(Hoylake, England) Scottie Scheffler knows the opinion that prevails on him.
That he is – in his words – “a bit boring”. Void of emotion. The epitome of consistency while earning nearly $40 million in revenue over the past two seasons on the PGA Tour.
The world number one wants to be recognized as a multiple winner of major tournaments by the end of the week, at the British Open in Hoylake.
But it doesn’t eat him up inside.
“A year without winning a major tournament would be pretty much like the other 25 years of my life, I guess,” Scheffler said with a smile.
As it stands, Scheffler has at least one major title to his name. It comes from his victory at the Masters Tournament last year, which capped a streak of four triumphs in six starts and which in the blink of an eye catapulted a reckless man from Texas to the No. 1 in the world.
Scheffler followed that outbreak with remarkable consistency in 2023. He finished in the top 12 in each of the 16 tournaments he entered and won the Phoenix Open and The Players Championship. He is on a streak of 7 top-5 finishes, including the U.S. Open and PGA Championship.
Scheffler has yet to relish a second major title, however.
“I think I like to focus more on how I approach things and my attitude than on the actual results,” he said. Yes, it’s so much fun to win majors, but I’m not going to sit down at the end of the year, look back and be frustrated or upset because I didn’t win one. »
As persistent rain fell in this corner of northwest England, two days before the start of the last major of the year, Scheffler relished the rare opportunity to play golf and hit shots he had never rehearsed, on a course he had previously only seen on YouTube.
Indeed, that was pretty much the extent of his research for this British Open: watching videos of Tiger Woods plotting his way around Royal Liverpool to win the “Claret Jug”, in 2006.
“I really didn’t know anything about it other than that it was really firm and he made one tee shot with a wood all week,” Scheffler hinted.
Scheffler said his game plan for this week – like Woods 17 years ago – will be to avoid hitting the bunkers “at all costs”, which should be fine for someone who is among the best golfers. of the planet from mound to green. He ranks first in greens in prescribed strokes and strokes gained through his approaches.
What’s held him back from more wins this year has been his play on the greens, which is No. 134 in the PGA but isn’t – in his opinion – as bad as the fans perceive it to be. reviews.
“I think there were back-to-back tournaments where I could have won, but I wasn’t good enough on the greens,” he noted. And suddenly it became that thing that even descriptors point out when I’m preparing to putt. If you say it every time and you see me miss a putt from 12 feet, you think I’m still struggling with that. »
Scheffler’s consistency this year mirrors that of Jon Rahm from September 2022 to February 2023, when the Spaniard played 10 events, won 5 and did not finish outside the top 8.
“I believe if you ask him he would trade some of his top 5s for one more win because that’s what we’re here for,” Rahm said of Scheffler. Still, it’s really impressive what he’s done, and I’m a fan of players who can continue to play golf at this level for a long time. »
