Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, discuss if Scottie Scheffler’s Open Championship win, whether or not he can catch Tiger Woods’ major total, Rory McIlroy’s homecoming and everything we learned at Royal Portrush.
Scottie Scheffler dominated at Royal Portrush, finishing 17 under par and winning by four in what was one of the most anticlimactic major Sundays in recent memory. Scheffler, at age 29, now has four major titles, and how he lapped the competition is reminiscent of Tiger Woods’ prime. Is it premature to wonder if Woods’ 15 major titles are in reach? If so, when does that conversation need to start?
Jessica Marksbury, multimedia editor (@jess_marksbury): Tiger showed us that Jack’s major title was actually achievable — and you could argue that, given the many years of injury Tiger endured during his prime, he really should have won more than 15. But watching Scottie, it’s hard not to imagine him eclipsing Tiger — and maybe even Jack. I know there’s some recency bias at play, and there’s a lot that needs to happen, of course, to bring that all to fruition. Scottie has to avoid serious injury and somehow maintain this outrageously high level of play for the next decade-plus. But man, it sure does seem possible right here, right now.
Josh Sens, senior writer (@joshsens): Tiger had twice as many majors by 29, but Scheffler has a superpower that Tiger lacked at that age: he seems entirely at peace with himself. Not too early to start a harmless water-cooler conversation. Assuming he stays healthy and yip-free, Scheffler’s got a shot at it, with another decade or so of golf prime ahead of him. The fact that he’s not the type of guy who will be paying attention to any of our water-cooler chatter will only help his chances more.
Josh Schrock, news editor (@Schrock_And_Awe): Scottie has a shot at it, but I think we might be discounting how many majors that is, given the current depth in men’s golf. I think four or five is a ton. For Scottie to win 11 more against this group would require an unbelievable level of sustained excellence and injury luck. It’s possible, but it’s still a massive ask, even for the guy who is the best player since Tiger.
Zephyr Melton, associate game-improvement editor (@zephyrmelton): Scottie may be on a Tiger-like run, but 15 majors is too high a total to reach in the current era. I could see Scottie threatening double digits, but that feels like his ceiling.
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Scheffler has won his four majors in four years, but other pros have gone on heaters before, too. Most recently, Brooks Koepka won four in three years; Jordan Spieth won three in three years; and Rory McIlroy won four in four years. What makes you think Scheffler will or won’t taper off like this group?
Marksbury: Scottie seems grounded in so many valuable ways: faith, family, lifestyle, that there doesn’t appear to be anything in his way. He’s just so steady.
Sens: Agreed, Jess. Spieth seems similarly at peace with his life, but his game was never as well-rounded as Scheffler’s. And unlike Koepka and McIlroy, Scheffler does not appear to have any let-up week to week. And that seems to stem from his life outside of golf. He knows that golf matters, but he also understands it only matters so much.
Schrock: You don’t need to look further than his pre-tournament press conference. He loves golf, competing, and the work required to be great. But the fact that he isn’t defined by his golf allows him to do what he’s doing. Rory once talked about how he used to think less of himself as a person if he played a bad round. His golf defined his existence. That Scottie clearly puts his family and faith ahead of golf should give him a good shot at maintaining a high level of play. Longevity is something that isn’t talked about enough; it’s the impressive thing about Rory. Scottie is far, far ahead of everyone right now and has been for two years. I’ll be interested to see how long he can continue this.
Melton: As my colleagues mentioned above, Scottie’s mindset is what sets him apart from his competitors, and that’s something that can’t be learned. In terms of on-course play, Scottie’s combination of course-management discipline and distance control with his irons is a deadly combo; it’s why when he’s playing well, it looks so boring. When you’re hitting to the correct spots with the correct numbers and rolling in a few putts, you become tough to beat.
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The last time the Open was at Royal Portrush, Rory McIlroy fizzled in a disappointing homecoming and missed the cut. This time, he seemed rejuvenated, produced Tiger-like galleries, and finished T7. Will this week be remembered for Scottie’s first Claret Jug or Rory’s proper return to Northern Ireland?
