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Associated Press
a day ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Scottie Scheffler dominates in British Open victory for his 2nd major title this year
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (AP) — The enormous yellow scoreboard above the 18th green at Royal Portrush perfectly illustrated the state of golf these days. Scottie Scheffler's name was at the top. No one was close. That's how it was in the British Open on Sunday, when Scheffler never gave anyone a chance from the time his 9-iron settled a foot away for birdie on the first hole until he tapped in for a 3-under 68 and a four-shot victory over Harris English. That's how it is in the sport, a level of dominance not seen since Tiger Woods . 'He is the bar that we're all trying to get to,' Masters champion Rory McIlroy said. 'In a historical context, you could argue that there's only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run the one that Scottie's been on here for the last 24 to 36 months. Incredibly impressive.' Scheffler not only won his second major this year — and fourth in the last three years — he captured the third leg of the career Grand Slam, now missing only the U.S. Open. He became the first player in more than a century to win his first fourth major title by at least three shots, and if not for his lone blunder from a bunker on the eighth hole when he had a seven-shot lead, he would have played bogey-free on the weekend. 'Being able to walk up 18 with the tournament in hand is a really tough thing to describe. It's a really cool feeling. I have a lot of gratitude towards being able to accomplish something like this,' Scheffler said, the silver claret jug on the table next to him. 'It's taken a lot of work — not only a lot of work, but it takes a lot of patience,' he said. 'It's a high level of focus over 72 holes of a tournament. This was, I felt like, one of my best performances mentally.' The emotions he showed were telling. Until he had his name etched on golf's oldest trophy, Scheffler had a week marked by his extraordinary insight on how he views winning. He said celebrations last only a few minutes. He has wondered, 'What's the point?' He loves the work required to be the best. He thrives on competition. But in terms of fulfillment, he often questions why he wants to win so badly when the thrill of winning is fleeting . On the golf course, his biggest fist pump was for a par on the sixth hole. As he crouched to line up his birdie putt on the 18th, he rested his head on his hand with a slight smile of deep satisfaction. When he tapped in the final putt, he plucked the ball from the cup and put it in his pocket as if he had just won a regular PGA Tour event. But when he finally found his family — wife Meredith, 15-month-old son Bennett, and his parents — Scheffler went crazy. He thrust both arms in the air, pumped both arms, screamed and threw his cap in the air. That's what it's all about for the 29-year-old from Texas. 'She's always the first person I want to celebrate with,' he said. '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.' McIlroy had referred to the outcome as 'inevitable' when Scheffler built a four-shot lead going into the final round, and it was every bit of that. The tap-in birdie on the first hole. A brilliant approach between two knobs to 7 feet for birdie on the fourth. A 15-foot birdie on No. 5. Most telling was his biggest celebration, a powerful fist pump when he made a 15-foot par putt on No. 6. It was reminiscent of when Woods saved his biggest fist pump for a par on the 16th hole of his historic 15-shot victory at Pebble Beach in the 2000 U.S. Open, when it was clear Woods was competing mainly against himself. That's what it felt like until Scheffler's one wobble a double bogey on No. 8 when it took two shots to get out of a fairway bunker. That ended his streak of 32 consecutive holes without a bogey. The lead was down to four shots when Scottish Open winner Chris Gotterup birdied the ninth. And then Scheffler birdied the next hole. He played the back nine with eight pars and a birdie because that's all he needed. No one could catch him. 'I played with him the first two days, and honestly I thought he was going to birdie every hole. It was incredible to watch,' Shane Lowry said. 'If Scottie's feet stayed stable and his swing looked like Adam Scott's, we'd be talking about him in the same words as Tiger Woods. ... His bad shots are really good. That's when you know he's really good.' Scheffler, who finished at 17-under 267, won for the fourth time this year. He now has won 20 times worldwide in the last 30 months. This was the 11th straight time he turned a 54-hole lead into a victory. 'I don't think we thought the golfing world would see someone as dominant as Tiger come through so soon, and here's Scottie sort of taking that throne of dominance,' said Xander Schauffele, the defending champion who tied for seventh. 'You can't even say he's on a run. He's just been killing it for over two years now,' he said. 'He's a tough man to beat, and when you see his name up on the leaderboard, it sucks for us.' English capped off a memorable two weeks in the United Kingdom. His caddie of eight years couldn't get a new travel visa because of a 10-year prison term he served two decades ago. English had a replacement last week at the Scottish Open and another this week. It didn't stop him. English closed with a 66 and was runner-up in a major for the second time this year — both times to Scheffler — as he strengthened his case for the Ryder Cup team. 