Last year, Rory McIlroy arrived at the idyllic Pebble Beach and announced that he wanted to play more like Scottie Scheffler. The plan was to combat his own aggressive tendencies, take the smart route and never shoot himself out of a tournament. If you give yourself more chances to win, as Scheffler does, the cards will eventually fall more and more in your favor.
McIlroy won that week. He then won the Players before completing the Grand Slam career at the Masters. Scheffler then dominated the summer and fall.
A year later, McIlroy returned to one of golf’s great cathedrals as defending champion and was asked to recap Scheffler’s career in golf, which included a run of 17 consecutive top 10s (18 if you count the Hero World Challenge) entering the week. Scheffler’s last top 10 was a T3 at the WM Phoenix Open, where he opened with a 2-over 73 before going 65-67-64 over the final three rounds and missing the playoff by one shot.
McIlroy criticized his own inconsistency after the Masters last year, while praising Scheffler’s ability to put things together and move up the rankings whether he has his A-game or not. McIlroy thought of one word and one golf icon.
“He’s ruthless,” McIlroy said.
“I’ll never stop singing Scottie’s praises because he’s incredible at what he does and the way he does it, and that’s never – I’ve had such great runs, but I’ve always been a little bit more up and down,” McIlroy said. “I think anyone who wants to catch Scottie or get anywhere close to it is going to have to put on those types of games consistently week in and week out, just like he did. He’s really the first since Tiger to do it.”
Last week in Phoenix, Scheffler revealed a layer of his greatness when he talked about how he was so discouraged after his first round that he didn’t even want to try to get it out of the ground. But his competitive desire to not only score, but also consistently stay at the top of the leaderboard won the day. Where some players spend weeks in trouble or let the rope slip when faced with an early climb up the leaderboard, part of Scheffler’s greatness lies in his unwillingness to give in.
With McIlroy’s praises still hanging in the air over Stillwater Cove, Scheffler went to work to make them come true.
The world number 1 opened with an even-par 72, starting ten strokes behind 18-hole leader Ryo Hisatsune. Scheffler admitted after his first lap that it would be difficult to make up ground, but he would do his best. A second round 66 followed. Then a 67. Still, Scheffler remained eight shots behind 54-hole leader Akshay Bhatia. The hill was steep. But Scheffler’s greatness is in his preparation and his process. He looks above golf because he focuses on the micro – the next step – and not the macro.
“I didn’t really have any crazy expectations that day or anything, I just wanted to show up and have a good attitude and play good golf,” Scheffler said Sunday along the Pacific coast.
He opened with a birdie on the first and an eagle on No. 2. He made three, made an eagle on six and followed that with another birdie.
Merciless.
He made the turn six-under-30 and was suddenly two off the lead. Scheffler birdied 10 and 11 and suddenly took the lead. He slid back with bogeys at 12 and 15 and posted a birdie at 14. Scheffler arrived at the final hole likely needing an eagle to have a chance at a playoff. With the Pacific wind howling, Scheffler split the fairway on the par-5 and then stuffed his approach from 186 yards to less than a yard. He rolled in the putt to even the lead and post 20 under.
Merciless.
The gravity of inexorable greatness is difficult to escape. On Sunday, Collin Morikawa barely managed to escape Scheffler’s grasp. He played the last four holes at two under for his first victory in more than 800 days.
For Scheffler, it was a T4 finish after another opening round where he was stuck in neutral. But it was also another example of what McIlroy and others know and feel at every stop they compete with Scottie Scheffler. His name is a permanent fixture on the rankings because he wants it to be.
“I’m really proud that I stuck with it and didn’t give up, even when I felt like things were going against me this week. I just kept fighting, kept trying to shoot, kept trying to execute,” Scheffler said.
Expect the same story next week at the Genesis Invitational in Riviera. There’s no reason to expect anything different at this point.
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