Scottie Scheffler spoke his golf cap on the Green, barked an explinatory triumph and seemed to be hardly satisfied with one of the largest and most heavily fought tournooio delinions of his career.
“Let’s go f —— g! That’s what I’m talking about!” Scheffler told Caddy Ted Scott after winning the title at the PGA championship earlier this month at Quail Hollow in Charlotte.
Scheffler’s reaction was more a man on a mission – not someone who is satisfied with his latest performance.
What he earned was his third career victory in a big tournament, which contributed to titles at the Masters in 2022 and 2024. That puts him two Majors away from the career Grand Slam, who completed Rory Mcilroy in April with his victory of the masters.
The Career Grand Slam has only been reached six times: McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.
The victory of McIlroy in Augusta means that Scheffler can no longer become the first player to win the Masters, PGA Championship, US Open and Open Championship in one season. But he can still complete the Grand Slam career before 2025 is completed.
Winning three Majors in one season would be an achievement in itself – one that has not been completed since Woods Open, Open Championship and PGA championship in 2000 claimed. He completed the “Tiger Slam” by winning the Masters of 2001, giving him all four large titles at the same time.
More stable than the dynamic force forests ever, Scheffler, 28, was still the best bet to achieve such an achievement in the coming years.
There was Grand Slam Chatter in one season when Scheffler won his second Masters title in 2024. At that time he had earned nine titles for two seasons, including the Masters and Player Championship twice. He added four more tournament delusions in 2024, including the Tour Championship, but was bound in eighth place in the PGA championship, 41st on the US Open and became seventh place in the Open Championship.
This year US Open is Aakmont Snel approaches, set on June 12-15. Scheffler’s best US Open Finish came in 2022, when he came in second place in the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. He followed that with a draw for third in 2023 at Los Angeles Country Club.
Now comes a chance at Oakmont, just outside Pittsburgh. It is not denying the momentum of Scheffler, with back-to-back victories at the Byron Nelson and the PGA championship, followed by a fourth place at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
That Scheffler has said that he has not played his best wave lately. Despite the delivery of six consecutive top 10 Finishes-Zou, it can be a sign that his first US Open title is within reach. Sports books seem to agree, with Scheffler mentioned as the +350 favorite at Draftkings, before McIlroy (+660), Bryson Dechambeau (+1100), Xander Schauffele (+1200) and Jon Rahm (+1200).
“The first two days that I didn’t hit it at my best, and I could somehow post a score,” Scheffler said after winning the PGA championship. “Apart from the last five holes (in round 3), there I really put myself first in the tournament. I mean, the rear nine (Sunday) was also quite special.”
Scheffler has the creepy power to get on the gas when you have to. If he can think of Oakmont’s length and complexities, he will be a step closer to a career Grand Slam in a tournament that will certainly attract worldwide eyes.
The Open Championship, planned for July 17-20, will be played on McIlroy’s Home Turf at Royal Portush in Noord -Irland.
Winning a second and third major in one year is unlikely. Getting the best of McIlroy in his home country will not be easy. But Scheffler has not delivered the success he has by concentrating on the wall for him. His head stays down all the way.
“When I got on the tee on Thursday, I don’t think about what will happen on Sunday. I am preparing for a 72-hole event,” said the always pragmatic Scheffler. “That is what I tell myself on the first tee: they are 72 holes. That’s a lot of time. Those are many holes. Those are many photos.
“I always concentrate on my preparation, and so when I come to the first tee, I tell myself that I have to stay patient, remind myself that I am prepared for this and just go outside and just compete.”
That is exactly what Scheffler is really talking about.
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