The press conference of Scottie Scheffler ahead of the Open Championship was nearing its end. Twenty minutes in which many seemingly interesting topics had been covered. Then everything turned. The World Number One had something to say, and he certainly said it. A kind of legacy, a testament about what golf means to him and the place it holds in his life. It is everything and it is nothing, he seemed to say. He would give his life to play this sport and would not let golf ruin the rest of his life. A true masterclass on what top-level sport is and how to manage frustration on a daily basis
The lesson has several key points. The teacher starts clearly: “Is it great to be able to win tournaments and achieve what I have in golf? Yes, it makes me cry just thinking about it, because I have literally worked my whole life to be good at this sport. Having that sense of achievement is something quite special. Being able to live your dream is very special, but at the end of the day, I’m not here to inspire the next generation of golfers. I’m not here to inspire someone to be the best in the world, because, what’s the point? This is not a truly fulfilling life for me. It’s incredible in terms of achievements, but it doesn’t fill the deepest places in your heart.”
Like a good teacher, he spices up the lesson with concrete examples: “I think it’s curious. I said something after the Byron Nelson this year, something like it seems you work your whole life to celebrate winning a tournament… for just a few minutes. That euphoric feeling only lasts a few minutes. Winning the Byron Nelson at home, I literally worked my whole life to be good at golf and have the opportunity to win that tournament. I won it, celebrated, got to hug my family, my sister was there, it was an incredible moment. And then it’s like: ‘Well, what’s for dinner?’ Life goes on.
This has led him to question why he works every day and he insists on the idea that the reward barely lasts a few seconds: “Once you reach number one in the world, you think: what’s next? I really believe that, because, what’s the point? Why do I want to win this tournament so much? It’s something I struggle with daily. Like when you arrive at the Masters each year; it’s like: why do I want to win this tournament so much? Why do I want to win The Open? I don’t know, because if I win, it’s going to be incredible for two minutes. And then we get to the next week and you’re asked: ‘You’ve won two majors this year, how important is it now to win the FedExCup playoffs?’ And it starts all over again. So we really work so hard for such brief moments. I’m a workaholic, I love practising. I love living my dreams. But at the end of the day, sometimes I don’t understand the point of all this.
The frustration it generates and the pace they live at is simply exhausting: “If I finish second this week or come last, no matter what happens, we’re always thinking about the next week. That’s one of the most beautiful things about golf, but also one of the most frustrating, because you can achieve incredible things, but the show goes on. That’s how this works.”
A student not well-versed in the subject might understand that the teacher doesn’t enjoy what he does. Nothing could be further from the truth: “I love challenges. I love being able to play this sport for a living. It’s one of the greatest joys of my life, but does it fill the deepest part of my heart? Absolutely not.”
It’s not a contradiction, it’s being aware of the order of priorities each person finds in their life and in Scottie’s case, the love for his family and golf are subjects that complement each other: “I love playing golf. I love competing. I love living my dreams. I love being a father. I love being able to take care of my child. I love being able to support my family thanks to golf.”
Golf is important, but he insists it’s not everything and makes it clear he has red lines: “Every day when I get up early to go train, my wife thanks me for working so hard. And when I get home, I try to thank her every day for taking care of our child. That’s why I always say my priority is family, because it truly is. I feel fortunate to be able to play golf, but if one day it starts to affect my family life or my relationship with my wife or my child, that will be the last day I play golf professionally. This is not everything. It’s not the most important thing in my life. That’s why I wonder why it matters so much to me. Because I would rather be a great father than a great golfer. At the end of the day, that’s what really matters to me,” he concludes as if trying to decipher the paradox he finds himself in
Does this mean Scheffler doesn’t care about the result? Not at all: “I hate losing. I really do, and that’s also why I work so hard to avoid losing, but golf is a sport where you lose much more than you win. It’s that simple. In basketball or football, when there are only two teams, you can win more than you lose. I think I was looking at some statistics… it was one of the best tennis players, maybe Federer or Djokovic or someone like that. They only won about 48% of the points. Playing a professional sport is very strange. It really is. Because we put so much effort, we work so hard for something that is so fleeting. The feeling of winning doesn’t last that long.
Scheffler closes with a final reflection that is a good summary of everything he experiences: “When I sit down at the end of the year to reflect, like having won the Masters or the PGA Championship, I have a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation, but it’s hard to explain how… it just doesn’t fill. It’s an unsatisfying pursuit. I guess what I’m trying to say is that this is not the place to find satisfaction. It’s something you can be very grateful for and feel a lot of appreciation for, as I said, it’s literally one of the most fun things I can do in life. I love competing, but at the end of the day, it’s not what fills me.”
