One of the reasons Scottie Scheffler is so remarkable is the fact that the world number one does not appear to have any sort of ego when it comes to how good he is at getting a golf ball around a course.
Almost all of the sportspeople who reach the top of their respective games boast an air of invincibility. They have an amazing ability to lock in on the biggest stages and focus only on what it takes to reach or remain at the summit.
It is difficult to say that does not apply to Scottie Scheffler, with the 29-year-old making winning four major titles look incredibly easy over the last four seasons.
And yet, Scheffler seems to be about as unassuming as he was when he was a slightly contentious pick for the 2021 Ryder Cup.
Scottie Scheffler suggests what he thinks he is the ‘best in the world’ at doing after The Open Championship
Scheffler was the last man in Steve Stricker’s lineup, and was picked having not won on the PGA Tour. Several of his teammates were adamant that Scheffler would put that right very soon.
Scheffler has tended to shy away from discussions about where he ranks in comparison with Tiger Woods. Meanwhile, Jordan Spieth insisted Scheffler will have no interest in staying in the game once he is done.
So it is slightly surprising that Scheffler is prepared to publicly label himself as the best in the world in even one category.
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But when reflecting on the birdie he made after a double bogey in the final round of The Open Championship on Sunday, Scheffler told Golf Channel that there is no one better in one area.
“I got a little greedy with the second shot. I felt, with the two par putts I just made I was feeling pretty confident, I felt like I could actually get this ball to the green, which turns out to be a little silly. It was on the upslope and I felt like I could get it there and in hindsight, that was a little silly, especially with a big lead, I should have just chipped it out,” he said, about the mistake he made on the eighth hole.
“Doubles are definitely things you want to avoid on major championship Sundays. But you know, Teddy and I did a good job, we know what we did wrong on the eighth hole and we stepped up on the ninth tee, I think we’re the best in the world in being able to reset. We were able to do that.”
The remarkable statement Scottie Scheffler made after his double bogey at Royal Portrush
It is incredible to hear Scheffler kick himself over being aggressive out of the bunker on the eighth, particularly when he mentions that he had a big lead.
Ultimately, that is exactly the reason that Scheffler was entitled to try his luck out of the sand. Even after a double bogey, there was never any hope for the rest of the field to come back into the equation.
But Scheffler is wired a little differently. He would seemingly rather get across the line having done everything correctly than set records in a manner which is unlike him.
And you can almost guarantee that if Scheffler finds himself in a similar position in a future major – which he almost certainly will – he will have no intention of going against the percentages.
