Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are comparative studies. That’s a good thing

Finally, we go back to golf.

After a long and tiring period, the two most outstanding golfers are Saudi investor (Yasir al-Rumayyan) and PGA Tour executive (Jay Monahan), Golf returns to golfer (most prominent) Rory McIlroy, the latest addition to the professional Grand Slam Club and Scottie Slam Scheffler, Scottie Scheffler, golfer, golf philosopher and new class.

Both golfers are dynamic characters in their own way, showing their performances in their games, their interviews, their Sunday night I’m the winner’s dance, and their Jimmy Fallon performance.

Maybe we’ll see them face to face each other in Sunday singles at the Ryder Cup in Long Island in September. They can make a joint appearance on the next day on Fallon’s late night show. It’s only 40 miles from Bethpage Black to Rockefeller Center’s NBC Studios, but the Long Island Expressway entering town is always nonsense. What is not?

Do you bet that given his history with the Augusta Nationals, Rory McIlroy will win the Masters, starting with his first appearance and various opportunities in the coming years with the weird rules? Also, all the latest live broadcasts are heartbroken? (See: Wyndham Clark Celebration, Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau.) Mick will tell you, Phil, Snead, Arnold, T. Watson and other golf legends will also tell you: You can’t always get what you want. On Sunday afternoon in Augusta, Rory looked like he had a crash again. Live sports. live theater. there is nothing.

There, late that Sunday afternoon, he made a short putt, and he won the playoffs with Justin Rose. McIlroy was only 36 months old and fell in his hand, stretched his elbow for 20 seconds, his hand on his face and his chest was bulging. He later said that his emotions were everywhere. . . comfort. Millions of McIlroy have been looking forward to this moment for a decade. Even AI can’t measure mental weight, but it must be a heavy burden.

Two weeks later, McIlroy sat next to Fallon in a new sports jacket and a thick tie for a 10-minute entertainment interview. He looked at the 18th green still life photo, and Fallon asked the Masters Champion to reveal his thought bubble. “I was just thinking, ‘Thank God’s over,'” McIlroy said.

Scheffler, 29, won the British Open with four shots in a wet match on Sunday night. His golf is not a rich man, but it is merciless. According to golf standards, his waiting time is not long. This opening is just his fifth. He won the win with an 18-inch match, pulling the ball out of the hole, he hugged the caddie, shaking his brother with his game partner, and he wiped his forehead. His arms were only shaking after seeing his wife and their young son.

When Scheffler appeared with Fallon, it wasn’t an interview at all. Something. Fallon requests a meeting with Kellert’s jug in his opening monologue. (This is the name of the trophy you won to win the British Open. Why would anyone deny the capital of this proper noun C and her deserved capital J?) Scheffler’s photo rose, without a can. The photo of the fruit rose, without Scheffler. Then, behind the blue curtains, is a big reveal: Schaeffler and Kellert jars are wearing shirts he borrowed from the bowling league team on Monday night. Fallon himself is a golf ball and took a selfie.

McIlroy looks inward in Augusta’s victory. Schefller looks to his family in Porthush’s victory. You might be attracted to one person, but the truth is a victory won at a different moment in his career. McIlroy comes from a rich tradition, the vigorous golfer. Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman, Seve Ballesteros, Phil Mickelson also departed from this tradition. Scheffler is meditative and quiet, following the traditions of Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson. (It’s hard to divide Tiger Woods into one category or another.) The places that make this world interesting require a variety of places.

Golf is in a nice place, with Scheffler and McIlroy hitting first and second. On a July day in 1977, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson walked one on the last hole of Turnberry’s Open, each arm surrounding each other. Looking at that photo, you may not know who won. Golf is about a million things, theaters, rules books, weird equipment. Technical requirements for swing. But especially, it’s about the people who play it and how they express themselves through golf. Rory in the early spring was in the Masters, Scheffler in the Open summer – so good. so good!

Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments via michael.bamberger@golf.com