What must Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler get right at The Open? | Live From The Open | Golf Channel

What must Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler get right at The Open? | Live From The Open | Golf Channel

AND PHIL. AND AT THE MOMENT, IT IS SCOTTIE AND RORY. CERTAINLY NOT THE ONLY TWO. BRYSON IS A DUDE. BUT SCOTTIE AND RORY ARE UNQUESTIONABLY THE TWO BEST. WITH MORE ON ONE AND TWO IN THE WORLD, WE WELCOME TODD LEWIS. >> HI THERE, RICH. RORY McILROY FOR THE FAN ON THE GROUNDS WILL BE THE FOCAL POINT AS HE COMPETES IN HIS HOME COUNTRY OF NORTHERN IRELAND. IT HAS BEEN A FULFILLING 24 HOURS FOR RORY McILROY, DATING TO LAST NIGHT WHEN HE WAS HONORED BY THE ASSOCIATION OF GOLF RIDERS, THOSE MADE UP OF THE PROFESSION IN EUROPE. HE WAS NAMED THE 2024 PLAYER OF THE YEAR. IN CASE YOU ARE WONDERING, YES, THE GREEN JACKET DID MAKE ITS WAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC. HE SHOWED UP TO RECEIVE THAT HONOR, WEARING HIS MASTER’S GREEN JACKET. AS FOR THE MASTERS TODAY, FOR THE FIRST TIME ALL WEEK, HE SAW THE PLAYER PRACTICE AREA, THE DRIVING RANGE. HE WENT THERE AND WORKED ON HIS GAME. THE LAST TWO GAMES, HE PLAYED 18 HOLE PRACTICE ROUND. TODAY AFTER WORK ON THE RANGE, HE DID NOT PLAY A FULL 18. BUT SPEAKING WITH HIM, HE IS IN A GOOD HEAD SPACE. HE IS EMBRACING THE OPPORTUNITY HERE AT PORTRUSH AS HE PLAYED FOR NOT ONLY HIMSELF BUT FOR THOSE IN HIS NATIVE LAND. AS FOR SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, PLAYED 9 HOLE PRACTICE ROUND TOD. TALKING WITH HIM AND HIS TEAM, HE IS IN A GOOD HEAD SPACE, FULL OF FREEDOM RIGHT NOW, LAUGHING HIS WAY DOWN THE FAIRWAYS AS HE TRIES TO WIN THE CLARET JUG FOR THE FIRST TIME. HE RECEIVED A LOT OF POSITIVE FEEDBACK IN REGARDS TO THE REMARKS HE MADE IN THE MEDIA CENTER YESTERDAY EMPHASIZING THAT YES, GOLF IS IMPORTANT IN HIS LIFE BUT IT IS NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. SCOTTIE AND RORY SEEM PRIMED FOR THE WEEK. >> THEY ARE IN A BATTLE FOR THE YEAR WITH THREE WINS ON THE SEASON, BOTH WITH MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP. RORY HAS WON THE PLAYER’S AS WELL. SCOTTIE IS BETTER STATISTICALLY. RORY COMPLETED A CAREER SLAM WITH AS MUCH PRESSURE IN ANY TOURNAMENT IN A LONG TIME. WIN THIS WEEK, RORY WOULD BE THE PLAYER WITH THE FIVE BIGGEST TITLES. THIS WEEKEND SCOTTIE IS CLOSE BUT NOT QUITE RORY WILL GIVE US SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT WITH THE OVERALL FEDEX TITLE. RORY WAS HERE IN 2019. IT DIDN’T GO HIS WAY. DO YOU THINK HE IS MUCH BETTER PLAYER THAN HE WAS SIX YEARS AGO IN WHAT WAY? >> I THINK HE IS A MORE COMPLETE PLAYER. WOE SAW SHANE AT THE TOP OF THE SHOW REFERENCING HOW MUCH PRESSURE HE PUT ON HIMSELF GOING INTO THIS OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP. AT