'The only guy to beat me at the PGA and this week. I'm playing some good golf,' English said. 'I wasn't playing professional golf when Tiger was at his peak. But it's pretty incredible, just how good of a front-runner he is.' Li Haotong of China (70), Matt Fitzpatrick (69) and Wyndham Clark (65) tied for fourth. That gets Li into the Masters next year. As for McIlroy, there were few complaints. He needed an electric start like he had Saturday and was eight shots behind an hour into the final round. No matter. The Masters champion soaked up adulation across Royal Portrush, closing with a 69 to tie for seventh . 'I wish I had have been closer to Scottie going into today and been able to make a real push,' McIlroy said. 'But he's been on a different level all week and he's been on a different level for the last two years to the rest of us. He is the bar that we're all trying to get to at this point. '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.' The only stumble from Scheffler came from his 15-month-old son, who tried to walk up a slope to the 18th green toward his dad and the claret jug, only to face-plant. 'I don't think he's ever been up a hill that big before,' Scheffler said with a laugh. That also goes for players chasing Scheffler. ___ AP golf:
Globe and Mail
a day ago
- Sport
- Globe and Mail
Is Scottie Scheffler the next Tiger Woods? British Open champion calls comparisons ‘a bit silly'
Another comparison between Tiger Woods and Scottie Scheffler surfaced during the final round of the British Open. This one wasn't about numbers or trophies, but a fist pump. And it was for par. Scheffler needed only one hour to expand his four-shot lead to seven shots with a steady diet of fairways and greens at Royal Portrush on Sunday, along with three birdie putts. But he missed his tee shot on the par-3 sixth and his chip was weak, leaving him a 15-foot par putt. Scheffler fiercely pumped his fist when it dropped, evoking memories of Woods and his 15-shot win at Pebble Beach in the 2000 U.S. Open. Woods had a 12-foot par putt on the 16th hole of that final round, and it was the most emotion he showed all day when he made it. He wanted a clean card and wound up going his final 26 holes bogey-free. Woods was so utterly dominant that his only competition came from himself. That's how it felt with Scheffler when he won the claret jug for the third leg of the career Grand Slam. Cathal Kelly: Scottie Scheffler wins the British Open. Is it just a great run or is he destined to be an all-timer? Scheffler went 32 holes without a bogey until he took two shots to get out of a fairway bunker on No. 8 and made double bogey. What stood out to Scheffler in his four-shot victory was the lack of bogeys, the DNA of his dominance. 'To only have one double – really one over-par hole in the last 36 holes of a major championship – that's how you're able to win these tournaments,' he said. He won the British Open by four shots. He won the PGA Championship in May by five shots. He won by four in the 2024 Masters. Scheffler was five shots ahead on the final hole in his first Masters win in 2022 when he four-putted while simply trying to finish. There are plenty of numbers to consider, starting with his position at No. 1 in the world. No one has held it longer since Woods. Scheffler and Woods are the only players in the last 50 years to win two majors in the same year by at least four shots. Researchers with time on their hands at the PGA Tour discovered that Scheffler and Woods each went 1,197 days between winning their first and fourth majors. Enough of the comparisons, Scheffler said. 'I still think they're a bit silly,' he said. 'Tiger won, what, 15 majors? This is my fourth. I just got one-fourth of the way there. I think Tiger stands alone in the game of golf. He was inspirational for me growing up. He was a very, very talented guy, and he was a special person to be able to be as good as he was at the game of golf.' For majors alone, a better comparison would be with Rory McIlroy. He also won four majors in three years, including two of them in 2014. McIlroy won a U.S. Open and a PGA Championship by eight shots, the latter a record margin. And then he went 11 years without a major. Greatness in golf is also about longevity. Cathal Kelly: The pressure lifted, McIlroy can ease into back nine of his career Scheffler won for the fourth time this year and now has 20 victories worldwide. He has won 11 straight times with the 54-hole lead. The 29 year old from Texas was introduced as champion golfer of the year, a title the R&A has used for more than a century. Scheffler at this rate might be champion golfer of his generation. And to think he was slowed at the start of the year recovering from a puncture wound on his right hand that he got while trying to cut ravioli with a wine glass. The year's top highlight still might be McIlroy winning the Masters amid tense drama to finally complete the Grand Slam. That was his third win of the season, following The Players Championship and Pebble Beach. McIlroy, however, sounded almost dismissive about them Sunday evening. 