In the week following his runaway victory at the Open Championship, fellow players from the PGA Tour and around the world of golf have commented on what makes the number one player in the world, Scottie Scheffler, so special.
Rory McIlroy Has High Praise For Scheffler
When asked about Scottie Scheffler after the Open Championship at Royal Portrush, the second ranked player in the world, Rory McIlroy did not hold back his admiration for Scheffler.
“In a historical context, you could argue that there’s only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run, the one that Scottie’s been on here for the last 24 to 36 months,” McIlroy said. “[It is]
Incredibly impressive.”
McIlroy, who over the last few years has been one of golf’s great ambassadors went on to speak more about Scheffler stating, “Yeah, he’s a very worthy winner. Also, he’s a great person, and I think he’s a wonderful ambassador for our game as well. I’m really happy for him and Meredith and his family.”
McIlroy used the term “admiration” to describe how he has felt about Scottie Scheffler since 2021 when he started to make a name for himself in professional golf. “I think all you can do is admire what he does and how he does it. I think what he does is one thing, but how he does it is another. “He just goes about his business, doesn’t do anything overly flamboyant, but he’s the best at executing in the game right now.
“Yeah, he’s been absolutely amazing over these past two to three years. As I said, all you can do is tip your cap and watch in admiration.” McIlroy has stated in the past that Scheffler is now the bar that professional golfers are trying to reach, and McIlroy has even tried to pattern aspects of his game after the world number one player.
Jordan Spieth On Scheffler’s Mentality
Fellow Texan Jordan Spieth was asked about what makes Scheffler so unique after the Open Championship and the former champion himself had some interesting comments about the world number one player.
“He doesn’t care to be a superstar. He’s not transcending the game like Tiger did. He’s not bringing it to a non-golf audience necessarily. He doesn’t want to go do the stuff that a lot of us go do, corporately, anything like that. He just wants to get away from the game and separate the two because I know that … he felt it was too much, that he was taking it with him. I think it’s more so the difference in personality from any other superstar that you’ve seen in the modern era and maybe in any sport. I don’t think anybody is like him.”
Shane Lowry Thought Scheffler May “Birdie Every Hole.”
2019 Open Champion Shane Lowry had a front row seat for the Scottie Scheffler show, having played with him the first two rounds at Royal Portrush. Lowry, who won the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in 2019, raved about Scheffler’s play.
“I played with him the first two days,” Lowry explained. “And honestly, I thought he was going to birdie every hole. It was incredible to watch.”
Lowry went on to comment about Scheffler’s unique swing and how it keeps people from putting him on even a higher pedestal. “I think if Scottie’s feet stayed stable and his swing looked like Adam Scott’s, we’d be talking about him in the same words as Tiger Woods.”
“I just think because it doesn’t look so perfect, we don’t talk about him like that. I think he’s just incredible to watch, and his bad shots are really good. That’s when you know he’s really good.”
Bryson DeChambeau Takes A Shot At Scottie Scheffler
After playing a fantastic final three rounds at Royal Portrush after a disastrous first round 78, Bryson DeChambeau had some interesting comments about Scheffler and also took a shot at the world number one about their college days.
“Scottie’s in a league of his own right now,” DeChambeau said. “I played with him a lot in college, and he was not that good, so he’s figured out a lot of stuff since then. It’s really impressive to see and something we can all learn from for sure.”
Harris English Wonders: How Do We Beat This Guy?
Coming off an impressive performance in the Open Championship where he fell four shots short of Scheffler for the championship, Harris English couldn’t seem to find any holes in Scheffler’s game.
“Yeah, it’s incredible. I wasn’t playing professional golf when Tiger was at his peak, early 2000’s, mid 2000’s. But it’s pretty incredible. Just how good of a frontrunner he is. He’s improved his putting. There’s no stat that he’s bad in. It’s like, how do you beat this guy?”
English elaborated more about Scheffler and made sure to comment on his relentless work ethic. “But he works so hard, and I see him in the gym all the time, see him practising. He’s one of the hardest workers I see I’ve ever seen, and to have No. 1 in the world working that hard, it just makes it that much harder to catch him. What he’s doing right now is incredible.”
With Scheffler seemingly not slowing down anytime soon, players are going to have to find ways to elevate their games in order to get to Scheffler’s level. If they cannot do that, we may be in the midst of one of the greatest runs in golf history.