HIS HOME COUNTRY HERE. COURSE RECORD HOLDER. THIS TIME, BRANDEL REFERENCED IT LAST NIGHT, HE IS EMBRACING THE SITUATION. I LIKE WHAT HE HAS DONE MENTALLY. THEN YOU PUT IN A MORE COMPLETE PLAYER, DIFFERENT SKILLSETS HE DIDN’T HAVE. HE IS A MUCH BETTER PUTTER. HE IS A MUCH BETTER WEDGE PLAYER.T THAT LAUNCH. THAT’S A THING OF BEAUTY. REALLY, REALLY HIGH SKILL LEVEL. THAT CAN BE IMPORTANT HERE AT PORTRUSH. THERE ARE THREE EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT HIM BEING A MORE COMPLETE PLAYER. NO DOUBT THOSE ARE A BIG FACTOR IN HIM COMPLETING THE GRAND SLAM. >> THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF HIS GAME ARE IMPROUFB PROVED FOR SURE. HE TALKS ABOUT AND OTHERS HAVE TALKED ABOUT THAT HE CLIMBED THIS MOUNT EVEREST. I DON’T KNOW WHY THAT IS THE METAPHOR THAT EVERYONE USES, UPWARDS OF 10,000 PEOPLE HAVE DONE THAT. THERE ARE 14, 80,000 METER SUMMITS AND FEW HAVE SUMMITED ALL OF THEM. SO TRY TO SUMMIT ALL OF THEM. STILL AMONGST A RARE GROUP OF PEOPLE, SO MUCH TO DO. WIN MORE MAJORS THAN ANY OTHER PLAYER FROM EUROPE. WIN MORE MAJORS THAN ANYONE ELSE OUTSIDE OF PLAYERS FROM THE UNITED STATES. WIN MORE PGA TOUR EVENTS THAN ANY OTHER EVENT, HARRY COOPER HAS THAT. THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS HE IS CAPABLE OF DOING IN THE SWEET SPOT OF HIS CAREER. FROM A MOTIVATIONAL STANDPOINT, I THINK HE TOUCHED ON THE FACT THAT HE HAS FOUND NEW MOTIVATION. FROM A MINDSET , COMPARE WHERE HE WAS THIS WEEK TO 2019, WE GO BACK TO 2019 ON THE EVE OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP, TO ME IT WAS LIKE HE WAS TRYING TO DIMINISH THE CHALLENGE OR THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO DO. IF YOU LISTEN, HOW HE SPOKE ABOUT T HIS MINDSET IN 2019 VERSUS HOW HE SPOKE ABOUT IT COMING INTO THIS WEEK. >> I’M JUST TREATING THIS LIKE ANY OTHER OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP. I HAVE PLAYED WELL HERE THE LAST FEW YEARS. I PLAYED WELL ON THIS GOLF COURSE. I JUST GOT TO GO OUT AND HIT THE SHOTS AND STAY IN THE PRESENT. IF I JUST KEEP PUTTING ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER, HOPEFULLY BY SUNDAY NIGHT, THAT WILL BE GOOD ENOUGH. >> LOOKING AT THE CALENDAR FOR 2025, THIS WAS THE TOURNAMENT THAT WAS PROBABLY CIRCLED MORE THAN THE MASTERS FOR DIFFERENT REASONS. IT IS LOVELY TO BE COMING IN HERE ALREADY WITH THE MAJOR. AND AEFK ELSE HAPPENING HERE. >> FOR A NORTHERN IRISHMAN OF HIS TALENT T AND EXPECTATION, TO FOOL YOURSELF INTO BELIEVING IT IS JUST ANOTHER GOLF TOURNAMENT IS TRYING TO FOOL YOURSELF INTO BELIEVING SOMETHING THAT IS NOT TRUE VERSUS TRYING TO EMPOWER YOURSELF TO NARROW YOUR FOCUS TO DO SOMETHING UNIQUELY CHALLENGING. AND IN TERMS OF WHERE HE IS AS IT RELATES TO GOING INTO THE MASTERS, IF YOU LOOK AT WHERE HE PLAYED AT HOUSTON