Rory McIlroy makes Scottie Scheffler claim after Open triumph with Tiger Woods comparison
Rory McIlroy hailed Scottie Scheffler as one of the hottest players in history after the American sealed a four-shot Open win in sunny Ulster. The world No.1 has dominated golf over the last two years by winning 14 out of his 38 events.
And the reigning US PGA champion won the third leg of his career Grand Slam here at the age of 29. World No.2 McIlroy said: '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. 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.'
Scheffler has now recorded 11 top-eight finishes in a row - the best since Tiger Woods in 2007/08 - as he became the third consecutive American winner. Scheffler is also the second player after Woods to win the Open as world No.1.
Last year's champion, Xander Schauffele, 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.'
But the Olympic champion, who has now topped the rankings for over two years, claimed comparisons with Woods were 'a bit silly'. He said: 'Tiger won, what, 15 majors? This is my fourth. I just got one-fourth of the way there. I think Tiger stands alone in the game of golf.
'He was inspirational for me growing up. He was a very, very talented guy, and he was a special person to be able to be as good as he was at the game of golf.
Scheffler celebrated with his wife Meredith, son Bennett and parents Scott and Diane. In his pre-tournament press conference, he said that golf was not a 'fulfilling life' and he asked himself: 'What is the point?'
The world No.1 said: 'This is amazing to win the Open Championship, but at the end of the day, having success in life, whether it be in golf, work, whatever it is, that's not what fulfills the deepest desires of your heart.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
2 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
PGA Tour star issues statement on wife as he chases after £1.1m payday
Max Homa is in contention at the 3M Open as he looks to end a difficult season on a high, with the American revealing he is desperate to win in order to be with his wife for the birth of their second child Max Homa is determined to pocket the £1.1million prize from the 3M Open, motivated by his wife's impending due date. The 34-year-old golfer wrapped up the first round of the event with a score of 5-under. He's currently six shots behind leader Adam Svensson but remains in the hunt for his first PGA Tour victory since the Farmers Insurance Open in 2023. Despite a season that has seen him slip to 105th in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), Homa 's focus is less on his form and more on ensuring he's back in time for the arrival of his second child. On Thursday, Homa shared that his wife, Lacey, is due in a fortnight, confessing that his drive to clinch the 3M Open – which would swell his career earnings past £31m – is fuelled by his desire to be by her side. "I need to win. I really need to win [because] my wife's pregnant and I need to go home," Homa disclosed during a press conference on Thursday. "We have like two weeks left. So it's a little extra stressful. "But I think the only way that you can go out and win a golf tournament is by not exactly trying to win the golf tournament," reports the Mirror US. Despite a challenging season, Homa did deliver an outstanding display at the John Deere Classic earlier this month where he secured a joint-fifth finish with a 16-under total. At the 3M Open, he's going head-to-head with close friend Rickie Fowler, who holds a slight advantage after carding 6-under in the opening round. Discussing his prospects for victory in Minnesota, Homa revealed: "I know what I need to do. I need to play unbelievable. So fortunately, my games felt awesome the last month or so. "I don't know how you just make yourself win. I'm just trying to kind of keep doing what I'm doing and see what happens on a Sunday." Despite the looming deadline of his wife's pregnancy, Homa is set to compete at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro next week. He disclosed that his wife had encouraged him to continue playing but confessed to the mental torment he experienced after realising he'd missed two calls from her when checking his phone. He continued: "My wife told me to play. Yeah, just every day I finish a day of golf, I look at my phone and see if I'm flying home, so, we'll see. It's a good problem to have. "Dude, I'm freaking out. I'm ready to have the baby and then get settled. I know it'll be chaos, but I want to make sure I'm there." Homa also spoke to GolfWeek about who he believes ranks above others when it comes to celebrity golf. The fairways are no strangers to sports legends and A-listers alike, with NBA greats Steph Curry and Charles Barkley known for their love of the greens. Even Wrexham's co-owner Rob McElhenney enjoys a swing or two, and Homa, chummy with the 'Always Sunny' mastermind, has dished out his thoughts. When pressed for his pick of the best, Homa confessed: "I mean, Aaron [Rodgers] is really good. I've never played with Steph. He's impressive. "On the spot I'm blanking. I know there is more. But somebody who is really good, Alfonso Ribeiro is a phenomenal golfer."
