A difference of opinion has come to light between top golfers Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler ahead of this week’s US Open major championship in New York.
Scottie Scheffler stands on the brink of golfing immortality this week – but unlike rival Rory McIlroy, he insists the prospect barely crosses his mind. The world number one heads into the US Open at Shinnecock Hills as the hot favourite, knowing victory would guarantee him a place in the sport’s history books.
If Scheffler lifts the trophy in New York on Sunday, he will become just the seventh golfer to complete the modern career Grand Slam – joining an elite club that includes McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.
means Scheffler now needs only the US Open to win all four major championships, even though the American is unfazed by the possibility of making history. “The Grand Slam has never been a motivating factor for me,” he said. “I always just wanted to be the best version of myself.
“As a professional athlete, you’re never going to live up to the expectations of people. The fallacy in our sport is if I win the US Open, I am going to be satisfied, I’ve won all the tournaments, and my career is essentially over because I’ve accomplished everything I want to. But I think the goalposts are just moved further and further.”
That perspective stands in stark contrast to McIlroy, who spent a decade carrying the burden of trying to complete the career Grand Slam. The Northern Irishman had his first stab at winning all four major titles in 2015 but had to wait 10 long years before finally claiming a Green Jacket with a thrilling victory at Augusta.
Speaking in 2016, the six-time major champion admitted the prospect played heavy on his mind. “If I can win a Green Jacket and become just the sixth player in history to win a Grand Slam, then I would retire happy knowing I have joined an exclusive list,” he told the BBC.
He reiterated that point a year later, telling the media: “I’d love to give you an answer and say my life is already fulfilled with everything that’s happened and everything that’s going to happen in the future, by starting a family and all that.
“But if I didn’t have a Green Jacket, there would be a tiny piece that would just be missing. It really would be. I wouldn’t be fulfilled if I didn’t get it.
“I said it in an interview when I was eight years old; I want to be the best golfer in the world, and I want to win all the majors. I’ve nearly done all of that. There’s one piece of the puzzle that’s missing.”
Freed from that burden, McIlroy went wire-to-wire earlier this year to record back-to-back Masters victories and arrives at Shinnecock Hills hopeful of adding a second US Open crown to his collection. McIlroy will tee off for his first round at 12:52pm UK time, with Scheffler beginning his own bid shortly after at 1:14pm.