Scottie Scheffler researches Tiger Woods – and then steals his superpower

Portrush in Northern Ireland – If one thing seems to bother Scottie Scheffler in the media room, it is the assumption that either of them is effortless.

“No,” he said in an interview earlier this year, whether golf is “easy” for him at the moment. He said with a smile, but it was obvious what he meant. “Simple Absolutely not the right word. I think it’s so difficult for my love for this game. ”

He made a similar move at the Open Championships at Royal Portrait on Saturday, a brilliant third round 67 consisting of 14 pars, two birdies and an eagle 3. One reporter said it seems “pressure-free” given Schefler’s dominance, which is understandable. Schaffler was friendly to his answers – he almost always – but fell down the assumption.

“I think this card may not look stress-free, but my very good savings in the last nine are key,” he said. He escaped from the rough lies of No. 11 and knocked out a long putt for PAR. He cut a man from the tangled tangle of No. 14 and escaped with par.

“Luckily, my sloppy walked with me, but the ball was deep in the grass,” he said of his second at No. 14.

This is not easy. He must tell us; otherwise we will never know.

I’ll think Watching Scottie Scheffler is a frustrating experience as you cheer for another player. That’s the case with the loyal people in Northern Ireland on Saturday. The red shirt, warm world ranked second, Rory McIlroy ignited several crowds with long putts, marked irons and even some bizarre buried burial magic. He said his Hawks showed one of the biggest roars throughout his career in five-shot five-shot competition. Euphoria spreads from the hole to the hole, stimulated by good golf and good weather, which is a festive summer and sports celebration.

But Schefler worked tirelessly and unremittingly in the last game of the day. The world’s No. 2 flash 66 won a shot in the world’s No. 1 competition.

Such ruthless people seem to be Scheffler’s superpower. The other good thing about the best is Scheffler’s usual. That doesn’t mean it’s easy – I’ll be careful not to say that – but it does mean he’s better than them.

If you are a golf fan You may remember Tiger Woods’ 10. 10 was in the 2020 Masters, which played in November due to Covid. Never had a Masters like this, defending champion Woods did something he had never done before, hovering on his first double-digit score of his career on the way to the twelfth green. But Woods responded to something else he had never done: five of the birds in the last six holes he went home, a victory for the human spirit. That day, play with the Forest in the final round of his first masters? Scottie Scheffler.

Scheffler doesn’t necessarily like to talk about himself, which means the best way to know him is to listen to him describe his likes among others. One day last year, Scheffler volunteered to participate in Woods’ particularly insightful monologue of November’s comeback and why that moment has been bothering him.

“He won so many golf tournaments, he was 10th in Augusta, five of his last six holes, I mean, that was meaningless to him; at that stage of his career, what’s the point? Just to have him stand there completely and I have to impress you, this is the day I’ve seen it, that’s my three people, that’s my three people, that’s those who were mine, that’s those who were mine.

“I learned a lot just by looking at him. I mean he competes in this game differently than a lot of players. He puts everything he has into every photo he plays on the golf course, and I think it’s a really underrated skill. Just like he was on Thursday’s last minute, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like him, he was like. ”

What insists is that Schefler did not quote Woods’ physical attributes, nor was his perfect golf swing, but the idea He threw everything he had into every shot. one thousand%. This is not easy. This is not easy. Work is the key point.

On Saturday night, I asked Schefler if he let his mind wander through these games. If so, you wouldn’t know – Sffler usually stares at his yardage book, or is directly a few feet in front of his face.

“I don’t think it’s stupid to think you’ll never let your mind wander,” Sffler said. “But I think most of the time I can control is when I’m thinking about the shot and when I cross the ball, and most of it is just dedicated to what I’m doing. So I’m not thinking about the wind, I’m not thinking about the bounce of the ball. What I want to do is what I want to do, and that’s what I’m committed to trying and achieving.”

Golf works in fun ways. They competed in the Masters that year with a third of the time. Given the limited light throughout the year, this is the best way to squeeze while teeing. Their third one? Shane Lowry. He won the Open Championship a year ago. In the royal portrait.

Scheffler, who led four, chased Lowry on Sunday in hopes of replacing him as the defending champion. He is also chasing the woods: not necessarily his 15 major champions, but his shadow and ghost and one-thousandth of lockdown levels. Scheffler is as high as ever and has been high for anyone since Woods. Despite this, he climbed higher.

He said: “Tomorrow I’m going to stand there on the first tee and I’m going to try to bring the ball to the fairway and when I get the second shot I’m going to try to get the ball green on the ball. There’s not a lot of other things yet.” It’s simple, when you say that.

It’s just not easy.

Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments via dylan_dethier@golf.com.

“>