Of all the great things that Scottie Scheffler did in marching to glory at Royal Portrush, the 153rd Open bringing him a fourth career Major and three-quarters way to a career Grand Slam, it was a moment of frailty, the one time he seemed as human as the rest of us. It encapsulated how the world number one golfer ticks.
Outwardly, there was little or no emotion when his shot from a fairway bunker on the eighth hole of his final round hit the top of the trap and came back into the sand. Scheffler would run up a double-bogey six, but, like all the greats, he simply moved on to the next shot (to the fairway), then the next shot (to the green) and then to the next (a putt with his infallible TaylorMade Spider) for birdie that demonstrated the cool, clinical machine that the American has become.
In truth, we are watching greatness every time he steps on to a golf course, whether Scheffler cares or not.
We should care, though.
RM Block
Only few players of the modern era, since when all the Majors became professional, have managed to show a level so far above all others that it is at times incomprehensible to imagine how it comes to being.
Ben Hogan, was one. Jack Nicklaus, another. Tiger Woods, for sure.
Others too have touched greatness, such as Arnold Palmer, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo and Rory McIlroy.
[ Open diary: Scottie Scheffler proves the tallest giant among the towering dunes of Royal Portrush ]
To sustain it like Scheffler, who has moved to being Tiger-esque in his outcomes, and in his own way at that, where faith and family are at the heart of his world, with golf being his work and the enabler for the life they live, makes the 29-year-old American stand apart.
Where once we thought McIlroy would be the one to go on and break records set by Nicklaus (18 Major wins) or Woods (who, with Sam Snead, shares the record of 82 PGA Tour wins), Scheffler has moved to a level above all others and with no crystal ball needed to predict further wins will clock up and records will be broken.
If he stays fit and healthy; if the inner-hunger which, since a young age has driven him, stays strong.
The Scheffler shuffle may be at odds with the swings of others. It is not McIlroy. It is not Adam Scott. Unique as it is, nobody has the clubhead hitting ball with greater precision.
Andy Farrell's Lions fire the first shot in Australia
At Portrush – where his claiming of the Claret Jug to go with the Wanamaker Trophy as PGA champion and the Masters trophies he has won twice mean only the US Open trophy is needed to become the seventh member of the elite Grand Slam club – Scheffler’s figures impressively demonstrated his mastery. He was first in total strokes gained, first in strokes gained putting and second in strokes gained approach. In short, there were no weaknesses. Not with his game. Not with his mental fortitude.
He has been world number one for 149 weeks in his career, the current uninterrupted streak – his fourth at the top of the official world golf rankings – has now extended to 114 weeks since May 2023.
But the back story is that Scheffler’s points average is 20.25, which is more than eight better than McIlroy in second and almost 13 ahead of Xander Schauffele in third. He will be there for a long time yet and is likely to move even further ahead heading into the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs.
For context, the only player to hit those heights of a plus-20 average was, not surprisingly, Woods (back in July 2008), according to rankings expert Nosferatu.
Another striking comparison with Woods is that Scheffler became only the second incumbent world number one to lift the Claret Jug. Woods did so three times (2000, 2005 and 2006).
Scheffler has already moved into the territory of greatness and, if not obsessed with the Ws (wins) as Woods was, his actions and achievements are speaking loudest.
One of the greats, already.
