Scottie Scheffler’s superpower came directly from Tiger Woods

Portrush, Northern Ireland – if there is one thing that seems to worry about Scottie Scheffler in the media room, is the assumption that any of this is easy.

“No,” he said in an interview At the beginning of this yearAsked if the golf was “easy” for him at the moment. He said it with a smile, but it was clear how much he said. “Light It is definitely not the right word. I feel like what I want for this game is how difficult it is. ”

He said something similar after Saturday’s round in the open championship in Royal Portrush, an excellent third round of 14 pars, two birds and an eagle 3 in the seventh par-5. One reporter said it looked “stress -free”, which is understandable, given the Scheffler’s dominance. Scheffler was friendly with his answer – he is almost always – but pushed back into assumption.

“I think the card could look stress -free, but I had two truly pleasant savings in nine backs that were essential,” he said. He escaped from a gnarly lie in No. 11 and held a long blow to par. He hacked one of Tangled Rough in no. 14 and escaped there, too.

“It was a very challenging shot,” he told his second in no. 14. “Fortunately Bari was going with me, but the ball was pretty deep in the bar.”

It’s not easy. He must tell us; Otherwise we would never know.

I would imagine That the viewing of Scottie Scheffler while you are rooting for another player is a disappointing experience. This was the case for the believers of northern Ireland on Saturday; Red world, hot red red no. 2 Rory Mcilroy sparked the crowd some sets forward with long strokes, flag cuffs and even some strange burying magic. His eagle in Par-5 12 gave one of the most vocal noises, he said, for his entire career. The euphoria spread from the hole to the hole, driven by good golf and good weather, a festival of summer and sports.

But Scheffler was in the last time of the day and was crushed, useless, ruthless. Scintillating 66 of World No.2 won it only one shot in world no. 1.

This relentlessness looks like Scheffler’s superpower. The best materials of other pro are the usual Scheffler day. That is not to say that it is always easy – and I will be careful not to say so – but that means he is better in it than they are.

If you are a golf fan You are likely to remember Tiger Woods ’10. 10 came to 2020 masters, played in November due to Covid. He had never had a master’s most like her and Woods, the defensive champion, did something he would never have done, ping-pinging all over the 12th green road on the road to the first double result of his Pro career. But Woods responded with something else he would never have done: he bird five of the last six holes coming home, without a small triumph of the human soul. And playing alongside Woods that day, in the last round of his first masters? Scottie Scheffler.

Scheffler does not necessarily want to talk about himself, which means the best way to understand him may be to hear him describe what he likes in others. And one day last year Scheffler voluntarily a particularly penetrating monologue in the return of Woods November and why that moment stuck with it.

“He has won so many golf tournaments, and he makes a 10 in No. 12 in Augusta, and that bird of five of the last six holes and, I mean, is completely meaningless to him; at that stage of his career, what is the point?

“I just learned a lot by watching it. I mean the way he competes in this game is different than a lot of players. He sets everything he has in every blow he hits in the golf course, which I think is a really underestimated skill here. As when he opens over it, at any moment, to be seen, what is the first one. The first, which is the first, which is seen, which is the first, which is the first, which may be the first.”

What comes out is that Scheffler did not quote the physical attributes of Woods nor his perfect golf swing, but rather the idea that He puts everything he has in every blow. A thousand percent. It’s not easy. It’s not easy. The attempt is the point.

On Saturday evening I asked Scheffler if he allows the mind to wander during these rounds of the tournament. If it happens, you wouldn’t know – Scheffler in general or by lighting his backyard book or on some legs directly in front of his face.

“I think it would be foolish to say that you can never allow your mind to wander,” Scheffler said, usually not impressed with himself. “But I think most of what I can check is the time I have when we are thinking about the goal and when I’m on the ball, and most of that are just committing what I’m doing. So I’m not thinking about the wind, I’m not thinking about how the ball will be dancing. I have a picture of what I want to do, and that’s what I’m dedicated to try and do.”

Golf works in funny ways. They played in the trio that Sunday in masters that year; It was the best way to squeeze in tee time giving limited light time of year. Their third? Shane Lowry. A year ago he would win the open championship. In Royal Portrush.

Scheffler, leading from four, is following Lowry on Sunday, seeking to look for him as a portrait champion defender. He is also following Woods: not his 15 great championships, necessarily, but his shadow and his ghost and his level closed thousands of percent. The scheffler level is as high as it has ever been and is as high as anyone from Woods. And yet, it climbs higher.

“Tomorrow I will go there in the first first and try to get the ball on the right track, and when I go to the second blow I will try to get that ball in green. There is not really much else,” he said, finishing his press conference with a constriction. It is simple when you put it on.

It is simply not easy.

Dylan dethier welcomes your comments to Dylan_dethier@golf.com.

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