GOING INTO THE MASTERS VERSUS SCOTLAND COMING IN, HE PLAYED BEAUTIFUL BUT EVEN BETTER IN SCOTLAND. ALL OF THE CONCERN ABOUT THE GAME FALLING OFF AFTER THE MASTERS AT BAY. HE COMES IN HERE ON A HIGH. TO YOUR POINT, IT HAS NEVER BEEN SAID OF RORY THAT THE STRONGEST ASPECT OF HIS GAME IS WHAT HE DOES ON THE GREEN. HE IS FIFTH IN STROKES GAINED OFF OF THE TEE. HE HAS NEVER BEEN BETTER. THE ONLY CAVEAT IS HE HAS TO FIND SOME FAIRWAYS. WHEN IT COMES TO FINDING FAIRWAYS, THERE IS ONLY 177 PLAYERS RANKED IN TERMS OF ROUGH TENDENCY ON THE TOUR. HE IS 174. IN TERMS OF FINDING FAIRWAYS, HE HAS NEVER BEEN WORSE. YOU THINK OF WHAT HAPPENED IN 2019, GETTING OUT OF BOUNDS WITH THE FIRST HOLDER, ALMOST NO WAY THAT WILL NOT BE IN HIS MIND AS HE STEPS UP TO THE FIRST TEE BUT HAVING SAID THAT, HE HAS TO FIND MORE TEE. >> THAT IS RORY. NOW SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, WHAT IS YOUR CONCERN WITH SCOTTIE GETTING STARTED? >> IT IS HARD TO PICK HOLES WITH SCHEFFLER. HE IS PHENOMENAL. RAMBLER HAS GONE INTO A DEEP DIVE ILLUSTRATING THIS GUY IS AS CLOSE TO TIGER WOODS IN PERFORMANCE AS ANYONE. BUT WHAT WE DON’T HAVE WITH SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER IS A VINTAGE RECORD OVER HERE OF WHAT HE HAS DONE OVERSEAS, PARTICULARLY IN EUROPE. NOW WHAT WE DO, I REFERENCED THIS LAST NIGHT, IT IS NO SECRET, IT IS WELL DOCUMENTED, BUT AMERICANS COME OVER HOAR, ONE OF THE THINGS WE DO ON RYDER CUP IS WE SLOW THE GREENS DOWN. WE KNOW THEY LIKE SLOW GREENS. WE HAVE THEM RUNNING AT 10.5 TO 11. THAT IS SUITABLE TO US AND SIMILAR WHAT WE DO ON IT DP TOUR BUT IT THROWS THE AMERICANS OFF A LITTLE BIT BUT THEY ARE USED TO 12, 13, 14. SO WE SLOW THEM DOWN A LITTLE BIT. IF YOU LOOK AT SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER’S PERFORMANCE, NOT JUST SCOTLAND BUT YOU LOOK AT THE LAST THREE OR FOUR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS HE HAS PLAYED, HE IS RANKED AS ONE OF THE LOWEST AND WORST PERFORMERS. SO IT IS NOT OFTEN WE SEE THEM RANKED VERY BOTTOM OF SOMETHING BUT PUTTING IS ONE. I WILL THROW IN THE RYDER CUP IN ITALY IN 2022 WHERE HE WAS 0, 2, 2. AND PUTTING WAS NOT GOOD FOR HIM. HE HAS NOT GOT HIMSELF EQUIPPED FOR SLOW GREENS. WHAT IS HE ADJUSTING TO MAKE? THIS IS DIFFICULT. IN ORDER TO HIT THE BALL A CERTAIN DISTANCE, THE BALL IS SAYING ONE THING AND IT COMES UP A LITTLE SHORT. WHAT IS IT THAT THROWS OUT THE RHYTHM? YOU TRY TO GET THE BALL TO THE HOLE WITHOUT FORCING. WHEN YOU LOSE YOUR RHYTHM IN PUTTING STROKE, THAT’S WHEN YOU ARE IN TROUBLE. THAT’S WHERE HE IS AT. HE HASN’T MADE THAT ADJUSTMENT. THAT DOESN’T MEAN HE CAN’T FIND IT BUT AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME, THE PUTTING HAS NOT BEEN GOOD ENOUGH. >> SLOWER GREENS, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS HIT IT HARDER, SEEMS LIKE AN EASY THING. YOU HAVE A 20 FOOTER ON A FAST GREEN, HIT IT HARDER. 