'I also had the three wins when Scottie wasn't quite on his game,' he said. Also driving the comparisons to Woods are high praise from just about everyone who has had to face Scheffler since that first win in 2022. 'He is the bar that we're all trying to get to,' McIlroy said. 'I don't think we thought the golfing world would see someone as dominant as Tiger come through so soon, and here's Scottie sort of taking that throne of dominance,' Xander Schauffele said. 'You can't even say he's on a run. He's just been killing it for over two years now.' Any hesitation about comparisons – besides the 15-4 tally in majors, as Scheffler is quick to point out – is their style of play. Woods was as dynamic as he was relentless, especially with recovery shots. Scheffler doesn't have that many because he's rarely out of position. Woods was groomed for stardom when he appeared on The Mike Douglas Show at age 2. Scheffler never cared about anything other than playing golf and getting better at it. 'He doesn't care to be a superstar. He's not transcending the game like Tiger did. He's not bringing it to a non-golf audience necessarily,' Jordan Spieth said. 'He doesn't want to go do the stuff that a lot of us go do, corporately, anything like that.' He works. He competes. He wins. That's what Woods did, and that's what matters to Scheffler. 'I don't focus on that kind of stuff,' Scheffler said of the comparisons. 'That's not what motivates me. I'm not motivated by winning championships. I don't look at the beginning of the year and just say, 'I want to win X amount of tournaments.' I don't do that. 'When I wake up to practice, what motivates me is getting to live out my dream,' he said. 'I get to play professional golf, and I feel like I'm called to do it to the best of my ability.'
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Scheffler is compared to Tiger Woods after a win that rarely seemed in doubt
No sooner had the Claret Jug been lifted high above Scottie Scheffler's head than the scramble for superlatives began. With every word and exaltation there was also a sense that golf's Overton window had shifted, with his peers daring to voice opinions previously beyond the pale. It was Xander Schauffele who perhaps said it best, as Scheffler was slow‑walking up the 18th, as if trying to savour every second of a first Open Championship victory. 'I don't think we thought the golfing world would see someone as dominant as Tiger [Woods] come through so soon, and here's Scottie sort of taking that throne of dominance,' said Schauffele, the 2024 champion, having finished seven shots back. 'You can't even say he's on a run. He's just been killing it for over two years now. He's a tough man to beat, and when you see his name up on the leaderboard it sucks for us.' Scheffler is making a habit of this. This was his fourth major title in three years. For good measure, he has 17 PGA Tour wins over the same period. The majority of them have been like this, a four‑shot victory margin from Harris English that rarely looked in doubt. Rory McIlroy was another player who had hoped for a miracle on Sunday only to see golf's ultimate dementor had sucked his hopes with three early birdies. After that the result was not in doubt, with Scheffler easing to victory at 17 under par. 'In a historical context, you could argue that there's only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run like the one that Scottie's been on for the last 24 to 36 months,' said McIlroy, who finished tied for seventh on 10 under. 'It's incredibly impressive. He just goes about his business. Doesn't do anything overly flamboyant, but he's the best at executing in the game. All you can do is tip your cap and watch in admiration.' We are clearly in Scheffler's imperial phase, where the victories appear preordained and no superlative seems outlandish. The only question now is how many majors he may win. Double figures does not seem outlandish. Which would put him behind only Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen. Tommy Fleetwood certainly believes he can do it. 'If he keeps going the way he is, we're all going to look back and talk about him in the same breath as some of the all-time greats,' he said. 'And he's played in our generation.' Not so long ago, such comments would have seemed premature. Now they are accepted wisdom. Scheffler's temperament is something special. Little seems to faze him. He plays golf like someone who has had their adrenal glands removed. Not that he sounded that way afterwards. 'Every day is a battle, it is a battle with yourself all the time,' Scheffler said. It certainly didn't look that way as he decimated a quality field. Shane Lowry, who won at Portrush in 2019, was another player to evoke comparisons with Woods. But in his view the ungainliness of Scheffler's drive, which often results in him losing his balance as his ball flies 300 yards down the fairway, has taken people off the scent. 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 'I played with him the first two days and honestly I thought he was going to birdie every hole,' Lowry said. 'If Scottie's feet stayed stable and his swing looked like Adam Scott's, we'd be talking about him in the same words as Tiger Woods. 