Can McIlroy catch Scheffler? | Nick Faldo and Graeme McDowell bumper Open final day preview

► Subscribe to Sky Sports Golf: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSkySportsGolf
► Watch Sky Sports: https://bit.ly/BuySkySports

Sir Nick Faldo and Graeme McDowell preview a mouthwatering final day at Royal Portrush and discuss whether anyone can catch Scottie Scheffler to win The Open.

#golf #theopen #scottiescheffler #rorymcilroy

► Golf highlights: https://bit.ly/SkyGolfHighlights
► Sky Golf live streams: https://bit.ly/SkyGolfLive
► Sky Sports Golf Podcast: https://bit.ly/SkySportsGolfPodcast
► Audi Performance Zone: https://bit.ly/AudiPerformanceZone

More from Sky Sports on YouTube:

► Sky Sports: http://bit.ly/SkySportsSub
► Sky Sports Boxing: http://bit.ly/SSBoxingSub
► Sky Sports Cricket: http://bit.ly/SubscribeSkyCricket
► Sky Sports Darts: https://bit.ly/SubSkySportsDarts
► Sky Sports Football: http://bit.ly/SSFootballSub
► Sky Sports F1: http://bit.ly/SubscribeSkyF1
► Sky Sports News: http://bit.ly/SkySportsNewsSub
► Sky Sports Premier League: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSkySportsPL
► Sky Sports Retro: http://bit.ly/SkySportsRetroSub

► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SkySportsGolf
► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skysportsgolf/
► X: https://x.com/SkySportsGolf
►Website: https://www.skysports.com

► To enquire about licensing Sky Sports content, you can find out more here: https://www.skysports.com/more-sports/news/31754/11434270/license-sky-sports-footage

