The US Open always coincides with the NBA finals. It’s a classic. If a golfer is a big basketball fan, they have to juggle their schedule for the week. It gets complicated. Scheffler played basketball at a high level in his younger days and really likes the NBA. In fact, among his main memories of 2016, the year he played his first US Open, is the NBA final of that year.
“I was very interested. Cleveland and the Warriors played, LeBron against Curry. It was a very important final. I arranged everything to be able to watch it. I remember I ran as much as I could on the first day to finish in time before the suspension to watch the game.” This year, however, he is not as interested. In fact, he’s not even going to watch it.
The reason is not that Oklahoma and Indiana seem like bad teams or uninteresting, it’s simply that Scheffler has confessed to a depression. “This year’s Finals won’t affect my schedule as much. Since the Mavs (he’s a Dallas fan) traded Luka (Doncic), I’ve been a bit depressed watching the NBA. It still hurts a bit. We’ll have to regroup and prepare for the next season with the Mavs,” he explained. Scottie is one of many Dallas fans who haven’t quite understood the franchise owner’s move.
Having confessed that pain and sorrow for the absence of the former Real Madrid player, Scheffler has shared a story from his practice round that nearly ended in another depression. It happened while playing the 8th hole, the very long par 3 of nearly 300 yards.
The group consisted of Scheffler himself, Sam Burns, and the amateur, US Amateur finalist, Noah Kent. Scottie recounts, “Noah pulled out of his bag that 3-iron that hits like 270 yards. I think he had it made this week. A kind of fairway hunter for Oakmont. Seeing him grab the 3-iron, we joked with him because Sam and I grabbed the driver. At one point, he asked his caddie if he could reach the green with that club, and I said no, no way. Of course, he hit the 3-iron and reached the green. Sam told him, you know, you’re making us feel really bad right now,” he joked.
Asked about what he will hit on that hole, Scheffler doesn’t mess around. “I’m going to try to hit the green, whether with a 3-wood or a driver from that back tee depending on the wind. Basically, I’ll just try to get the ball on the green and make two putts.” As clear, straightforward, and simple as always.
The same goes for talking about Oakmont. He is one of the few who hasn’t complained about the difficulty of the course; rather, it seems he is eager to face the challenge, or at least that’s what he says. “The golf course is fine. The rough is healthy. The course is in excellent condition, so it should be ready for a really good week. It doesn’t seem like we’re going to have rain today or tomorrow, so it should be quite firm by Wednesday, which should make it play well.” At first glance, he doesn’t seem very worried…
