inner Happy Gilmore and SCREAMS at ball just days before The Open
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Scottie is married to fellow Texan Meredith Scudder
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The couple met in high school
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Scheffler and wife Meredith welcomed their first child Bennett in May 2024
'The feeling of winning just doesn't last that long. Sometimes the feeling of winning only lasts a few seconds.
'That's something that I wrestle with on a daily basis. It's like showing up at the Masters every year. 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 have a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation for it, but it's just hard to explain.
Sometimes the feeling of winning only lasts a few seconds.
Scheffler
'It just doesn't satisfy is how I would describe it. It's an unsatisfying venture.
'We work so hard for such little moments. I'm kind of sicko; I love putting in the work. I love getting to practice.
'I love getting to live out my dreams. But at the end of the day, sometimes I just don't understand the point.'
Scheffler is favourite for the Claret Jug, even though his experience of links golf is limited.
He has won three times this year, has one runner-up finish and eight other top-10s in 15 events.
The dad-of-one won his first PGA Championship and third major by five strokes over Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English and Davis Riley in May.
He did his best Happy Gilmore impression this week, after missing a simple putt for a birdie on the par-four 13th led Scheffler to channel his inner Adam Sandler and blow his lid, albeit jokingly, at the ball.
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You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Bennett's dad has become a golfing phenomenon. Since the start of last year, Scheffler has now won 13 times, including triumphs at three different majors and an Olympic Games. It took Rory McIlroy 11 attempts to complete the career grand slam after getting to the three-quarter stage. Nobody expects it to take Scheffler as long to add the US Open and become the seventh man of that celebrated club. Of only 25 majors played, he has won four, been runner-up twice and had 16 top-ten finishes. These are dizzying numbers. He started the day four shots clear of Haotong Li, with Matt Fitzpatrick another shot behind and McIlroy trying to cross a six-stroke divide. In truth, Evel Knievel had a more realistic chance of crossing Snake River Canyon in his old home-made space rocket, but at least McIlroy's parachute opened after a troubled post-Augusta period. The uneven nature of golf's calendar means he must retain his major mojo for almost ten months until his Masters defence. Credit English for chipping away, again finishing runner-up to Scheffler, as he did at the US PGA, but the world No1 was never in the remotest danger. The Scottish Open champion Chris Gotterup was five adrift, followed by a resurgent Fitzpatrick, Li and Wyndham Clark. McIlroy was feted by febrile crowds, but in a land of mythical giants, fated to finish in this one's wake. Bob MacIntyre also made the top ten to underline his impressive progress this summer, but it was a solo show by the seaside. Two years ago, Golf Digest harshly declared the Open 'a dud' when Brian Harman romped home at Hoylake. It was undoubtedly a day drained of excitement, but if that was again the case here, the crowd knew they were witnessing a generational talent at the peak of his powers. Being brilliant can never be convincingly boring. And this week Scheffler has been far from dull, causing a stir with a media address in which he said golf was not fulfilling and wondered why he cared so much. 'Sometimes, I just don't understand the point,' he said. That honesty was elevated by the fact Scheffler rarely says much beyond the practical, but the remarks were a reflection of his deep faith and belief in a greater purpose. He cares and suffers, but he knows this is only the important fluff of life. A rounded player with a consistent game and level mind, his bad days are average and the good ones are stellar. Ten consecutive wins from 54-hole leads shows front-running is another arrow in his quiver. And for greater historical perspective, it is worth noting that nobody has won their four first majors by at least three shots since 1909. It was not flawless. In a fairway bunker on the 8th he needed two attempts to get out. That double bogey, allied to Gotterup's charge, reduced the lead to four. The intimations of mortality welcomed down the field. Scheffler's response? A 335-yard drive, wedge and easy birdie. In the group up ahead, McIlroy was over a hill and, after failing to mount a grassy bank with his chip, far away. That double bogey left the local hero eight shots adrift. He has likened winning the Masters to climbing Everest, but when it comes to scaling mountains you would really want Scheffler as your guide. Others left with a raft of what-ifs. Bryson DeChambeau was down and almost out after an opening 78, but was 16 under for the remaining holes. It is too easy to suggest he had figured out the vagaries of links golf, though. 'I still have to crack the code when it's raining and windy,' he said. Indeed, the weekend has been positively balmy, but Scheffler showed that he is a man for all seasons by surviving Thursday. DeChambeau's take on Scheffler? 'Scottie's in a league of his own right now,' he said. 'I played with him a lot in college and he was not that good so he's figured out a lot of stuff since then.' He certainly has. One of the remarkable things about Scheffler is that he was pushing 26 before he won his first professional tournament. By that age, McIlroy had four majors while Jordan Spieth's purple patch came at 22. Scheffler, though, has entered into a period of superiority that we have not seen since Woods. Part of the credit for this should go to Phil Kenyon, the quiet putting guru of Southport, who has helped Scheffler in his one area of vague weakness. 'Phil has been tremendous for me,' he said. 'He is a great guy to be able to bounce stuff off and I feel like we've made some great progress.' In turn, Kenyon says teaching Scheffler is easier than dealing with 20-handicappers who think they know it all. After doing the same major double in 2014, McIlroy said he did not need another year like the one he had enjoyed. 'I need another ten,' he explained before talking of 'Messi, Federer and LeBron' and how star power drove sport. He had an 11-year wait for another. All the other Open champions since 2014 have not won another major since, but we should expect that curse to be lifted soon. As for Royal Portrush, McIlroy was right when saying it has quickly established itself as one of the top two or three Open stages, with a stunning vista and terrific sequencing of holes, and so it was fitting that this championship produced such a fine winner. 'Phenomenal player,' Tommy Fleetwood said. 'If he keeps going the way he is then we're going to look back and talk about him in the same breath as some of the all-time greats — and he's played in our generation.' Scheffler just said he thought comparisons with Woods were 'a bit silly' and that he did his best 'by living in the present'. It is a good policy and sensible perspective. He is the man of the dazzling moment. Rory McIlroy described Scottie Scheffler's run of success as 'historical', conceding that the rest of the field were unable to come close to Scheffler in such sparkling form (John Westerby writes). 'There's only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on the run that Scottie's been on for the past 24 to 36 months,' McIlroy said. 'I wish I had been closer to Scottie going into today but he's been on a different level all week and he's been on a different level for the past two years. What he's doing is historical. None of us could live with what he had this week.' Scheffler now needs only a US Open victory to complete the career grand slam, which McIlroy finally achieved with his victory at the Masters in April. Scheffler had spoken before the tournament of how golf was not ultimately fulfilling, that he was a 'sicko' for working so hard at his game and that the pleasure of victory was 'awesome for two minutes'. Scheffler was asked whether he would enjoy his Open triumph for longer than two minutes. 'It's one of the greatest joys of my life to compete out here,' he said. 'But at the end of the day, having success in life, whether it be in golf, work, whatever, that's not what fulfils the deepest desires of your heart. My greatest priorities are my faith and my family. Golf is third. 'I try to live as normal of a life as possible because I feel like a normal guy. 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.'