Scottish Heffler is a man that most definitely says he’s a man before a golfer. He’s a father, a husband before a golfer. Those winning moments fleeting perhaps even perhaps at an open. Well, you’ve won three of them. Uh we’ve heard Scotty talk about where golf sits for him. How significant of a day is today for Scotty? Well, I hope he’s more than, you know, satisfied or satisfaction for more than two minutes after winning tonight. You know, it’s 35 years on since I won my fourth. I’m still chuffed. I can promise you that much. No, but that was a very strange thing to say, you know, because you put in that much work and I’m not even going to go down that route. What? But, you know, he’s a very special golfer. He could quite easily get the third leg and maybe somewhere the way he’s going somewhere even next year he might get to the grand join Rory in the grand slam which would be actually unthinkable, isn’t it? when you two years ago, Graeme, golfers, no matter what ability, but especially at this level because they can change the path of your life winning one of these, right? You you know what that feels like. You know what that feels like. But half the job we always get taught to stay out of your own way. But if you have the perspective that it is just golf, it’s, you know, what matters truly is when I leave this place, does that make you a tougher talent to beat? Well, I mean, I think uh Sir Nick talked about, you know, some of his mental processes that he used for six major championships. I all I think we all have our techniques. We all have our processes. On days where I was going out there, you know, scared, fearful, chance to win, scar, you know, scared of messing it up. I, you know, I’d write little notes in my yardage book, you know, it’s like, hey, listen, I’m going to wake up tomorrow morning. It’s going to be okay. You know, I think Scotty had a much more philosophical deep dive into the sort of the same suggestion, you know, and to me, you know, that uh that was really just to me one of his mental techniques, one of the ways that he tries to not make golf as important as we make it feel the expectation levels, the pressure we put ourselves under. You know, it be interesting what he does today. To me, of the four majors, this may have been the toughest one for him to win. Trying to learn that Lynx technique, right? Not growing up with that in and you know, naturally. Um and you know this could be today a com a culmination of his learning process of the open championship in links golf. Yeah it’s the only major so far he hasn’t had a top five. That is definitely going to change. There’s a highly likely chance he is the man with the clar jug. Let’s just focus in on what what has made Scottish chef different. He does get banded around. Always very conscious in our job although you still play but certainly in the job in in television of comparing anybody with Tiger Woods. He does get banded around though in those terms in terms of what he is delivering. What is Scotty Sheffller’s superpower that is allowing him to not just be brilliant, not just win these championships, but to be a model of consistency over the last two years, over half of his starts, he’s finished in the top three. That’s that’s Tiger Town. That’s unbelievable. So, his strengths, obviously, the mental strength is number one, as we’ve been talking, this great ability to just like I hit a shot and I can walk forward without it affecting me. As we all know, that’s one of the hardest things to do. What did I do on the six? Why did I pull it there? And then suddenly you got you’re facing it again. He seems this incredible ability. Clear his mind and deal with all that. Technically, he’s got, you know, we talk about the fundamentals, you know, and how boring they can be. But this man is grinding simply on his grip. Unbelievable. He has the most incredible face awareness and reaction. I mean, look how he tries to save him, but he triple checks his grip. And that means for me, even though his swing is funny and the feet are flying around and we give him a hard time for, but from here to here, that club face is absolutely perfect or he knows exactly where the club faces. And of course, the scrambling and the way he’s the putting’s now really come up a couple of notches over the the last two years. Now, the scrambling yesterday, it was just off the charts, wasn’t it? And even the guys who didn’t see him hit the shots, you word fitter fritters around the golf course, didn’t it? Did you see him get up or hear about him getting up and down at 12 one minute he’s in this stuff you know chops it out 12 foot didn’t give up any shots so when you got somebody can do that I mean everybody’s thinking they we kind of think he’s going to go forwards I mean really a bad day for Scotty is a couple under line is that’s 16 that’s 16 if he has a good day he gets to 18 so that means Rory’s got to break the record shoot 61 to get to 18 well doesn’t really look like a 61 golf out there right now, does it? It’s the ultimate high praise, isn’t it? You got someone like Rory Mroy who is his biggest rival in the game right now. And asked about him last night, he simply said Scotty Sheffller is inevitable. And it definitely has that feeling in a game that has such volatility, he just delivers time and time again. Here’s something to back that up. Uh first of all, last nine times he’s had the 54 whole league, Gra, he has won them all. That sounds a little like Tiger Woods. How about this one though as well? He’s won three majors and he’s winning by more and more every single time. By three in 2022 at the Masters, by four at Augusta National again in 24, and by five this year at the PGA. He has that knack of pushing harder on the accelerator and pulling away when he gets in front. Yeah, I think being a good front runner is is definitely uh an ability which, you know, we don’t see a lot of players have. Tiger clearly had it, right? Scotty Schaefer appears to have it. Again, you know, we talk a lot about his mental strength, the fact that he can go to a place. I I kind of felt like yesterday when I was watching the coverage, you know, Rory was obviously five, six holes ahead