Scottie Scheffler disputes driving accuracy, stands by pre-tourney view on winning
Scheffler's rainy round of 68 was among the morning-wave best in Northern Ireland thanks to a composed finish despite hitting only three fairways.
"I actually thought I drove it pretty good. I don't know what you guys are seeing. When it's raining sideways, it's actually, believe it or not, not that easy to get the ball in the fairway. Thank you guys all for pointing that out," Scheffler said at the end of Thursday's 18.
Scheffler credited his putting with keeping him on the first page of the leaderboard after failing to gain strokes on the greens in the Scottish Open last week. Scheffler was a touch testy when pressed for what made his short stick more magical on Thursday than it was last week.
"Different greens, different surface. These greens, it's just different," Scheffler said. "I don't know how you want me to elaborate on that."
Wayward tee shots were to blame for Scheffler's bogeys on Thursday on a pair of par 4s at No. 9 and No. 11.
He closed with a collective five on the par-3 16th and the par-4 17th plus a clutch putt to par No. 18 and said the greens at Portrush were "definitely smoother" than the surface in Scotland.
"Putting is one of those deals where, especially when there's a little bit of activity on the greens, you can hit a lot of good putts that don't go in," Scheffler said. "I'm trying to do my best to be perfect every week, but some weeks the putts just aren't going in, and did a good job battling last week to finish top 10."
Scheffler stuck to his guns when asked Thursday to revisit much-discussed comments about how meaningful and gratifying victories can be relative to the amount of time, effort and sacrifice it takes to take home a trophy.
"I think I try to be as honest as I can with y'all, with the stuff that I'm willing to kind of say. At times I feel like maybe I should be a little less honest. Maybe I shouldn't have said the stuff I said yesterday because now I'm going to get asked about it more," he said. "But really it's just a matter of perspective, and I've had some players come up to me and say that they feel and think the same things. If anybody has disagreed with me, they haven't said it to my face yet, so I don't know what the reaction would be. But overall just glad to be out playing golf and competing again."
--Field Level Media
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
a few seconds ago
- Scottish Sun
Open star Christiaan Bezuidenhout was minutes from death when he accidentally drank RAT POISON at the age of two
Bezuidenhout has also overcome an unjust drugs ban to become one of the brightest golfing prospects HORROR ACCIDENT Open star Christiaan Bezuidenhout was minutes from death when he accidentally drank RAT POISON at the age of two NOT many punters tipped Christiaan Bezuidenhout for The Open, but the South African is used to beating the odds. Bezuidenhout, 31, was left fighting for his life when he accidentally drank RAT POISON at the age of two. Advertisement 3 Christiaan Bezuidenhout is an unlikely challenger for The Open Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 3 Christiaan Bezuidenhout tees off on the sixth hole Credit: Getty He somehow survived but was left with a stutter and a damaged nervous system that required years on prescription drugs. Bezuidenhout also had to overcome bullying as he defied expectations to become one of the brightest golfing prospects. And he is in the mix for the greatest prize in golf with an opening round of 67 in the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush. Bezuidenhout was a toddler when he took a swig from a bottle he found on the street which he thought contained Coca-Cola - but the drink had been replaced by poison. Advertisement He said 'There was a two-litre Coke bottle standing there with rat poison in it. 'Somehow I managed to open it and took a sip. 'At the hospital they basically told my parents we got there just in time. It was a matter of minutes.' The terrible accident left him with a range of health issues including a crippling stammer. Advertisement BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS Bezuidenhout said: 'I almost died. 'The poison affected the whole nervous system, and one of the long-term effects led to me having a stutter. "I was diagnosed with anxiety when I was four. This led to me becoming very introverted and depressed. Advertisement 'I went on to see various speech therapists. I was pretty much a loner growing up, most of the time I was just doing my own thing every day. 'A good few times people made fun of it, thought it all was funny. It wasn't smooth sailing.' Golf became his escape from the bullies, a place where he could be alone on the course. Bezuidenhout developed into a fine young player but when he won trophies, he ducked out of the prize giving ceremonies because of his speech impediment. Advertisement Tense moment as furious Jon Rahm confronts golf fan at The Open He said; 'I was always a loner, practised on my own. I took myself away from people and places with people there. Golf was like an escape from my circumstances. 'Most of the people in South Africa knew my situation so most of the time when I won junior tournaments, I just didn't speak. I got my trophy and left.' And he was later banned from golf for nine months for taking drugs to combat his stutter - before 'slowly" gaining confidence in the last few years. His fine amateur career was hamstrung during a visit to Portrush in 2014 for the British Amateur Championship. Advertisement Bezuidenhout tested positive for prescribed beta blockers which he was taking to combat the after effects of his horrible accident as a child. He was banned for two years but the suspension was later reduced to nine months. Bezuidenhout received the news just as he was about to represent South Africa at the World Amateur Team Championship. He was heartbroken, saying: 'It was awful. It was a huge goal of mine to be selected to the team. It felt like my life was over.' Advertisement However the ban proved to be the making of him. He said: 'I actually just accepted it 3 Christiaan Bezuidenhout hits his opening drive on day two Credit: Getty 'This is who I am and if you don't like it then so be it. Advertisement 'That was like a mind switch for me. There was quite a lot of negativity and people talking about me taking medication to get an advantage or improve my game. 'I was determined to show those people that I can play well without that. I took those nine months and worked really hard then came back stronger.' Bezuidenhout turned professional in 2015 and has won ten tournaments since then including the South African Open. Victory at Royal Portrush would cap a remarkable comeback from his horror childhood accident.
