PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — He’s not Tiger Woods.
Not yet.
But Scottie Scheffler is doing Tiger Woods things.
If he stays interested in pursuing the otherworldly records Woods posted, Scheffler will need to continue his dominance for years more to get there. And don’t bet against him getting there.
But right now, this week at the British Open, Sunday at Royal Portrush, where he blew away a world-class field to win his fourth career major championship, Scheffler might as well have been wearing Sunday red and punching the air with uppercut fist pumps like that guy who has 15 major championships.
“I don’t think we thought the golfing world would see someone as dominant as Tiger come through so soon, and here’s Scottie sort of taking that throne of dominance,’’ defending champion Xander Schauffele said. “You can’t even say he’s on a run. He’s just been killing it for over two years now. He’s a tough man to beat, and when you see his name up on the leaderboard, it sucks for us.’’
It sucked for everyone other than Scheffler, his family and his supporters this week. Seemingly everyone else on the grounds all week wanted Rory McIlroy, the native son, to win.
But Scheffler winning was — in McIlroy’s word from Saturday — inevitable.
Scheffler took a four-shot lead into Sunday’s final round and promptly birdied the first hole.
By the time he birdied No. 4, he had a seven-shot lead. Yes, he double-bogeyed No. 8 when he left a shot in a bunker, but that was his only score above par on a hole in the final two rounds.
Of course, Scheffler then followed that with a bounce-back birdie on No. 9 and off he went in cruise control the rest of the way until he made that magical and mystical walk up 18 for his coronation.
All week, the clinical Scheffler was as stone-faced as a surgeon. Then, when his final putt dropped on the 72nd hole and victory was official, he threw his Nike hat down and let out a primal, guttural scream, a release that completely belied his entire vibe.
When he saw his wife and his 1-year-old son, Bennett, Scheffler cried. The iceman melted.
“When I see my family afterwards, that’s a pretty special feeling,’’ Scheffler said. “It’s one that’s very hard to describe. It’s something I’m very grateful for and something that I’ll hold onto for a long time.
“Every time I’m able to win a tournament, the first person I always look for is my wife [Meredith]. She’s always the first person I want to celebrate with. She knows me better than anybody. That’s my best friend. It takes a lot of work to be able to become good at this game, and I wouldn’t be able to do it without her support.’’
As far as the things he’s doing on the golf course, now needing only a U.S. Open victory to complete the career Grand Slam that only six other men have achieved, Scheffler remains curiously, weirdly, and refreshingly unaffected by it all.
When it was mentioned to him that players were talking about him approaching Woods-like dominance, Scheffler said of any comparisons: “I still think they’re a bit silly.’’
“Tiger won, what, 15 majors?’’ he said. “This is my fourth. I just got one-fourth of the way there. I think Tiger stands alone in the game of golf. He was inspirational for me growing up. He was a very, very talented guy, and he was a special person to be able to be as good as he was at the game of golf.
“I don’t focus on that kind of stuff. That’s not what motivates me. I’m not motivated by winning championships. I feel like what motivates me is just getting out and getting to live out my dream. I get to play professional golf, and I feel like I’m called to do it to the best of my ability.’’
His ability, though, allowed him to make that walk up 18 with a four-shot lead that he could not lose, even if he played the hole blindfolded.
“Being able to walk up 18 with the tournament in hand is a really tough thing to describe,’’ Scheffler said. “It’s a really cool feeling. I have a lot of gratitude towards being able to accomplish something like this. I felt like this was one of my best performances mentally.
“This was a tough week, it was challenging,’’ Scheffler went on — even though the way he went about his business made it look so stress free. “It’s a very special feeling. It takes a lot of work to get to this point in my career.’’
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