Well-rested Scheffler does Oakmont homework ahead of US Open test
Scheffler arrived at the 2024 U.S. Open fresh off a win at the Memorial Tournament and made the cut at Pinehurst without a shot to spare. He later admitted he did not feel he was properly prepared for that year's third major.
So this year world number one Scheffler took a different approach. He still played and won the Memorial, which was moved back to its traditional spot on the calendar, and then sat out last week's Canadian Open to focus on the U.S. Open.
"Having the week off was really important for me to get home, get some rest, recover, and I showed up here on Sunday and was able to play maybe 11 holes and really get used to the conditions," said Scheffler.
"It feels much more like my normal major prep versus last year where you're coming in from basically a major championship test, coming into another one is pretty challenging."
Since the calendar turned to May, Scheffler has matched the PGA Tour 72-hole scoring record with a 31-under total at TPC Craig Ranch, won the PGA Championship by five strokes, finished fourth at Colonial and won at Muirfield Village by four strokes.
The challenge ahead for Scheffler, whose three wins so far in 2025 came during his last four starts, will be passing the daunting test that Oakmont Country Club presents given its narrow fairways and penal rough.
"This is probably the hardest golf course that we'll play, maybe ever, and that's pretty much all it is. It's just a different type of test," said Scheffler.
Given his form Scheffler is naturally a heavy favourite and will have plenty of support as he makes his way around Oakmont, perhaps especially from those who have placed wagers on him.
Scheffler said he hears plenty from those who bet on golf and that was why he deleted his account on peer-to-peer payment service Venmo as some people would send him part of their winnings or demand he cover their losses.
"I was either getting paid by people or people requesting me a bunch of money when I didn't win," said Scheffler. "It wasn't a good feeling."
"I don't remember the most that somebody would send me. Maybe a couple bucks here or there. That didn't happen nearly as much as the requests did," Scheffler added.
A win this week for Scheffler would put him alongside Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth as the only active players with three legs of the career Grand Slam of golf's four majors.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
7 hours ago
- Straits Times
Venus Williams gets US Open mixed doubles wild card spot
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Venus Williams is also set to play as a wild card in next month's Cincinnati Open and could ask for a US Open singles wild card. NEW YORK – Venus Williams, who made a comeback last week after more than a year's hiatus from competitive tennis, will compete alongside Reilly Opelka in mixed doubles at the US Open. The American, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion who turned 45 last month, and compatriot Opelka were among 14 teams named on Tuesday to the revamped Aug 19-20 event by the US Tennis Association. Williams won her opening singles and doubles match at the DC Open last week in her first WTA tournament since last year's Miami Open. She is also set to play as a wild card in next month's Cincinnati Open and could ask for a US Open singles wild card. Those are expected to be announced in about two weeks. The US Open winning mixed doubles team will receive US$1 million. Eight teams received direct entry into the field by combined singles rankings, including top-ranked Jannik Sinner of Italy – the reigning US Open, Wimbledon and Australian Open singles champion – with American Emma Navarro. Other duos making the field on rankings included Britain's fifth-ranked Jack Draper and Spain's Paula Badosa, Germany's third-ranked Alexander Zverev and Swiss Belinda Bencic, fourth-ranked American Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, Dane Holger Rune and American Amanda Anisimova, 2021 US Open winner Daniil Medvedev and fellow Russian Mirra Andreeva, Americans Jessica Pegula and Tommy Paul and Poland's Iga Swiatek and Norway's Casper Ruud. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business S'pore's Q2 total employment rises, but infocomm and professional services sectors see more job cuts Asia Japan issues tsunami warning after 8.8-magnitude earthquake strikes off Russia Singapore Migrant workers who gave kickbacks to renew work passes were conservancy workers at AMK Town Council Singapore 2026 school year to begin from Jan 2 for MOE kindergarten, primary, secondary students Singapore Singapore prepared to recognise State of Palestine in principle, says envoy at high-level UN meeting Business MAS keeps Singapore dollar policy unchanged amid US tariff risks to economy Business S'pore car-sharing firm GetGo launches ZipZap no-deposit car leasing, starting at six months Singapore Escape, discover, connect: Where new memories are made Other wild card entry teams include five-time Grand Slam singles champion and world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain with Britain's Emma Raducanu, Americans Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe, world women's doubles No. 1 Taylor Townsend and fellow American Ben Shelton, Italians Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori and Serbians Olga Danilovic and Novak Djokovic – who has won a record 24 men's Grand Slam singles titles. Two other wild card teams will be announced later. Meanwhile in tennis action, Japanese qualifier Aoi Ito stunned Italian seventh seed Jasmine Paolini 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) on Tuesday to reach the third round of the WTA Canadian Open. The 21-year-old beat American Katie Volynets in the first round for her first WTA 1000 level triumph then followed with her first victory over a top-10 opponent by rallying from a set and break down to advance after 2hr 27min. Ito reached the semi-finals last October at Osaka in her WTA debut and claimed a 125-level title at Canberra in January, but until this week had not won a tour-level match. In another match, world No. 2 Coco Gauff also battled into the third round by outlasting US compatriot Danielle Collins 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2). AFP