10.5 GREEN, THAT IS PRETTY MUCH WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN GOING BACK TO 2020 WHEN THEY FIRST PLAYED IN THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP. YOU’RE RIGHT, OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, HE WOULD BE THOSE WHO MADE THE CUT, HE WOULD BE DEAD LAST IN STROKES GAINED PUTTING. I THINK THAT IS BECAUSE HE IS TOO MIMD. OVER THE COURSE OF THE CAREER, IT HAS LED TO HIM BEING TIMID ON THE GREEN. THERE IS A STAT THAT YOU WOULD NOT WANT TO LEAVE ON THE TOUR. SOMETIMES PEOPLE TALK ABOUT IT IN SUCH AN A WAY THAT HE WOULD WANT T TO LEAD IT. THE PERSON WHO LEAVES IT CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE HOLE, THAT’S THE PERSON BUT THE BEST PUTTER TENDS TO BE 120th IN APPROACH. THEY TEND TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE. SO YOU LOOK AT THE PERFORMANCE OVER THE LAST FOUR OR FIVE YEARS, COMPARED TO DANNY McARTHY AND IF THE GRAPHIC IS NOT POPPING UP HERE, HE HAS BEEN IN THE TOP TEN IN THE LAST THREE, THIRD THE YEAR BEFORE. THAT TELLS ME, COMPARE THAT TO McCARTHY WHO IS 125th, 120 BEFORE THAT. AND BY FAR THE BEST PUTTER ON THE TOUR. AND THAT HOLDS TRUE WITH EVERY GREAT PUTTER. A LITTLE TIMID. >> I WANT TO ADD A LITTLE MORE, THE FESCUE GRASS, WHEN IT GETS WET WHICH IT WILL DO, THE WATER FORMS ON TOP OF IT LIKE A BUBBLE. THAT SLOWS THEM DOWN BY A FOOT EVEN MORE. SO RAIN ON FESCUE IS MUCH MORE OF A FACTOR. >> THE GREENS ARE MORE FESCUE DOMINATED THAN ANY OF THE OTHER COURSES. 75% FESCUE ON THESE GREENS, VERY SMOOTH. >> WONDERFUL GRASS. YOU THINK IT IS A MATTER OF TIME FOR SCOTTIE AT THE OPEN. >> WE ARE BEING CRITICAL OF THE BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD. AS GOOD OF PLAYER RORY IS, NUMBER TWO PLAYER, SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER IS MILES BETTER PLAYER THAN RORY RIGHT NOW. HE IS SIXTH TENTH OF A STROKE BETTER THAN RORY RIGHT NOW. JJ SPAUN, HE IS THE SEVENTH RANKED SCORING AVERAGE ON THE PGA TOUR. TO GET TO 70.6, YOU GO TO GARY WOODLAND WHO IS ALMOST 60th. THAT IS MOUCH IS SEPARATES AND THAT’S HOW WIDE OF A MARGIN THERE IS. WHEN I LOOK AT SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, THE BEST OF 70, YOU THINK THAT IS MEDIOCRE. BUT HE ALMOST NEV PLAYS BAD. WHEN HE DOES, HE MANAGED TO FINISH FOURTH OR SEVENTH. IF YOU LOOK AT THE PLAYERS OVER THE LAST 60, 65 YEARS, OVER THE COURSE OF THEIR PRIME CAREERS, THEIR AVERAGE FINISH IN THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP, THIS WILL SURPRISE YOU. OVER THAT 20 YEAR SPAN, HE AVERAGED ALMOST 20. JACK NICHOLAS BY FAR THE BEST OPEN PLAYER, 1963 TO ’80. WHAT YOU SO IS ALMOST EVERYONE WOULD HAVE THE 50th FINISH OR 70th FINISH OR MISS A CUT. PHIL