Scottish Sun
a few seconds ago
- Scottish Sun
The Open golf star suffers a meltdown and takes FOUR shots to escape a bunker and cards 10 at hole No4 at Royal Portrush
The South African needed four attempts to escape the sand, and ended up taking 10 strokes on a par 4 FOUR-MIDABLE The Open golf star suffers a meltdown and takes FOUR shots to escape a bunker and cards 10 at hole No4 at Royal Portrush Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ROYAL Portrush claimed a scalp when Shaun Norris needed FOUR shots to escape a bunker. The South African went out of bounds from the tee on the fourth hole in the second round of The 153rd Open. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Shaun Norris during Friday's second round Credit: Getty So that saw him take three off the tee. He then hit his third stroke into a fairway bunker. The poor fellow needed four attempts to escape the sand, when he eventually found the fairway. But he came up short and left on the approach to the green to find the rough and then chipped on before tapping in a simple putt. READ MORE ON THE OPEN OPEN MINDED Golf star who is Buddhist monk tearing it up at Open thanks to Zen-like focus So Norris ended up taking TEN strokes on the par 4. He was +1 for the tournament before starting the hole. He walked off the green at +7 and in serious danger of missing the cut. But somehow he did recover his composure and went on to birdie the next hole. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Golf fans watching the action unfold, though, took to social media with their reaction to the SEXTUPLE bogey. One wrote: "If this isn't the most Open Championship coded thing ever then I'd be hard pressed to find what is. I present Shaun Norris's scorecard from the 4th hole." Awkward moment fart noise stuns Open commentators into silence before pair burst out laughing Another said: "From level par to 6 over in the blink of an eye. Links golf in a nutshell." Tiger Woods famously hit an atrocious ten at the 2020 Masters - the worst score of his career. The American superstar dumped three balls in the water at the 155-yard par 3 12th. 2 The map of his hole makes for grim reading Credit: The Open
The Sun
a minute ago
- The Sun
The Open golf star suffers a meltdown and takes FOUR shots to escape a bunker and cards 10 at hole No4 at Royal Portrush
ROYAL Portrush claimed a scalp when Shaun Norris needed FOUR shots to escape a bunker. The South African went out of bounds from the tee on the fourth hole in the second round of The 153rd Open. So that saw him take three off the tee. He then hit his third stroke into a fairway bunker. The poor fellow needed four attempts to escape the sand, when he eventually found the fairway. But he came up short and left on the approach to the green to find the rough and then chipped on before tapping in a simple putt. So Norris ended up taking TEN strokes on the par 4. He was +1 for the tournament before starting the hole. He walked off the green at +7 and in serious danger of missing the cut. But somehow he did recover his composure and went on to birdie the next hole. Golf fans watching the action unfold, though, took to social media with their reaction to the SEXTUPLE bogey. One wrote: "If this isn't the most Open Championship coded thing ever then I'd be hard pressed to find what is. I present Shaun Norris's scorecard from the 4th hole." Another said: "From level par to 6 over in the blink of an eye. Links golf in a nutshell." Tiger Woods famously hit an atrocious ten at the 2020 Masters - the worst score of his career. The American superstar dumped three balls in the water at the 155-yard par 3 12th. 2 Shaun Norris' nightmare hole Shot 1: 264yds to Out of Bounds, 250yds to pin Shot 2: Penalty incurred Shot 2: Drops ball to Tee, 498yds to pin Shot 3: 266yds to Fairway Bunker, 233yds to pin Shot 4: 0yds to Fairway Bunker, 232yds to pin Shot 5: 0yds to Fairway Bunker, 231yds to pin Shot 6: 0yds to Fairway Bunker, 232yds to pin Shot 7: 39yds to Fairway, 196yds to pin Shot 8: 173yds to Rough, 23yds to pin Shot 9: 21yds to Green, 7ft. 5in. to pin Shot 10: Ball Holed: Sextuple bogey
