'I want to have a more positive season'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
39 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Scottie Scheffler claims Open Championship with majestic four-shot win
Never in doubt. Never remotely in doubt. It was Scottie Scheffler: why on earth would it be? Anybody hoping for a keenly contested Open Sunday was to be sorely disappointed. Make that 10 times Scheffler has held a 54-hole lead and 10 times he has converted. Scheffler tugged his opening tee shot into the rough, triggering some sharp intakes of breath. The new champion's next act was to fire an iron to within a foot of the cup. Scheffler enjoyed a sun‑kissed procession on the Dunluce Links. Had the R&A been so minded, it could have broken with tradition and handed over the Claret Jug on the 5th tee. By that point, he was seven strokes clear. Scheffler does not bother with major jousting. Direct combat? No thanks. He four-putted the 72nd green at Augusta National in 2022 and still won by three. The 2024 Masters was claimed by four, the 2025 US PGA Championship by five. This triumph was by a quartet of shots when in reality it felt like so much more. Late on Sunday afternoon, the Old Tom Morris record from 1862 – he saw off a distraught Willie Park by 13 shots at Prestwick – appeared to be under threat. Scheffler missed back-nine chance after back-nine chance when it barely mattered. A 68, Scheffler's joint-highest score of the competition, meant 17 under par as an aggregate. His family surrounded him on the 18th green, in the latest reminder that the world No 1 does not particularly prioritise golf. His understated brilliance and shunning of the spotlight is intriguing. Scheffler recognises he is excellent at golf but he is unwilling to be defined by that. The record books will show Harris English finished second and he is due high praise. It is just that Scheffler's imperious frontrunning distorted the tournament. English never had any prospect of winning. Chris Gotterup was not in the Open when arriving in North Berwick for its Scottish equivalent. Gotterup duly won there last Sunday and reached 12 under par to secure third in Northern Ireland. What a wonderful sporting fairytale. Scheffler does not need help. He received some courtesy of the fact this was another benign Portrush occasion. With that, the capacity for huge errors was limited. Scoring was noticeably low across the field. Scheffler played his first five in three under. He whacked a bunker shot at the 8th into the face of the sand trap; a double bogey there was partly repaired with a straightforward birdie at the 9th. Those beneath him were scaling an ice wall in slippers. The R&A's engraver could get to work long before Scheffler reached his 72nd hole. There was an inevitability about the outcome which could only raise parallels with peak Tiger Woods. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion What a weird week for Wyndham Clark. It began with Oakmont Country Club informing members that Clark had been banned from the premises after he inflicted grievous bodily harm on some lockers at the US Open last month. Presumably others were ducking for cover as Clark shot a 76 on Thursday. His response, however, was admirable; Clark signed off with a 65 for 11 under and a fourth‑placed finish. He had Matt Fitzpatrick and Li Haotong for scoreboard company. Li made a fourth‑round 70 as Scheffler's partner. 'I asked if there is any time I can practise with him on the PGA Tour,' Li said. 'He said yes. I said: 'When I text you, you better reply to me.' He goes: 'Haotong who?'' Clark does sound genuinely remorseful about events at Oakmont. If he has a lingering gripe, it relates to his sanction from the club entering the public domain. 'We were hoping it was going to be private,' Clark said. 'I did something awful and I'm really sorry for it. Hopefully they have it in their heart to forgive me and maybe in the future I'll be able to play there.' Rory McIlroy had reached 10 under before a double bogey at the 10th. It seems incredible to think that his next round in a major will be the start of his Masters defence in April. The esteem he was held in by vast galleries over four competitive days in Portrush really was quite the sight and sound. McIlroy's focus will now turn towards the Ryder Cup and hopes of a rare European win on American soil. He shared seventh in Northern Ireland with Xander Schauffele and Bob MacIntyre. 'None of us could live with what Scottie had this week,' McIlroy said. 'But for me to be in front of everyone here at home and to get that reception up the last, absolutely incredible. I'll remember that for a long time.' Bryson DeChambeau blasted through the field to post a 64 and a nine-under aggregate. DeChambeau opened this major with a 78 and ended up finishing tied 10th. Insert joke about LIV golfers and 54-hole tournaments. Sergio García broke his driver on the 2nd hole in a fit of pique, rendering a 68 somewhat decent. He was asked post-round for his thoughts on the Ryder Cup in September, an event in which he is at present about as likely to feature as the aforementioned Old Tom. Scheffler will be there, having swept up half the year's major crowns. Next year's US Open – which concludes on Scheffler's 30th birthday – will feature him attempting to complete a career grand slam. We are firmly in the midst of one of the greatest golfing careers of all time.
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Open win is child's play for Scottie Scheffler in his era of greatness
If golf does not fill the 'deepest wants and desires' of Scottie Scheffler's heart, it at least enabled him to fill his boots and then the Claret Jug with a celebratory tipple. This was a parade bereft of drama or uncertainty, but as an appreciation of a master of his art, and science, it was breathtakingly good. An Open and shut case, we are edging into an era of all-time greatness. Tiger Woods's modern record victory margin at the Open is eight at St Andrews in 2000. Scheffler briefly threatened that but a round of 68, a score of 17 under par and a four-shot gap to Harris English were more than enough. The only real stumble from Scheffler's camp came when young son Bennett fell while exploring the green during the presentation. It says much about Scheffler's priorities that the emotion only morphed into a victory salute and tossed cap when he saw his wife and son. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. 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.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
England to host next three World Test Championship finals
England will stage the next three World Test Championship finals, the International Cricket Council has announced. All of the first three showpieces have been held in England, most recently last month with Lord's the venue as South Africa were crowned champions for the first time by defeating holders Australia. Nearly 110,000 people went through the gates of the so-called home of cricket over the course of a Test that lasted four days, although India were reportedly keen to stage the next edition in two years' time. The influence the country wields in global cricket affairs led to the assumption India would get their wish but England have instead been awarded the finals of the 2027, 2029 and 2031 editions by the ICC. At its annual conference in Singapore, the ICC noted England's "successful track record in hosting recent finals", even though Ben Stokes' side are yet to reach the one-off, winner-takes-all showdown. England finished fifth in the 2023-25 cycle although they were deducted 22 points - by far the most of the nine teams involved - for slow over-rates. Without those punishments, they would have placed third. England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Richard Gould said: "We are absolutely delighted that England and Wales has been chosen to host the next three ICC World Test Championship finals. "It's a testament to the passion that fans in this country have for this treasured format of the game and the willingness of supporters from around the world to travel here for these games. "Hosting these finals is a privilege, and we look forward to working with the ICC to build on the success of the previous editions." Also on the agenda for the ICC in southeast Asia was an update on the support for the displaced women's cricketers of Afghanistan, many of whom were forced into exile when the Taliban returned to power in 2021 and effectively outlawed female sport. Amid increasing political pressure for the global game to act, the ICC formed a task force in April also involving the ECB, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket Australia (CA). The ICC confirmed the programme "aims to deliver structured support through high-performance initiatives, domestic playing opportunities, and engagement at key ICC global events". It is understood Afghanistan women's cricketers, many of whom are now living in Australia, could attend this year's 50-over World Cup in India and the 2026 T20 World Cup in England and engage with the teams there, although details are still to be ironed out.