BBC News
32 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Social media aided body anxiety' - England's Bern
England and Bristol Bears prop Sarah Bern said building her social media profile has helped her confidence after struggling with anxiety around body image. Bern has been capped 71 times by the Red Roses and was named in England's 32-player squad on Thursday for the upcoming Rugby World 28-year-old was in conversation with double Olympic gold medal winning boxer Nicola Adams in the latest episode of The LGBT Sport Podcast."My opinions on social media have really changed over the last year and I really struggled with anxiety. I feel a lot more confident now - but [I] really struggled with being myself," Bern said."I was always bigger as a young girl and I never felt like I was good enough or pretty enough or any of those things. I feel like a lot of young girls feel that. "I was really anxious about a lot of things and social media, I was like 'no one really wants to see what I'm doing'." Bern, who won her first England cap in 2016, cited American centre Ilona Maher's spell at Bristol Bears earlier this year with helping her see the value in using her profile online. Maher is the most followed rugby player in the world on social media with more than 8.5 million followers on Instagram and TikTok and has built a profile on messages of body positivity, which has propelled her to global star signed with the Bears for three months from January to March to play in the Premiership Women's Rugby."She [Maher] was with her family and her energy and how she managed to get her social media alongside her being a professional athlete, I found it really cool and like it wasn't a big task," Bern said."Especially for women's rugby, we need more fan engagement. We need more fans. We need to grow our sport - what's the best way to do that? Well, show ourselves."Now I like really love it and I just relish it and I actually think it's really helped me to be less anxious and just be myself." Bern will be appearing in her third World Cup for the Red Roses next month when the tournament kicks off in England, having been part of the squads that finished runners-up in 2017 and going in as one of the favourites to win the trophy, Bern said she feels "less pressure to live up to expectations" this time around and instead feels excited for the wider impact a home World Cup could have with the public. "It's been a learning curve for me to actually just enjoy it and enjoy the experience of it. This World Cup I'm excited for in a different way. I hope we win, but I don't feel like that's the biggest thing that could happen," she said."We're on the brink of hopefully doing what the girls [England women football] did with the Euros and really making the sport blow up across the globe."
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Deontay Wilder's ex-coach makes honest admission after he was sacked by ex-world champion
The former world champion won his comeback fight last month, but stunned fans after he parted ways with trainer Malik Scott before his fight with Tyrrell Herndon Deontay Wilder 's former coach, Malik Scott, has revealed that he was not taken aback by his dismissal prior to the 'Bronze Bomber's' return to the ring. Scott had been a key part of Wilder's team since suffering a knockout at the hands of the 'Bronze Bomber' in 2014. The two developed a strong bond and Scott was later elevated to head coach in 2021, just in time for the American's epic trilogy bout with Tyson Fury, which ultimately ended in defeat for Wilder. Under Scott's guidance, Wilder's performances were below par, securing only one victory against Robert Helenius in 2022, followed by consecutive losses to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang. When Wilder geared up for his fight against Tyrrell Herndon last month, Scott was surprisingly absent, and it was subsequently confirmed that the pair had parted ways. Speaking to Thunderpick, Scott shared his thoughts on the termination of his coaching role. "Did I sense it was coming? I'll say this, I wasn't surprised because you just never know how a fighter is. The media runs with things, story after story." He added: I'm sure he's hearing things on his side about what I am, and what I'm not, like in the media certain platforms just running with what I did to him, just so much stuff. And he already got so much pressure on him wanting to get better mentally and so forth, so it wasn't surprising, it wasn't surprising at all," reports All Out Fighting. The boxing coach has spoken out, insisting that his departure from Wilder's corner was not due to a lack of skill. "I'm sure it's not because I'm some awful trainer, like that's not why [he ended it], sometimes fighters do what they need to do spiritually for themselves, to get themselves better, to get themselves remotivated, to get themselves rejuvenated." Scott revealed that despite Wilder's recent defeats, their parting was amicable and not based on performance. "He personally called me. We talked about it, he said 'I'm gonna do something different, I want to switch things up a bit' as far as the head coach thing goes. Right when he said it, I didn't ask why, I thanked him for bringing me on," he said. "I got real love for Deontay. I want the best for him, and if the best for him is without me, nobody wants that more than me. What I don't want is for me to be around and I'm not the best thing for him. We lost the Tyson Fury fight together, we lost Joe Parker, and we lost Zhang together, and we got an incredible knockout with Robert Helenius together, but we lost two fights back to back. Deontay can lose fights with anyone in his corner, that's just boxing, that has nothing to do with Malik Scott. It's really just boxing and life too." Wilder's decision to shake things up seems to have been a smart choice, as he secured his first victory in three years against Herndon. Although the bout didn't quite meet the hype, Wilder managed to deliver a knockout blow to the seasoned American fighter in the seventh round. When is Deontay Wilder's next fight? Wilder has his sights set on climbing back into the ring at least once more before the year is out, with Anthony Joshua's name being bandied about as a potential opponent. 'AJ', currently on the mend from elbow surgery, is tipped to be ready for action again later this year. Eddie Hearn, Joshua's promoter, spilled the beans to Sky Sports, saying: "I know he's [Wilder] a name that's been mentioned. There is a potential that AJ could fight Deontay Wilder in October, November, December, and then fight Tyson Fury, and then he's kind of got the full set in terms of every elite heavyweight of this generation, he's faced in the ring."
