Scottie Scheffler stumbled. His answer reveals something about his greatness
There are many layers to Scottie Scheffler’s greatness.
Jordan Spieth described it better than anyone as the World No. 1 storm to victory in the Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
For Spieth, Scheffler’s greatest strength “is less about the golf swing and more about personality. Scottie Scheffler, Spieth said, is one man inside the ropes. There, he knows exactly what he needs to do, what he wants to do and how to get to that point. But when Scottie Scheffler isn’t working, he’s working not to work. He is just a father and a husband. He can second-guess clubs and has no interest in spending time and energy monetizing his name and skills outside of the classroom.
“He has that unique ability to differentiate,” Spieth said. “The difference in personality from any other champion you’ve seen in the modern era and probably in any sport. I don’t think there’s anyone like him.”
That came just days after Scheler’s opening week press conference at Royal Portrush, where he talked about the short-term joy of winning and explained that while he loves being a golfer, it “doesn’t fulfill the deepest desires of his heart.”
The ability to not be consumed by golf is liberating for Scheffler. It allows him to connect and connect, which helps keep him level as he continues to dominate golf.
For the past four years, Scheffler has made everything look easy. He won at Augusta twice. He was the only player to repeat in the Players. He won the PGA Championship and the Open. He has won here, there and everywhere while leaving some of the world’s leading countries looking for ways to close what currently feels like an unbridgeable chasm.
While all of those little things help make Scottie Scheffler Scottie Scheffler and set him apart from the crowd, there’s something else that allows him to go above and beyond. It is something that is rarely discussed because it is rarely seen.
But it was there Thursday night in Phoenix, when Scheffler walked off the course after a strange opening-round 73 that put him in danger of missing TPC Scottsdale. It’s a position we don’t often see Scheffler in. It won’t take you long to count the number of tournaments he’s been inactive in over the past few years. Scheffler hasn’t finished outside the Top 10 in a tournament since last year’s Players, when he was still shaking off the rust from a season-ending ravioli injury. When was the last time you missed? 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship. In an era of undecided, limited field events, that number doesn’t mean what we used to. But it’s worth noting that we rarely see Scottie Scheffler hanging around in the middle of the pack, and he doesn’t get out of the yards early.
Scheffler doesn’t believe in trying to “find” something out of the competition. For him, the work is done in the prep and comes with what you will need for the week. But sitting in the T-86 after a bump that included a sliding chip, Scheffler went to work. Not to prepare for a future competition or to prepare for later, but because Scottie Scheffler, like all great athletes, has only one speed. If something needs to be fixed, it is fixed. There are no “down weeks” or “off days.” To waste an opportunity to get better is to give up something you can’t get back. And because there is still time to win. They did not release the trophies on Thursday.
“Yesterday was a dig-it-of-the-dirt kind of afternoon,” Scheffler said Friday. “I try to avoid them as much as possible in competitions, but after the way I felt about football yesterday, it was really necessary, I was almost disappointed and almost didn’t want to go to practice.
“You look at days like today. I had a bad day on the golf course yesterday everywhere. So going out to today, stay really patient, especially after a bad start, to stay patient, grind, get myself back to where – I put myself in contention from this position right into this golf tournament, and it’s one of those places you’ll find on the weekend.
Scheffler made some adjustments to his grip, which led to a better golfing day in the second round and a six-under 65 that moved him into the top 30. He backed that up with a 67 on Saturday and will have at least an outside shot at winning his third WM at the Phoenix Open on Sunday.
Scottie Scheffler was frustrated Thursday in Phoenix. It was an uncharacteristic display from golf’s reigning power. He left the course disappointed that his pre-tournament work, which he was proud of, did not produce the results he wanted.
So Scottie Scheffler went searching because part of true greatness is never empowering – never settle for something that doesn’t meet your standards. Never quit the fight, even if everyone will understand that, for just this one moment, you were.
“Definitely take a lot of pride in days like today,” Scheffler said after charging on Friday. “It’s nice to get back into the competition. Sometimes it feels like there’s nothing worse than missing the cut.”
Scottie Scheffler left the course Thursday tied for 86. On Sunday, you will have a chance to win. That is the importance of never letting go of the rope.
