The domination of Scottie Scheffler over the golf course continues in the open championship

Portrush, Northern Ireland – A few hours before Scottie Scheffler sends his first kick on Sunday in the air, kicked for a kick -off and started his 18 -hole coronation, the player who won the last time as regards Portrush pulled an iron at 183 yards towards the fourth green and looked at his ball.

The crowd broke out; Shane Lowry threw her hands in the air. When he turned to his shopping cart, cameras caught his remark.

“This match,” he said, “will go crazy.”

Almost all players on the field this week, this adage on golf rings in a different way in a different way. For Lowry, who carries his heart on his sleeve, the volatility of the sport to which he devoted his life is palpable in his expression after each blow. For someone like Rory McILroy, as he showed Masters on Sunday in Augusta this year, emotion is an inextricable part of his game.

Then there is Scheffler.

Whenever he is on the golf course, his emotions seem kept, as if he had placed them in a encrypted safe, he knows how to unlock. Xander Schauffele described him as a “blackout” mode – the way in which Scheffler’s flow state is the one where he is in his own world, disturbed by something other than hitting the next blow and hitting him better than anyone could.

Scheffler sometimes gave an overview of what seems to unlock his frustrations: a putt that breaks in a different direction from what he thought; A corner that is not going as far as expected; A slope that does not react the ball as he thought. Rarely, these things throw him from his game.

“You will not see as much emotion when he continues to hit him like that,” said Jordan Spieth. “The only time you go to see him is when he’s on the Greens if he lacks putts because he doesn’t miss a lot of blows.”

On Sunday, Scheffler’s last step on Royal Portrush was a masterclass, the last exhibition of his domination on his way to his fourth major championship and the third stage of the Grand Chelem in a career. It was more proven than Scheffler’s approach for the game he continues to conquer is different from that of others.

“I don’t think we thought that the golf world would see someone as dominant as Tiger pass so early,” said Schauffele. “And here is Scottie who takes this throne of domination. He is a hard man to beat, and when you see his name in the ranking, it fears for us.”

Throughout the day, the way to scheffler towards victory seemed stresslessly to the naked eye. He pushed his way during the first four holes, making three birdies and barely reacting while the crowd which was rooted for McILroy could not help feeling overcome. On the fifth green, Scheffler calmly drained another Birdie putt to go up by seven shots. All he got was a slight ramp of blows. Then, when he left his approach on the sixth hole per-3 below the green, the galleries applauded his misfortune.

Scheffler cut on the surface, looked at the 16 feet for the peer and did it. A vicious tiger -shaped fist pump ensued. It was the biggest demonstration of emotion that Scheffler had shown all week.

“Bloody Hell,” said a fan in his breath.

“It’s over,” added another.

It had been finished for some time, perhaps on Friday, when Scheffler drew 64. For some, this reality was settled.

“The crowd, I think, wanted someone else to win this week,” said Scheffler. “And in a way I could play a little spoiler, which was also fun.”

Unlike Masters, where he is now a favorite of customers and green jackets, here Scheffler is more like an unknown force of space. Fans have watched its greatness from afar, have heard a lot about its inevitability. But Sunday, as the most rooted for a mcilroy miracle, they were able to witness the type of despair that Scheffler’s game can produce.

As he reached the 18th green and his margin of victory was four, the crowd of Northern Ireland – thousands of strong – had no choice but to give him a standing ovation.

“It was at a different level all week,” said McILroy. “It has been at a different level for two years. It is the bar we are all trying to obtain.”

The story of Scheffler creates with his golf swing that mixes and the comparisons with Tiger from which he takes away is one thing, but what he did to give sport a goliath that each of his peers tries to remove is perhaps even more impressive.

When Woods dominated, the gulf he created between him and everyone was widened more by his athletic capacity compared to others. Today, everyone on tour prioritizes fitness. Almost everyone strikes from afar, and everyone uses the same modern equipment to their advantage. This homogeny isolates two things: coherence and mental approach. Over the past three years, no one has been coherent and no one has approached the pursuit of grandeur as a scheffler. On Sunday, he explained his philosophy again.

“It’s incredible to win the open championship, but in the end, having success in life, whether in golf, work, anything, this is not what meets the deepest desires of your heart,” said Scheffler. “Am I grateful for that? Do I appreciate?

When the final putt fell on 18, Scheffler tightened his shopping cart, Ted Scott, and left a smile. Then Scheffler turned to his family rushing to meet him near the green, and he finally broke the character. He removed his white Nike hat, raised the two arms in the air and, while his face was twisted with ecstasy, let out a cry.

play

Scheffler putt to win the open championship

Look at the Winning Putt of Scottie Scheffler to win his first open championship title.

Scheffler has told us over and over again – the trophies, praise, comparisons with Tiger, historical achievements – do nothing to achieve it. Being a father, a husband, does it. Take it to the word or do not do – clues of what makes him as he was present throughout this 18th green Sunday.

While his family was waiting for his return for the trophy ceremony, Scheffler’s son Bennett played in the grass with a plastic club. His mother, Diane, and his wife, Meredith, took the moment while his father, Scott, released his phone and recorded the scene – the fans surrounding the green, the emblematic open open dash which said “Scheffler -17”.

Scott discussed nearby marshals, sharing Scottie’s childhood stories, delirious about how he bounded double Bogey on n ° 8, recognizing the company that his son now keeps in the history of golf while preaching the same kind of message that his son has adopted in every turn.

“He never thinks about it, he has never done it. He’s just like” for the moment, I’m good at what I’m doing “, said Scott. “I always told him that joy was on the trip. You never know what you will find along the way.”

As Spieth said, “he does not care to be a superstar. He does not transcend the game as Tiger did. He just wants to move away from the game and separate the two. I think it is more the difference in personality of any other superstar that you saw in the modern era and perhaps in any sport. I do not think that anyone is like him.”

In some respects, this is a practical approach. But with Scheffler, it doesn’t take long to understand that it’s real. Unlike Woods and many other players before him, Scheffler does not want a spotlight; He does his best to repel him. However, his game cannot help himself-he continues to place him there.

“There are two chipotles I eat [at] At home, “said Scheffler.” There is one where I grew up, a little close to the SMU campus. If I had to go to this chipotle and try to eat these days, it would be very difficult for me. There is another in another part of the city that I will not tell you where it is, but if I go, nobody ever recognizes me. “”

While the sun was sleeping at the summer night in Portrush, Scheffler returned to the 18th green as the most famous man of the arena for the trophy ceremony. Soon the words came out of the mouth of R&A Mark Darbon.

“The Golfer Champion of the year, Scottie Scheffler.”

The members of his family looked at each other and smiled.

“I do not think that I am nothing special just because some weeks, I am better to draw a score lower than that of others,” said Scheffler. “In some circles, as at the moment, I’m the best player in the world. This week, I was the best player in the world. I’m sitting here with the trophy. We are going to start again at Memphis, back in the same way, the show continues.”

Scheffler is right. The show will continue, but the evidence continues to accumulate: the game that everyone cannot always seem to bend to his will is the one he breaks.