CNA
a day ago
- CNA
McLaughlin-Levrone 400m flat foray a highlight for US trials
NEW YORK :Hurdles queen Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wants to carve out new territory in the 400 metres flat as the U.S. track and field trials kick off this week in Eugene, Oregon, with a ticket to the World Athletics Championships on the line. She broke the 400m hurdles world record for an astonishing sixth time for her second straight Olympic title in Paris last year and hopes to bring home world gold in the flat event at the global showcase in Tokyo in September. She has slowly chipped away at the event after teasing her interest three years ago, becoming the second-fastest American ever with 48.74 seconds in Eugene in 2023 and winning at that same springy Hayward Field track earlier this month in 49.43. "This is just a great indicator for us, moving forward, so a lot to work on, a lot to go and look back at," McLaughlin-Levrone said after the most recent win. "It's not as daunting as it once was." With reigning champions like Noah Lyles and Sha'Carri Richardson guaranteed entry into the men's and women's 100m at worlds, McLaughlin-Levrone's 400m flat attempt injects some drama into an otherwise straightforward U.S. trials. Both Lyles and Richardson have declared for the sprint double in Eugene, though only Lyles has the bye into worlds in the 200m after taking that title in 2023, as well. Richardson can expect to see the 200m Olympic champion Gabby Thomas at the line in both events, after Thomas has kept up a busy schedule with Grand Slam Track this year, while the back-to-back men's 200m Olympic silver medallist Kenny Bednarek will feature on the men's side. Another highlight will come with the women's 800m, where the sentimental favourite Athing Mu-Nikolayev will hope to get her comeback story on track after stunningly failing to make the U.S. Olympic team a year ago at trials. The 23-year-old had been favoured to repeat in her signature event at the Paris Games but instead tripped and crashed to the track at Hayward Field. It was later revealed that she had a hamstring injury in the lead-up to the selection event. She ran her first 800m in almost a year at the Prefontaine Classic earlier this month, finishing a disappointing 10th in 2:03.44. "I'm glad I made it through the race," she told Citius Mag after the race, saying that she felt physically ready to compete at the U.S. trials.
Independent Singapore
a day ago
- Independent Singapore
English golfer Lottie Woad wins Women's Scottish Open at the age of 21
Photo: NORTH BERWICK, SCOTLAND: Twenty-one-year-old Lottie Woad started her professional golfing career with an impressive three-stroke win at the Women's Scottish Open. The young athlete made her pro debut recently after earning her LPGA Tour card, when she finished tied for third at this year's Evian Championships. The athlete's victory at the Women's Scottish Open kicks off her professional career with a prize of over US$450,000 (S$607,500). She has also guaranteed media attention ahead of the final major of the year, the Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl. Moreover, Woad also won the 2025 Women's Irish Open. However, her amateur status hindered her from collecting the prize money from both tournaments, which totals $603,100. Making history Lottie Woad made history by becoming the first player to clinch a win on her professional debut on the Ladies European Tour (LET), since Shannon Tan of Singapore won the 2024 Magical Kenya Ladies Open. She is also the first to achieve this milestone on the LPGA Tour since Rose Zhang at the 2023 Americas Open. Furthermore, she became the first English golfer to win the Women's Scottish Open since Trish Johnson in 2014. With this, Woad expressed: 'It's great to win here. Links golf is really fun; I don't get to play it too often. It's my first time since the Women's Open last year, so I wasn't sure how it would go.' Highlights of the match During the competition, Woad got off to a great start with birdies on the second and third holes. She then made nine straight pars and added more birdies on the 13th and 14th holes. She had her third bogey of the week on the 16th hole but finished strong with a birdie on the 18th, winning with a total score of 21 under par. On social media, Woad shared: 'I guess that's a pretty good first week at work.. Really happy to win the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open! 🏆🏴Thank you to everyone for an amazing week!' Netizens expressed their support in the comments section by saying: 'Amazing well done! Nothing like jumping straight in for a win 👏👏👏,' 'Absolutely amazing Lottie. You are a pleasure to watch. So calm and composed under pressure. What a supa star ⭐. We are all so proud of you,' and 'Unreal golf young lady.. No. 1 is coming. Well played !👏👏👏.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lottie Woad (@lottie_woad) Korea's Hyo Joo Kim won second place with a final score of 18 under par, shooting a 68 in the last round at Dundonald Links. The next tournament for the LET is the Women's Open. It will be held at the Royal Porthcawl from Jul 31 to Aug 3. () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