MICKELSON PLAYED BORING GOLF. THOSE ARE THE TWO BEST PLAYERS IN TERMS OF OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS. I WOULD ADD THAT YOU LOOK AT THEIR RECORDS, LOOK AT FALDO AND TREVINO, AND IT IS NOT UNUSUAL FOR PLAYERS TO HAVE AWKWARD FINISHES, 50th PLACE. THEY GET ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE DRAW, GET A BAD BOUNCE. NONE OF THAT SEEMS TO HAPPEN TO SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER BECAUSE HE PLAYS BORING GOLF LIKE NICK LAUS AND FOWLER. IT IS HARD TO IMAGINE HIM NOT WINNING TWO OR THREE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS. >> YOU LOVE THE HORSES. SO THESE TWO THOROUGHBREDS, SCOTTIE AND RORY, AT THIS POINT, RACE IS NOT FINISHED, WHO IS FRONT IN PLAYER OF THE YEAR? >> FOR ME, IT IS THE GUY WHO COMPLETES THE GRAND SLAM. >> RORY? >> RORY. TO BE THE SIXTH PLAYER IN HISTORY TO COMPLETE THE GRAND SLAM, PLAYER OF THE YEAR IS ALL ABOUT ACHIEVEMENTS MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE. TO ACHIEVE THE GRAND SLAM THAT STANDS FOR A LITTLE BIT MORE. BUT THE RACE IS NOT RUN YET BECAUSE WE HAVE THIS MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP, FEDEX TO A LESSER EXTENT BUT THE RYDER CUP AS WELL. THOSE WILL BE FACTORS FOR ME. >> SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER HAS HAD THE BETTER YEAR. RORY HAS HAD THE MORE MEMORABLE YEAR. AND IN 1950, BEN HOGAN WON THE U.S. OPEN, ONE TOURNAMENT. STAM STEED WON 11 TOURNAMENTS. BEN HOGAN GOT PLAYER OF THE YEAR. WE STILL TALK ABOUT HOGAN IN 1950, BUT SAMEH THE BETTER YEAR. IT IS JUST MORE MEMORABLE. >> BUT RORY HAS WON THE MASTERS AND PLAYERS, AND GRAND SLAM. >> I HEAR ALL OF THAT. >> I’M NOT SAYING RORY HASN’T HAD AN EXTRAORDINARY YEAR. BUT SCOTTIE HAS HAD THE BETTER YOUR. >> STATISTICALLY HE HAS HAD THE BETTER YEAR BUT WHAT TURPMENTS WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE WON, THE MASTERS AND THE SLAM, PLAYERS, PEBBLE BEACH, NO DISRESPECT BUT BYRON AND DALLAS? >> HE WON IT OVER THE COURSE OF HIS CAREER. IFFIA ARE LOOKINGAT THE YEAR, IT IS NOT EVEN CLOSE. SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER BY FAR HAS THE BETTER YEAR. >> WHO WILL HAVE THE BETTER WEEK THIS WEEK? >> I LIKE WHERE RORY IS AT. I THINK HE HAS TO CONTEND. I THINK BOTH PLAYERS CONTEND. >> IT IS PRIME FOR TOP TEN

Live From The Open previews The Open Championship for the world Nos. 1 and 2, agreeing that Rory McIlroy looks locked in again but identifying some areas that he and Scottie Scheffler need to get going at Royal Portrush. #Golf #GolfChannel #TheOpen #Portrush
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What must Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler get right at The Open? | Live From The Open | Golf Channel https://www.youtube.com/golfchannel?sub_confirmation=1