‘what Is The Point?’ Scottie Scheffler Questions Golf And Life Before Open

Ever since Scottie Scheffler was fixed a integrative group of clubs astatine nan property of three, he has wanted to beryllium nan champion golfer successful nan world. He has won 3 majors, been classed world No 1 since 2023, and is nan favourite for this week’s Open. But astatine an bonzer property convention astatine Portrush connected Tuesday, nan American peered into an existential void arsenic he asked himself: what is nan constituent of it all?

Scheffler was intelligibly happy, and his determination to triumph this week was clear. He besides said eloquently connected nan challenges of links golf. But a hitherto unremarkable property convention abruptly veered into a deeper philosophical hunt for meaning erstwhile nan 29-year-old was asked really agelong he had ever celebrated a victory.

It turned retired nan reply was a fewer minutes. And Scheffler was only getting started, arsenic he past promised to discontinue play if it ever affected his family life.

“There’s a batch of group that make it to what they thought was going to fulfil them successful life, and you get there, you get to No 1 successful nan world, and they’re for illustration what’s nan point?” he said. “I really do judge that, because what is nan point? Why do I want to triumph this tourney truthful bad?

“That’s thing that I wrestle pinch connected a regular basis. Showing up astatine nan Masters each year, it’s like, why do I want to triumph this play tourney truthful badly? Why do I want to triumph nan Open Championship truthful badly? I don’t know. Because, if I win, it’s going to beryllium awesome for 2 minutes. Then we’re going to get to nan adjacent week and it’s ‘hey, you won 2 fields this year; really important is it for you to triumph nan FedExCup playoffs?’ And we’re backmost present again.”

Scheffler was intelligibly successful a bully mood. But he conceded that immoderate joyousness he felt from his achievements was only fleeting and didn’t springiness him overmuch fulfilment.

“To get to unrecorded retired your dreams is very special, but astatine nan extremity of nan day, I’m not retired present to animate nan adjacent procreation of golfers,” he said. “I’m not retired present to animate personification to beryllium nan champion subordinate successful nan world because what’s nan point?

“This is not a fulfilling life. It’s fulfilling from nan consciousness of accomplishment, but it’s not fulfilling from a consciousness of nan deepest places of your heart.”

Perhaps specified an approach, on pinch his deepest held belief beliefs, helps explicate why Scheffler has looked truthful ice-cool moreover erstwhile nan unit is ratcheted up to nan max.

Scottie Scheffler’s Open property convention veered into a deeper philosophical hunt for meaning. Photograph: Francisco Seco/AP

“We really activity truthful difficult for specified small moments,” he said. “I’m benignant of sicko; I emotion putting successful nan work. I emotion getting to practice. I emotion getting to unrecorded retired my dreams. But astatine nan extremity of nan day, sometimes I conscionable don’t understand nan point.

“I don’t cognize if I’m making immoderate consciousness aliases not. It’s conscionable 1 of those deals. I emotion nan challenge. I emotion being capable to play this crippled for a living. It’s 1 of nan top joys of my life, but does it capable nan deepest wants and desires of my heart? Absolutely not.”

Instead Scheffler said that his family mattered acold much – and he would extremity playing master play if it ever affected his narration pinch his wife, Meredith, and his son, Bennett.

“Every time erstwhile I aftermath up early to spell put successful nan work, my woman acknowledgment maine for going retired and moving truthful hard,” he said. “When I get home, I effort to convey her each time for taking attraction of our son. That’s why I talk astir family being my privilege because it really is.

“I’m blessed to beryllium capable to travel retired present and play golf, but if my play ever started affecting my location life aliases it ever affected nan narration I person pinch my woman aliases my son, that’s going to beryllium nan past time that I play retired present for a living.

“This is not nan beryllium all, extremity all,” he added. “This is not nan astir important point successful my life. That’s why I wrestle with, why is this truthful important to me? Because I’d overmuch alternatively beryllium a awesome begetter than I would beryllium a awesome golfer. At nan extremity of nan day, that’s what’s much important to me.”

That doesn’t mean, of course, that Scheffler isn’t profoundly wished to triumph his first Open title astatine Portrush, having achieved his champion decorativeness of seventh astatine Troon past year.

“It’s awesome to triumph tournaments,” he said. “But sometimes nan emotion of winning only lasts a fewer seconds. It’s beautiful breathtaking and fun, but it conscionable doesn’t past that long.”