'I just think because it doesn't look so perfect, we don't talk about him like that. I think he's just incredible to watch, and his bad shots are really good. That's when you know he's really good.' If Scheffler had not been in Portrush, this would have been a thrilling final day. On Sunday morning, there were 11 players within four shots of China's Li Haotong in second place on 10 under. The problem? Scheffler was on 14 under. Any hopes of a Devon Loch-style shock were soon extinguished. On the first hole, Li hit his approach to within six feet. Scheffler's response? To play it within three feet and record a birdie. In truth, it was the most sedate Open final day in nearly a generation. Scheffler had won his last nine tournaments after having led after 54 holes. He wasn't going to lose from here. At the 4th hole someone shouted: 'What's the point, Scottie?' – a reference to his press conference from earlier in the week. A few minutes later he had made his point with a birdie and followed it up with another on the 5th. True, there was a minor wobble at the next three holes – with two long par saves followed by a double-bogey six at the 8th. But the result was never in doubt. As Bryson DeChambeau put it: 'Scottie's in a league of his own right now. 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. It's really impressive to see and something we can all learn from for sure.' The bad news for the rest? Scheffler is only 29. He knows how to play links golf now and he clearly wants titles. As gave his victory speech, his 14‑month‑old son, Bennett, was swinging a plastic golf club just off the 18th green before the Claret Jug. He looked a natural. Just like his father.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
How 'Tiger-like' Scheffler is conquering golf
As Scottie Scheffler steamrolled his way to the Claret Jug, there was another name which kept being mentioned in the discourse surrounding his impending Open Woods. Remember him?Scheffler's peers regularly referred to Woods when they came off the Royal Portrush course last Sunday. So too did the television and radio commentators analysing the comparisons between the current world number one and 15-time major champion Woods - the pre-eminent superstar who elevated golf to a new stratosphere in the late 1990s and early 2000s - continued in the aftermath of Scheffler's fourth major eye-catching statistic further fuelled the frenzy. Exactly 1,197 days had passed between each player's first major win to their response to the parallels being drawn? "I still think they're a bit silly," he said."I just got one-fourth of the way there. I think Tiger stands alone in the game of golf."One thing is undebatable. Scheffler is conquering the men's game like nobody since Woods in his pomp. Here, BBC Sport analyses how the 29-year-old American is doing it. Creating a 'Tiger-like' dominance The first sign of Scheffler's special qualities came at the 2021 Ryder had been raised about the young American being picked as a Whistling Straits wildcard, but the manner in which he bossed European talisman Jon Rahm in the Sunday singles - putting the hosts on the path to a rare routine win - was a sign of things to the four seasons since, Scheffler has won four of the 15 majors - the 2022 and 2023 Masters, plus this year's US PGA Championship and Open - and earned a further eight top-10 finishes. Throw in 12 PGA Tour victories, along with the Olympic gold medal at Paris 2024, and it is clear why he is the undisputed world number one."Scottie is the bar that we're all trying to get to," said world number two Rory McIlroy."You could argue there's only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run like the one that Scottie's been for the past 24 to 36 months." One of those players is - obviously - securing victory at Portrush, Scheffler became only the second player to win The Open while world number one. The first was Woods, who did it three times in 2000, 2005 and machine-like ability, which is apparent even when he does not seem to be playing at his peak, is similar to his fellow is little wonder several of his peers have described Scheffler this week as being "Tiger-like"."I don't think we thought the golfing world would see someone as dominant as Tiger come through so soon and here's Scottie taking that throne," said 2024 Open champion Xander Schauffele."He's a tough man to beat, and when you see his name up on the leaderboard, it sucks for us."For some, the parallels between Scheffler and Woods - who has claimed a joint record 82 PGA Tour victories - might feel has a long way to go to match the longevity of his compatriot, whose major triumphs stretched from 1997 to the comparisons continue to persist because of the way Scheffler imperiously tears through fields like Woods did in his pomp. At Portrush, there was a sense of inevitability about the outcome once Scheffler moved four shots ahead after Saturday's third unerring consistency and ruthless ability to close out victories is what sets him apart from the was the 10th tournament in a row Scheffler had converted an outright 54-hole lead, although he still has a long way to go before matching the 37 consecutive times which Woods did it. "Back in the day that's what separated Tiger," said English former world number one Justin Rose."You get a lot of guys leading tournaments and typically it is hard to close out, but Scottie and Tiger are able to put these tournaments away