of him, making a lot of noise, making moves, and I really felt like it stealed them. I I saw it at Quill Hollow at the PGA Championship. I felt like on the 10th green, Sheffller was having a wobble, had a long look at the leaderboard, stealed himself, and just went to a different place and didn’t miss a shot for six six holes after that. And uh, you know, it’s going to be super interesting today. I feel like, you know, from a chasing pack point of view, what would you want the weather to look like? Maybe maybe like Sunday on 19 where it was just brutally tough and we might see a big spread in scores. I mean, today kind of somewhere in the middle, right? I think there’s a score out there. You know, Sheffer, he’s so complete. You know, his iron play really impressed me yesterday. He flattened one out into six, kind of chased it up the bank, and then on seven, spins one up, brings it in. He thought he thinned it on six. It It looked fairly intentional. might not have been but uh you know he was just so impressive and so complete and like Rory says reasonably inevitable and we’re looking for a race today though we don’t want a procession well look he’s he’s got howong Lee alongside him Scotty chef we’ve got Matt Fitzpatrick in there at nine under park but your eyes are pulled towards Rory Mroy he’s six behind now where have I seen that before six behind going into the final day of a major 1996 rings a bell you and Greg Norman granted alongside each other but I suppose who better to ask than what’s the mentality when when you’ve got Someone in front of you who’s who’s a heck of a player like like Scotty Sheffller is for Rory today. What’s the mentality? Rory messed up on seven yesterday was three under should have gone to four. Had only had a six on in and made you know slowed him down. So he needs a mega I’m going all the way to the seventh cuz then you’ve got two par fives in there. So if he go if he can shoot four under and Scotty slow, he’d be two back. Well then it’s completely different story, isn’t it? And then and imagine the motivation that Roy all Roy needs to do is just smell or believe in himself. Oh, I could catch him. I could catch if he’s obviously got to go well to then start thinking that. But that’s a lovely way to be playing if you’re two back and you’ve still got all the rest of way. You know, one more great shot could do it. You you make a birdie and he takes a bogey or something and you get quick two shot swing like that. So it, you know, it’s still not over for guys like that. you. But obviously Jeff’s got to come back a smidg in and also they haven’t got the like you you had the luxury. It felt like across your career and the rivalry that you had with Greg Norman in particular, you had the edge like you you could you’ve said before I could see it in his eyes when you’ve been up against each other. He didn’t like me in the major. No, but but and obviously Sheffller has that luxury. He’s not with Rory, but he will definitely Graeme hear him because of the crowd. How big a asset is that for Rory Maroy today who needs and he is 16 of his wins have come from behind. He is the ultimate charger in this modern day crop. How much of an asset will the people here be? No doubt. I think we saw it yesterday. He he’s going to pull 75% of the crowd with him today. It’s going to be eerily quiet back in the Sheffer group I feel. And uh and Hatsong Lee um the crowd you could see it yesterday. It was like a rock concert out there. It was it was amazing. He put on a show for them. You know, totally agree uh with Sir Nick. I think this first seven holes are going to be absolutely pivotal. Two par fives, short fifth hole, uh par four. And you know, I think if if one small weakness in the bag, it may be the driver in some left right breezes. And these first four or five holes, they’re actually going to play uh we talked about it, a completely different wind direction. He’s going to see some left right wind looks and, you know, potentially mistakes to be made. But uh obviously we’re hoping for Rory to come out of the blocks. He needs to come out of the blocks. and uh uh you know fireworks yesterday just needs to be a little bit more consistent, not make the mistakes and try and keep the pressure on. And we don’t have to look at who he is now to believe he can shoot those score. His history of shooting a low number and on this golf course goes back to being what 16 years of age. This news filtered across the Irish Sea to the old course back in 2005 when he when he did it a 61 here at Royal Port Rush. I think uh that would probably get the job done even if it is Scottish effer in front. Yeah, you know, 16 years old. The young upand comingings come across come across the uh come across the TV screen every now and again. The Nick Dohys of the world. He’s going to be the next great thing. Pretty good. You know, when I heard about Rory Maroy, I was like, yeah, here here’s another one. And then I was like, he did what? 61. Okay. You know, maybe something special. And obviously turned out to be just that. One of the most special players I’ve seen uh certainly in my career. Oh my god. J when when we talk about the challenge here for Rory but also all of these chases how pivotal are those those first few holes that how pivotal key you know we’ve seen one very awkward you it’s getting hard left to right now but it’s probably a no long off the tea and you know awkward new pin it was so they got a left to right T-shot on two with a lot of bunkers down the right you got left to right on four with OB on the right so that could be five completely different they’ve been going for five then suddenly they’re going to have to move really move their target line and that’s a if they’ve gone left and the pins way back left one big hop got out of bounds about six paces off the back of that flag. So you know and then where is six? Six is not too bad but uh you know it’s on the top right. Yeah. Yeah. That’s not as quite as bad as yesterday and seven. It’s different though, isn’t it? It’s different because the wind has changed. Haven’t seen it all week. As I said, the caddies are going to earn their pay in picking the right wind direction