The Open stars haven't held back with their thoughts on Scottie Scheffler after Portrush win

Daily Mirror

5 days ago

Scottie Scheffler won his fourth major at the weekend as he clinched The Open Championship, meaning he is one win off of a career Grand Slam, and some of his rivals are huge admirers
Scottie Scheffler has been the talk of the town after his win at The Open Championship, which puts him one off of a career Grand Slam. The American golfer has been on an incredible run in recent years, winning two Masters titles, a PGA Championship, and most recently, The Open at Royal Portrush.
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The talented golfer carded a stunning 17-under 267 across 72 holes to claim the fourth major title of his career, as he finished four strokes above his nearest competitor, Harris English.
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The world No.1 was exceptional in his final round, closing in a three-under 68 to win his second major title this year – adding to the PGA Championship earned at Quail Hollow in May.
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The 29-year-old joined Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player as the only golfers to win a Masters, PGA Championship and Open title before the age of 30 – a remarkable feat in itself, with only the US Open now alluding him. He has come close, though, having agonisingly tied for second back in the 2022 tournament.
Following his impressive weekend of golf, many of Scheffler's rivals will have been left in awe of his achievements to date.
Rory McIlroy
Career Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy confessed that no one in the sport right now is close to Scheffler's level, claiming he is the bar everybody is trying to reach in their careers.
The Northern Irishman said: "Yeah, none of us could hang with Scottie this week. He's an incredible player. He's been dominant this week. Honestly, he's been dominant for the last couple years. He is the bar that we're all trying to get to.
"In a historical context, you could argue that there's only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run, the one that Scottie's been on here for the last 24 to 36 months. Incredibly impressive.
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"Yeah, he's a very worthy winner. Also, he's a great person, and I think he's a wonderful ambassador for our game as well. I'm really happy for him and Meredith and his family."
Noting exactly what it is that makes Scheffler so impressive, the 36-year-old added: "Admiration. I think all you can do is admire what he does and how he does it. I think what he does is one thing, but how he does it is another.
"He just goes about his business, doesn't do anything overly flamboyant, but he's the best at executing in the game right now. Yeah, he's been absolutely amazing over these past two to three years. As I said, all you can do is tip your cap and watch in admiration."
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Jon Rahm
Masters winner Jon Rahm has been full of praise for Scheffler too, claiming that the American is "world class" and his dominance in the sport isn't a new thing.
He said: "Well, he won Phoenix Open, was it 2021, for the first time. He's always been really good. I think it was '20 or '21, and he had an incredible finish, and he finished close to 5th in the FedExCup and started showing really, really good stuff.
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"In my case, I firsthand got a taste of how good he can be at the Ryder Cup on Whistling that Sunday. I didn't necessarily play bad. I just never really had a chance to win. I think it's after that a lot of his really good play came, right after that year.
"So '22 on, obviously, when he won the Masters in '22, you have to acknowledge him as a phenomenal player. Even before that, he was already world class."
Xander Schauffele
Fellow Stateside star Xander Schauffele was on hand to send his congratulations to Scheffler as well, as the former Open winner was left baffled at how quickly another era of dominance could come so soon after Tiger Woods' run.
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He said: "I don't think we thought the golfing world would see someone as dominant as Tiger come through so soon, and here's Scottie sort of taking that throne of dominance.
"You can't even say he's on a run. He's just been killing it for over two years now. He's a tough man to beat, and when you see his name up on the leaderboard, it sucks for us."
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Jordan Spieth
US Open winner Jordan Spieth believes there is nobody quite like Scheffler, as the 31-year-old admitted it looks like his fellow American prioritises other things over his on-camera persona – which could be his secret weapon.
Spieth added: "He doesn't care to be a superstar. He's not transcending the game like Tiger did. He's not bringing it to a non-golf audience necessarily. He doesn't want to go do the stuff that a lot of us go do, corporately, anything like that.
"He just wants to get away from the game and separate the two because I know that, he felt it was too much, that he was taking it with him. I think it's more so the difference in personality from any other superstar that you've seen in the modern era and maybe in any sport. I don't think anybody is like him."
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Tommy Fleetwood
Before Scheffler even lifted the Claret Jug, Tommy Fleetwood was adamant that he would become the champion, as this is just who he is. The English golfer hailed his rival as one of the stars that they are chasing in the sport, as he said: "It's amazing. I suppose he's earned the right to be spoke about how people speak about him.
"Just looking at what he's doing on the par-5. He's looks like he's actually not making birdie on the hole. Yeah, phenomenal player. I think having someone like that to keep us looking up to and keep us all chasing, it's great.
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"I think, obviously if he keeps going the way he is, we're all going to look back and talk about him in the same breath as some of the all-time greats, and he's played in our generation.
"We'll see. You don't want to obviously just predict what's going to happen today. I don't want to jinx him or anything like that, but it does look like everybody's saying it's going to be a procession, but golf is a funny game. We'll see. It looks like he's going to be four majors in, three down against a career grand slam, so very impressive."
These opinions are just a few of many that praise Scheffler's attitude both on and off the fairways, showcasing just how likeable the Open champion is as a rival and person. Now, the 29-year-old will set his sights on the US Open in Shinnecock Hills to join McIlroy and just five other golfers to have completed the career Grand Slam.
While it took McIlroy over a decade to complete his four major title trophy cabinets, Scheffler could do it in just four years – a testament to his sheer talent in the sport.