better than most. "That's how you are judged at the end of the day." Staying emotionless in the heat of battle Scheffler's emotionless expression as he patiently and precisely carved up the Dunluce Links was a far cry from the energy often shown by a final Sunday lacking any sort of jeopardy, one of the most colourful moments came on the sixth green. There was a rare flicker of emotion from Scheffler.A vigorous pump of the fist signalled his pleasure at dropping one of several par-saving putts on his way to who demand high-octane energy from their sporting stars were disappointed. But Scheffler's calm demeanour is exactly why he is so successful."He doesn't care to be a superstar. He's not transcending the game like Tiger did," said Jordan Spieth, who a decade ago was being compared to Woods after winning three majors and finishing runner-up in two others between 2015-17."I think it's more so the difference in personality from any other superstar that you've seen in the modern era and maybe in any sport. "I don't think anybody is like him."While Scheffler's mind is mechanical, his technique is not. His unorthodox footwork looks clumsy at times and is another reason - according to Ireland's Shane Lowry - why many do not consider him in the same breath as Woods. "If Scottie's feet stayed stable and his swing looked like Adam Scott's, we'd be talking about him in the same words as Tiger," said Lowry, who won his solitary major at Royal Portrush in 2019. "I think because it doesn't look so perfect, we don't talk about him like that. "I think he's just incredible to watch, and his bad shots are really good. That's when you know he's really good." Having the inner fire to be the best As soon as Scheffler's long-time coach Randy Smith spotted the youngster at their practice range in Dallas, he knew there was something which set the kid was working with PGA Tour professional Joel Edwards and saw 10-year-old Scheffler, sat crosslegged nearby, absorbing everything he witnessed."He's not comparing himself to other eight-year-olds or other 10-year-olds," Smith, who also coached Justin Leonard to the 1997 Open, wrote for Golf Digest last year., external"He's comparing himself to a player on the Korn Ferry Tour, a PGA Tour winner or to the guy who just won the Open Championship."Scheffler successfully put what he had learned into practice on the US junior circuit, then started cleaning up in the collegiate game as he juggled his golf with a finance degree at the University of inevitable move into the professional ranks came in 2018. But it was not a straightforward had to scrap for his qualifying card to the Korn Ferry Tour, only clinching his playing status in 2019 with a dramatic up-and-down par save - which he later described as the most important scramble of his that point, his career accelerated. In 2020, Scheffler earned the first major top-10 finish of his career at the PGA Championship and his development led to being named the PGA Tour's 'Rookie of the Year'.A year later came the Ryder Cup breakthrough which marked his arrival as an elite force. "What separates Scottie is his fire," Smith added."It's not just competitiveness - though he has more of that than anyone I've ever coached."It's the pure love of practicing and experimenting and learning things on your own. It's determination."At the start of this Open week, many wondered if the fire continued to raised eyebrows by admitting he regularly questions why he is still playing golf and lamented how he has little opportunity to digest his the manner in which he celebrated winning the iconic Claret Jug - roaring towards his loved ones before sobbing on the shoulder of his wife Meredith and hoisting son Bennett into the air - demonstrated his burning desire to win majors had not fanned."When I wake up in the morning, I try and put max effort in each day I get to go out and practise," he said."When I'm working out, when I'm doing the cold tub, doing recovery, I feel like I'm just called to do it to the best of my ability. "It's just mostly about putting in the proper work and coming out here and competing." Improving weaknesses in his game Even after he had climbed to the top of the world rankings, there were some doubts about Scheffler's statistics proved he was the best from tee to green. They also proved he was among the worst with the putter.A call was made to English putting guru Phil Kenyon - whose client list is a who's who of major champions - in a bid to improve with the was particularly paid to Scheffler's reading of the greens and increasing the stability of his to a claw grip - where the right hand acts as a pincer lower down the shaft - has transformed Scheffler into one of the most reliable putters in the tweak helped him become the first player to defend the PGA Tour's Players Championship, win a second Masters, Olympic gold and five other titles in a stellar 2024 that also had echoed the putting statistics after three rounds at Portrush, having holed 97% of his putts inside five feet and 90% of those within 10 feet, put him in command. He holed putts of 14, 15 and 16 feet on Sunday."[The grip] was something we tested out last year and felt comfortable from the start," Scheffler said."I use it as we get closer to the hole, lag putting. Outside of 15 to 20 feet, I'm still putting conventional."It was something we felt could help us improve, and so far it has."While improved putting has taken Scheffler to Woods-esque heights, will it help him move closer to replicating Woods' achievements over the longer term? That remains to be seen.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Scheffler invokes comparisons to the greats with a win that rarely seemed in doubt