Marksbury: Great to see Rory’s redemption here at Portrush, and it probably stung a bit less to have such a deficit to make up, given Scottie’s lead. This major will definitely be remembered for Scottie’s first Open win, but there was no doubting who the crowd favorite was this week, and that was Rory.
Sens: Rory McIlroy is a career Grand Slam winner and a future Hall of Famer. We shouldn’t be giving him participation prizes and I doubt he’d be satisfied with them anyway. This week was about Scheffler winning another major. Rory having a nice showing doesn’t count as much of a conversation piece.
Schrock: I’m going to go ahead and zag here. I don’t think it’s a participation prize to say that Rory’s week was much better and more meaningful than six years ago. Justin Leonard spoke about the burden for Rory having to play in front of his home country with everyone trying to will him over the line. This was Scottie’s major, but he will win more, and I think the lasting image from the Open’s Portrush return will be Rory fist-pumping as he made eagle on Saturday to send the crowd into a fit of delirium.
Melton: It will certainly be meaningful for Rory on a personal level, but in the grand scheme of things, few casual fans will remember much from his performance this week. It was a feel-good story, sure, but Scottie claiming the Claret Jug is the only thing that matters.
Royal Portrush was the final major before the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black this fall. What’s your biggest Ryder Cup takeaway from the last four days?
Marksbury: Harris English’s runner-up finish took him from a fringe captain’s pick to a veritable lock. And depending on how he performs in the playoffs, his stock may soar even higher.
Sens: That Keegan Bradley should play on Team USA and that the European team is sneaky deep.
Schrock: Team Europe should run the 2023 team back. All 12. Team USA’s picture is still murky. Scottie, Xander, Bryson, JT, J.J. Spaun, Harris English, Russell Henley and Collin Morikawa will either qualify or get picked. It feels like Keegan should play. That’s eight. What do they do with Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Spieth? Is Ben Griffin on? Can Chris Gotterup kick down the door? Still a lot of questions for Team USA while the Europeans seem settled unless Luke Donald feels compelled to pick Sergio.
Melton: Chris Gotterup should be on the team. If he plays well over the next month, there’s little doubt in my mind he should be a pick for Bethpage.
Who won the Open Championship without winning the Open Championship?
Marksbury: Chris Gotterup went from sort of an unknown to a recognizable name in the span of two weeks. Yes, he won in Myrtle Beach last year, but the Scottish Open steal from Rory put him more prominently on the map last week, and he backed it up with a stellar solo third at the Open. A pretty profound resume glow-up!
Sens: Lee Westwood has to be feeling pretty good about his week – qualified his way in and then put himself in the conversation into the weekend. Not bad for a guy who a lot of fans might have forgotten was still competing at all.
Schrock: Has to be Haotong Li. He was the first player from China to play in the final group of a major in the final round and finished T4 to punch his ticket to the Masters next year. For a guy who gave up golf for six months and has dug it out of the dirt, that was an awesome four days.
Melton: Love the Hatong shoutout, Schrock. Can’t wait to see him at Augusta in the spring. But how about Bryson’s bounceback? He shot himself out of the tourney on Day 1, but his last three rounds were nails. Nice to see him stay in the fight and post a solid week.
Finally, what did you learn this week?
Marksbury: The glory of Ireland in the sunshine is pretty much as good as it gets.
Sens: Due to family circumstances, I was forced to tune in to the event from afar on BBC radio. I think I’ve found my new favorite golf broadcast team.
Schrock: Another major year flew by without Spieth, Thomas or Morikawa winning. It feels like a lot of golf’s “stars” in the non-Scottie/Rory division spent another year of their prime doing little on the big stages. Next year will be Year 9 for Spieth since the win at Birkdale. Collin hasn’t won since the 2021 Open and JT’s back-nine blackout at Southern Hills is the only thing keeping us from having a real conversation about his play in majors. A disappointing year for some of the big names.
Melton: Royal Portrush is a fun venue. I don’t remember much from the 2019 Open, but this edition was a blast. Here’s to hoping they return soon.
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