Scottie Scheffler has rolled up his sleeves more in the press room than during the last 18 holes of the Open Championship. The World Number One has made an effort to clearly explain his life philosophy, the (fair) importance he places on victories, the (fair) importance he places on himself, and has discussed happiness, fame, and placed special emphasis on the value of the culture of effort.
If one had to define Scottie’s mood after winning the Open, it leans more towards satisfaction than happiness. This is where the culture of effort plays a fundamental role in his life. His take is as follows: what joy that I have won because I have dedicated many hours to this. It is the fruit of his hard work. “Being able to walk down the 18th with the tournament secured is something very difficult to describe. It’s a very special feeling. I am very grateful to be able to achieve something like this. It has required a lot of work, effort, and a lot of patience. A high level of concentration over 72 holes. It has been one of my most important mental challenges of my career. Just one mistake (double bogey on the 8th) in the last 36 holes is very significant for me. It takes a lot of work to get to this point in my career,” he states.
Victories are important, but they do not define his life or his happiness. In his pre-Open press conference, he hinted that triumphs gave him just a few minutes of happiness, but he believes he was misunderstood or did not explain himself well. On this occasion, he elaborated. “We now live in an era where only clickbait is sought. A five-minute clip is reduced to three words. This underestimates what I was trying to communicate. I am immensely grateful to experience moments like these. I have literally worked my entire life to be good at golf and play it professionally. Competing here is one of the greatest pleasures of my life. Being able to win the Open here in Portrush is a feeling very difficult to describe. I am very fortunate to be able to live my dreams. As a child in Texas, I wanted to play professional golf. I always went out on the course in long trousers because I wanted to play professional golf. Because that’s what I saw Justin Leonard, Harrison Frazar… Those guys wore long trousers on TV, and I wanted to be like them. I never wore shorts. Not even when it was 38 degrees. People made fun of me. But that’s what I wanted to do, I wanted to be a professional golfer, so I wore trousers. I am infinitely lucky to be able to live my dreams, and I am very grateful. Yes, it’s incredible to win the Open Championship, but at the end of the day, succeeding in life, whether in golf, work, or whatever, does not satisfy the deepest desires of your heart. Am I grateful for it? Do I enjoy it? My God, yes, it’s an incredible feeling. I am looking forward to celebrating this with the people who have helped me along the way. But deep down, it does not satisfy the deepest desires of my heart. I know it’s hard to explain, but that’s how it is. I talked about it with Shane Lowry this week, winning a tournament doesn’t make you happy. Maybe for a few moments, maybe a few days, but in the end, there is more to life than playing golf.”
Having said that, when compared to Tiger Woods, you can imagine his response. “That’s nonsense. Tiger won, what, 15 Majors? This is my fourth. I’ve only covered a quarter of the way. I think Tiger stands alone in this game. He was an inspiration to me. He was a very, very talented guy, and he was a special person for being as good as he was. I don’t focus on those kinds of things. That’s not what motivates me. I’m not motivated by winning championships. I don’t look at the start of the year and say, hey, I want to win X number of tournaments, I want to win whatever. I don’t do that. I have dreams and aspirations that I think about, but at the end of the day, when I wake up to practice, I feel that what motivates me is going out and living my dream. I play professional golf, and I feel that I am called to do it as best as I can. When I wake up in the morning, I try to put in the maximum effort every day that I go out to practice. When I’m training, in the ice bath, doing recovery, I feel that I am called to do it as best as I can. Beyond that, I don’t put much emphasis on winning tournaments. I don’t put much emphasis on the things I can achieve. It’s mainly about doing the right work and coming out here to compete,” he explains.
Scottie has very clear priorities in his life. It’s likely that they won’t surprise anyone. “My two priorities are my faith and my family. Golf is the third. I don’t identify myself as a golfer. I don’t identify myself by winning tournaments or being famous or whatever. Near my house, there’s a Chipotle (Mexican food restaurant). I’ve stopped going because it’s very difficult for me now. I go to another one on the other side of the city, which I won’t say where it is, but where no one ever recognises me (Laughs). Fame is just one of those things. In some circles, like this one, I am the best player in the world. This week I was the best player in the world. I’m sitting here with the trophy. But now we go to Memphis, and the show goes on. I don’t feel different because I have won a golf tournament. This is not the be-all and end-all for me, although I am extremely grateful for it. I’m not kidding, I have worked since I was two or three years old to have the opportunity to play golf professionally, and now I have been able to win tournaments I barely dreamed of playing. It’s an incredible feeling, and I am very grateful. But my faith and my family are the most important things to me. I try to live as normal a life as possible because I feel like a normal guy. I have the same friends I grew up with. I don’t think I’m something special just because some weeks I’m better at getting fewer strokes than other guys,” he states.
Of course, he doesn’t stop to think about the possible Grand Slam next year, he only thinks about the present and enjoying it with his team, which he especially values for its humility. “I have a great team around me, and it all starts with my coach Randy Smith. They are all humble. They work together. No one has all the answers, I feel like we just have a lot of fun and love being able to practice towards these things. It will be even more fun to get home and be able to celebrate,” he notes.
Regarding his celebration on the 18th, Scheffler explained that he felt like a party pooper. “I didn’t really know if I would receive so much support from the crowd. I think the crowd wanted someone else to win this week, and I had to be a bit of a party pooper, which was also fun. It was really a great reception. I heard a lot of fans supporting me today. It was a very cool atmosphere to play in. Then, at the end, the first person I always look for when I have the chance to win is my wife. We usually always come off the 18th on the right side, so at first, I didn’t see her. So I thought, my God, where is Meredith? What happened? She’s not there. As I circled the green, I saw my dad. I thought, perfect, my family must be down there, so I saw Meredith. She is always the first person I want to celebrate with. She knows me better than anyone. She is my best friend. It takes a lot of work to be good at this game, and I couldn’t do it without her support. She does a tremendous job taking care of everything at home and allowing me to dedicate time and effort to golf. Because it’s a lot. It’s not a lifestyle that’s suitable for everyone,” he emphasises.
Within his team, Scheffler had very special words for Phil Kenyon. “I’ve done a great job with Phil over the last two years. He’s a great guy I can discuss things with. He’s a tremendous coach and also a great friend. We’ve made really good progress. My golf from tee to green wasn’t always the best. My results as a kid came with my short game, as I was quite a small kid until I had a growth spurt. I grew up having to be good at chipping and putting. I had a couple of years on the Tour where I didn’t putt as well as I felt I could. I knew it was there. It was a matter of finding the right things to work on. Phil has been tremendous for me. He helped me be more athletic, giving me the confidence I need to go out and just be committed to what I’m doing. If what happened to me last week in Scotland had been two or three years ago, I surely would have changed something this week. However, I talked to Phil, and he just asked me: how did you feel? I said, man, I think I did pretty well, but the ball just didn’t go in. Phil checked that I was aligning well, confirmed it, and we didn’t give it more importance. I went out this week and putted well.”
