Scottie Scheffler happy to fly under the radar
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Scottie Scheffler is unconcerned about the lack of attention he gets, despite holding a healthy lead at the top of the world rankings.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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HOYLAKE – Scottie Scheffler has been a model of consistency this season and holds a healthy lead at the top of the world rankings but, as usual, he is coming into this week’s British Open somewhat under the radar.
The 27-year-old American, who won his only Major at the 2022 Masters and recorded top-10 finishes in 15 of the 19 events he has played this season, is unconcerned about the lack of attention he gets.
“I’m not really sure where the radar is,” he said on Tuesday. “I do my best to try not to pay attention to that stuff. I try to prepare for each event the same way.”
Scheffler was in contention to win the 2022 Open at St Andrews before fading with a closing 74 to finish tied-21st.
He won this season’s Players Championship, was joint-10th at the Masters, tied-second at the PGA Championship and third in the US Open, a run which suggests he will again be among the main challengers at Hoylake.
“I always get excited for the Majors. They’re my favourite tournaments to play, best fields, usually the best golf courses,” he said.
“It’s nice to be able to look back at the last year or two and see some good results. I don’t focus too much energy on one area of the game.”
Scheffler has been criticised for hiding his emotions on the course, but he will not be changing his approach any time soon.
“I think I was viewed as probably a touch boring and didn’t really show much emotion and whatever else you could think of,” he said.
“I don’t try to overthink things. I try to keep things as simple as possible, and that recipe has been working well. Just trying to hit it a little bit better, chip a little bit better and putt a little bit better.”
Missed putts have proved costly for Scheffler but he believes he is close to rediscovering his touch on the greens.
“I’m hitting a lot of good putts,” he said. “Pretty soon, a lot of those good putts will start falling in the middle of the hole instead of dodging around the side of it.”
Scheffler – along with Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith, both from the rival LIV Golf camp – played a practice round on Monday with Zach Johnson, and the topic of 2023’s Ryder Cup just happened to come up.
Koepka called his conversations with United States Ryder Cup captain Johnson “interesting”.
“We got to talk about (the Ryder Cup) a bit, just what’s going on, I guess how the team are shaping up. It’s kind of interesting,” he said.
“Yeah, it was just hearing his perspective and all the stuff he’s got to do. The PGA of America does a really good job in easing it for him, and just kind of talking about the preparation for it, what our team are going to do, where are we going to be, and just a little bit more about the shuffle of guys and the stuff they have kind of behind the scenes, stats, stuff like that.”
At this point, it remains unclear if LIV players will be allowed to participate in the Ryder Cup on either side. For his part, Koepka is third in the US rankings, all and only on the heels of his performance in the Majors.
It was first thought that players who jumped to LIV had forfeited any chance of participating in the Ryder Cup. But as recently as May, Johnson said “no decisions have been made” regarding LIV players and the Ryder Cup.
Koepka and Dustin Johnson are two LIV players who remain eligible for the Ryder Cup because they were granted PGA of America membership – a requirement to be selected for the team – until 2024. REUTERS
