Scottie Scheffler won plenty of admirers for his frank comments about life and golf before winning The Open Championship, but former ‘Undisputed’ and ‘First Take’ star Skip Bayless was not among them
Scottie Scheffler has been questioned by Skip Bayless despite winning The Open Championship(Image: Alex Pantling/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
Skip Bayless has slammed Scottie Scheffler’s perspective on life, despite the world No. 1 showing his class and cruising to victory at The Open Championship.
Scheffler was in a league of his own at Royal Portrush, winning by four shots to clinch his fourth major championship. The 29-year-old made headlines ahead of the tournament, admitting that golf was not his top priority in life and the joy of winning was fleeting.
Instead, Scheffler made clear his family and faith were his top priorities, claiming he would quit the sport if professional golf ever caused stress in his personal life. His comments caused much debate between players and pundits after he declared: “This is not a fulfilling life.”
READ MORE: Tiger Woods statement speaks volumes after Scottie Scheffler hits back at ‘silly’ commentsREAD MORE: Scottie Scheffler’s ‘childish’ financial agreement with caddie after $3.1 million win
Former ESPN and FOX Sports pundit Bayless believes Scheffler’s outlook on life betrays his supreme talents. He said on his podcast: “I was jolted and jarred by what Scottie Scheffler said on the Eve of the British Open.
“No, Scottie, no. God gave you spectacular ability to play the world’s hardest game, gave you the strongest competitive drive since Tiger [Woods], gave you what Jack Nicklaus had, what Ben Hogan had.
“You can’t just shrug it off at age 29 and focus on being a better father than a golfer. You can’t do that, Scottie, no. God wants you to maximize the platform from which you can honor him, and encourage fans to open their hearts to him, to god.
“That’s what god has led or called you to do, Scottie. Not to focus on your wife and infant son before you are 30. Golf is just too hard; the line is just too fine between dominating and missing cuts.
Subscribe to our golf newsletter for all the latest news and views from the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and beyond
Scheffler was a class above the rest at Royal Portrush(Image: Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
“So, when I first listened to Scottie Scheffler’s ‘What’s it all mean?’ comments the day before The Open, I couldn’t help but think he would not win another major. Jack won 18, Tiger won 15. I couldn’t help but think Scottie would be stuck on three.”
Bayless said that Scheffler’s comments show he does not share the “cold-blooded” mindset that powered the careers of Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Tom Brady.
Bayless seemed to suggest he has more in common with those men’s approach to their work than Scheffler does.
“See Tiger Woods, see Michael Jordan, see Tom Brady. And on a far, far lower level, see me. Yup, I have always been obsessed with maximizing the talent god gave me. I felt I was called by god to be the very best truth-telling commentator and writer as I could be. The very best,” Bayless asserted.
“However, I could maximize my talent that god gave me, I’m going to do it. To do so, I sacrificed having children because I saw that correctly raising children would be a huge, time-draining distraction from maximizing my talents.
“You might say, I took on the persona of a cold-blooded media killer, driven to achieve at all costs while honoring god and tithing to my church, supporting other great causes as I have over the years.”
After getting his hands on the Claret Jug, Scheffler added more context to his comments, insisting that his hunger for success has not waned. But Bayless believes the two-time Masters champion still has his priorities wrong.
“Atta boy, Scottie, that is it,” Bayless added. “That is exactly what you could have and should have said before the tournament. Now, Scottie did go on to say on Sunday night, ‘My greatest priority is my faith and my family. Golf is not how I identify myself.’
“No, Scottie, but it is how you can build a monument to god. Deep down, I do believe that Scottie is driven to be the greatest of all time.”