No sooner had the Claret Jug been lifted high above Scottie Scheffler's head than the scramble for superlatives began. With every word and exaltation there was also a sense that golf's Overton window had shifted, with his peers daring to voice opinions previously beyond the pale. It was Xander Schauffele who perhaps said it best, as Scheffler was slow‑walking up the 18th, as if trying to savour every second of a first Open Championship victory. 'I don't think we thought the golfing world would see someone as dominant as Tiger [Woods] come through so soon, and here's Scottie sort of taking that throne of dominance,' said Schauffele, the 2024 champion, having finished seven shots back. 'You can't even say he's on a run. He's just been killing it for over two years now. He's a tough man to beat, and when you see his name up on the leaderboard it sucks for us.' Scheffler is making a habit of this. This was his fourth major title in three years. For good measure, he has 17 PGA Tour wins over the same period. The majority of them have been like this, a four‑shot victory margin from Harris English that rarely looked in doubt. Rory McIlroy was another player who had hoped for a miracle on Sunday only to see golf's ultimate dementor had sucked his hopes with three early birdies. After that the result was not in doubt, with Scheffler easing to victory at 17 under par. 'In a historical context, you could argue that there's only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run like the one that Scottie's been on for the last 24 to 36 months,' said McIlroy, who finished tied for seventh on 10 under. 'It's incredibly impressive. He just goes about his business. Doesn't do anything overly flamboyant, but he's the best at executing in the game. All you can do is tip your cap and watch in admiration.' We are clearly in Scheffler's imperial phase, where the victories appear preordained and no superlative seems outlandish. The only question now is how many majors he may win. Double figures does not seem outlandish. Which would put him behind only Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen. Tommy Fleetwood certainly believes he can do it. 'If he keeps going the way he is, we're all going to look back and talk about him in the same breath as some of the all-time greats,' he said. 'And he's played in our generation.' Not so long ago, such comments would have seemed premature. Now they are accepted wisdom. Scheffler's temperament is something special. Little seems to faze him. He plays golf like someone who has had their adrenal glands removed. Not that he sounded that way afterwards. 'Every day is a battle, it is a battle with yourself all the time,' Scheffler said. It certainly didn't look that way as he decimated a quality field. Shane Lowry, who won at Portrush in 2019, was another player to evoke comparisons with Woods. But in his view the ungainliness of Scheffler's drive, which often results in him losing his balance as his ball flies 300 yards down the fairway, has taken people off the scent. 'I played with him the first two days and honestly I thought he was going to birdie every hole,' Lowry said. 'If Scottie's feet stayed stable and his swing looked like Adam Scott's, we'd be talking about him in the same words as 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 'I just think because it doesn't look so perfect, we don't talk about him like that. I think he's just incredible to watch, and his bad shots are really good. That's when you know he's really good.' If Scheffler had not been in Portrush, this would have been a thrilling final day. On Sunday morning, there were 11 players within four shots of China's Li Haotong in second place on 10 under. The problem? Scheffler was on 14 under. Any hopes of a Devon Loch-style shock were soon extinguished. On the first hole, Li hit his approach to within six feet. Scheffler's response? To play it within three feet and record a birdie. In truth, it was the most sedate Open final day in nearly a generation. Scheffler had won his last nine tournaments after having led after 54 holes. He wasn't going to lose from here. At the 4th hole someone shouted: 'What's the point, Scottie?' – a reference to his press conference from earlier in the week. A few minutes later he had made his point with a birdie and followed it up with another on the 5th. True, there was a minor wobble at the next three holes – with two long par saves followed by a double-bogey six at the 8th. But the result was never in doubt. As Bryson DeChambeau put it: 'Scottie's in a league of his own right now. 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. It's really impressive to see and something we can all learn from for sure.' The bad news for the rest? Scheffler is only 29. He knows how to play links golf now and he clearly wants titles. As gave his victory speech, his 14‑month‑old son, Bennett, was swinging a plastic golf club just off the 18th green before the Claret Jug. He looked a natural. Just like his father.
