Scottie Scheffler wins The Open, cements his domination of the sport

Article content

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — The first moment of real emotion on the 18th green at Royal Portrush came when Scottie Scheffler saw his family.

After a quick hug with caddie Ted Scott and playfully flipping his cap over his eyes, Scottie Scheffler turned toward his wife Meredith and baby son Bennett, raised his arms, let loose a scream and pumped his fists. Little did we know at the time, there was a touch of panic in there.

“I didn’t see her at first. So I was like, oh, my gosh, where’s Meredith? What happened? She’s not there,” Scheffler said of not seeing his wife in her usual spot. “As I kind of circled around the green, I saw my dad standing there. I was like, okay, perfect, my family must be down there.”

“She’s always the first person I want to celebrate with. She knows me better than anybody. That’s my best friend.”

On Sunday in Northern Ireland, the world’s best golfer won the game’s oldest championship in dominating fashion, capping off a double major season with four rounds in the 60s and a Sunday 68 to reach 17-under par and win the Open Championship by four strokes over Harris English who birdied two of the final three holes to shoot a 66 and reach 13-under.

One shot further back at was Chris Gotterup after shooting a Sunday 67.

But nobody could touch Scheffler, who did the near impossible over the weekend and attacked Portrush’s dangerous links greens with a precision usually only possible on the softer, more receptive turf found back home on the PGA Tour.

“I just grew up a kid in Texas that wanted to play professional golf,” he said. “I used to wear pants to grow up to play golf. It would be 100 degrees out. I’d be way too hot. People would make fun of me. But that’s what I wanted to do; I wanted to be a professional golfer, so I wore pants.”

“I don’t know why I’m so lucky that I get to live out my dreams, but it’s something I’m very grateful for.”

Scheffler took the lead at Portrush on Friday and never looked back, creating a Sunday coronation story that brought back memories of a golf world dominated by Tiger Woods.

Scheffler has been doing that a lot these days. Reminding us of what’s possible, captivating us with a level of golf we weren’t sure we would ever see again.

Comparisons to Woods were first made in jest. Then, only by mischief makers. Recently, they crossed into the mainstream. But after following up May’s five-shot PGA Championship victory with a four-stroke win this week, Scheffler’s making converts of nearly everyone.

Except possibly himself.

“I think Tiger stands alone in the game of golf,” Scheffler said. “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. I don’t focus on that kind of stuff. That’s not what motivates me.”

What motivates Scheffler has been a constant topic of conversation this week while the golfer lapped the field on the Northern Irish coast.

More on that in a moment.

Wyndham Clark, Matt Fitzpatrick and Haotong Li finished in a tie for fourth at 11-under. The hometown hero Rory McIlroy’s weekend push earned him a T7 at 10-under along with last year’s Open Champion Xander Schauffele and Scotsman Robert MacIntyre.

“He’s an incredible player,” McIlroy said of Scheffler. “He’s been dominant this week. Honestly, he’s been dominant for the last couple years. He is the bar that we’re all trying to get to.

“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.”

A shot further behind McIlroy was Canadian Corey Conners who finished in a tie for 10th at nine-under after shooting consecutive 66s to end his major year.

“I was playing behind him the first two days and his round on Friday he just got himself right to the top and no looking back,” Conners said of the winner. “Doing everything well, just being Scottie.”

By collecting his fourth major championship and 17th victory in less than four years time, and by showing his mastery could transfer to links golf, the 29-year-old Texan has left no room for doubt that he is on a clear path to become one of the best to ever play this ancient game.

If that’s his goal.

Prior to the week’s action at Portrush, Scheffler did what athletes don’t really do much of: He opened up and shared his private thoughts in a very public manner.

He spoke of a professional life that has very few fleeting moments of bliss in comparison to the hours, days and years of work required to succeed. He spoke of what he sees as the unfulfilling nature of professional sports which he described as an “unsatisfying venture.”

Unsurprisingly, he was asked about it Sunday evening while sitting with the Claret Jug in front of him.

“If somebody was going to listen to the comments I had this week, I would encourage them to listen to all of it,” he said. “I hope I did a good job communicating that, yeah, this is amazing to win the Open Championship, but at the end of the day, having success in life, whether it be in golf, work, whatever it is, that’s not what fulfills the deepest desires of your heart.”

“I’m not motivated by winning championships. … I feel like what motivates me is just getting out and getting to live out my dream. I get to play professional golf, and I feel like I’m called to do it to the best of my ability,” he added. “I don’t focus on things that I can accomplish in the game of golf. I just try to get the most out of myself each day and compete as hard as I can when I’m inside the ropes.”

“I’ve said it for a long time, golf is not how I identify myself. I don’t identify myself by winning tournaments, chasing trophies, being famous or whatever it is.”

Scheffler said on Sunday his priorities in life are faith, family, and in third place, golf.

Reconciling his ability for perspective on life with the runaway greatness we are witnessing will be one of the enduring storylines of Scheffler’s career.

The willingness while competing to understand that, in the grand scheme of things, sports is largely inconsequential is very unusual in any athlete, let alone an all-time great.

“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,” he said.

The maniacal pursuit of sporting goals and domination have largely gone hand in hand with many all-time greats, from Michael Jordan to Michael Schumacher to Tiger Woods and more.

In golf, part of the draw of Woods was the pureness and completeness of his almost terrifying need to win. McIlroy takes you on an emotional roller coaster with him every week, seemingly a cautionary tale of the risks of wanting something too badly.

Then here comes Scheffler staring into the bright lights and telling you that living what you thought was your childhood dream won’t fulfill you. Explaining that self-worth and happiness won’t come from a job or an achievement no matter how great.

The meaning of life is a hard thing to work into a five-minute answer during a press conference, but Scheffler’s speech has resonated with both his fellow players and fans. By asking you not to dream of being Scottie Scheffler the athlete, he seems to have made people want to be more like Scottie Scheffler the man.

Quite a week in Portrush.

“I don’t feel any different because I’ve won a golf tournament. This is not the be-all, end-all for me, but I’m extremely grateful for it.”