2 weeks ago
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Paolo UggettiJul 18, 2025, 09:01 PM ET
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland -- Scottie Scheffler stood successful the mediate of the 18th fairway and glanced toward the green. As helium waited for the radical successful beforehand of him to finish, down the grandstands a elephantine unreality sporting a frightening shadiness of grey loomed. A spread earlier, Scheffler had been washed by sunlight and framed by a rainbow. Now, the prima was gone and it looked similar much rainfall could beryllium coming.
It was that benignant of time successful Northern Ireland astatine the Open Championship.
"When we were teeing off, depending connected what upwind forecast you looked at, it was going to archer you thing different," Scheffler said. "It was ace sunny erstwhile we were connected the driving range, I'm retired determination successful abbreviated sleeves, it's lukewarm out. Then we get to the archetypal hole, it's inactive sunny. Then each of a sudden, you look astir and it's ace acheronian and it starts pouring rain. You're like, boy, I wonderment however agelong this is going to last."
Through pouring rain, upwind oregon sunshine, Scheffler was unfazed. He birdied the archetypal spread nether the conditions -- a harbinger of what was to come.
Over the people of the afternoon, the champion subordinate successful the satellite did what helium has present done galore times: made his triumph consciousness inevitable. In his 2nd rotation astir Portrush, Scheffler continued to pb the tract successful attack and went connected to marque implicit 132 feet of putts, tally 8 birdies and sprout what felt similar an casual 64 to instrumentality the 36-hole pb astatine 10-under.
"I felt similar I deed a fewer much fairways than I did yesterday," Scheffler said, stating the obvious. "Hit immoderate truly bully robust shots, and was capable to spread immoderate putts."
This benignant of understated, matter-of-fact quality to Scheffler's demeanor has go common. It's wherefore the champion and astir honorable appraisal of Scheffler's greatness tin often beryllium recovered not with him but with the precise radical who are trying to bushed him.
On Friday, erstwhile 1 newsman prefaced a question to Shane Lowry, who played with Scheffler, astir being connected the fringes of contention, Lowry chuckled.
"Eight shots down Scottie Scheffler isn't successful the fringes of contention the mode he's playing," helium said.
Earlier successful the day, Rory McIlroy finished his 2nd circular astatine 3-under and made a constituent to accidental helium was lone 5 backmost of the leaders which, astatine the time, were Brian Harman and Haotong Li astatine 8-under.
Be it 1 changeable similar Matt Fitzpatrick, 7 shots similar McIlroy oregon thing successful between, immoderate shortage against Scheffler has a antithetic consciousness to it, particularly erstwhile he's not conscionable excelling astatine his mean superpower (he's No. 1 successful strokes gained: approach), but has seemingly tapped into a caller 1 with his putter (he's No. 2 successful strokes gained: putting).
"He's an exceptional player. He's World No. 1," Fitzpatrick, who volition beryllium Scheffler's playing spouse successful the past radical Saturday, said. "We're seeing Tiger-like stuff."
When asked what it feels similar to beryllium successful contention, Fitzpatrick raved astir the feeling earlier realizing that the feline he'll beryllium contending with is apt present utilized to this sensation.
He laughed. "It indispensable beryllium fantastic for Scottie."
Even though Scheffler whitethorn consciousness inevitable, this is inactive The Open, and there's thing antithetic astir holding connected to leads connected courses that necessitate thing beyond people practice.
Here, nonrecreational play is astatine its astir inclusive. Here, the shot rolls, the bunkers swallow, the crosswinds confuse and the imaginable lies terrorize. The look to win tin beryllium elemental successful theory, but endlessly analyzable successful execution. Distance is nary longer the be-all and end-all; strategy is. How acold a subordinate whitethorn deed the shot is nary longer an denotation of however good a subordinate whitethorn bash astatine a fixed tournament, but simply a means to the astir important end: Get the shot successful the hole.
Just instrumentality a look astatine Harman. While a subordinate similar Fitzpatrick has made a sanction for velocity grooming and gaining region contempt his flimsy frame, the Georgia autochthonal stands 5-foot-7, hits it astir 275 yards disconnected the tee and was capable to triumph the 2023 Open Championship astatine Royal Liverpool by simply keeping the shot successful beforehand of him.
Harman is back, and this clip he's coming for different Open with the aforesaid recipe.
"I consciousness truly comfy implicit here," Harman said. "I deliberation that places similar this unit you to beryllium a small spot much creative. It's not truthful overmuch of an aerial attack. There's astir apt 10 antithetic types of clubs, irons, drivers, woods that you tin deed disconnected the tee. There's antithetic ways to onslaught into the green, and there's astir ever a elevation that volition benignant of termination a changeable coming into the green. I conscionable bask the creativity and trying to deliberation your mode around. You don't needfully -- you're not forced to deed definite shots. You tin benignant of bash it your ain way."
Bingo.
Aside from Scheffler, who is becoming adjacent much of a changeless beingness nary substance the benignant of course, determination seems to beryllium nary one-size-fits-all attack to this tournament. Just look astatine the leaderboard: Both McIlroy and 52-year-old Lee Westwood are conscionable extracurricular the apical 10, 7 shots down Scheffler. One has struggled to deed the fairway, the different has deed the astir fairways successful the tract truthful acold adjacent if helium can't deed it astir arsenic acold arsenic his competitors.
There's a journeyman of the DP World Tour successful Li (8-under) and determination are 2 DP World Tour graduates who stock a past sanction and the imaginable to beryllium stars successful Nicolai Hojgaard (4-under) and his member Rasmus (5-under). Both are wrong the apical 10, too.
There's Tyrrell Hatton, who is coming disconnected contending astatine the U.S Open, and Tony Finau, who hasn't won a PGA Tour lawsuit successful 2 years and has missed the chopped astatine the past 2 Open Championships. And then, there's Fitzpatrick, who, connected paper, whitethorn beryllium the biggest menace successful keeping Scheffler distant from the Claret Jug.
"I felt similar each facet of my crippled was connected today," said Fitzpatrick, who won the 2023 U.S. Open astatine Brookline.
Of course, elite ballstriking is the bedrock connected which immoderate winning bid volition beryllium made astatine Portrush -- conscionable look astatine the information that Robert MacIntyre and Harris English are besides wrong the apical 10. But the crushed wherefore it can't beryllium a lawsuit closed for Scheffler 36 holes successful isn't truthful overmuch astir who surrounds him, but much astir what this tourney tin bash to a player.
Trouble is conscionable astir each nook. A cookware bunker here, retired of bounds there, oregon the menacing gores that often look person to the fairways and greens than they are. As Scheffler experienced Friday, the upwind forecast is simply a guessing game, and stepping up to immoderate tee, you ne'er cognize what benignant of upwind oregon rainfall you're going to get. You besides ne'er cognize what benignant of victor the links volition crown. No 1 expected Harman to triumph successful 2023.
"I deliberation the unit is for him to triumph the play tournament," Fitzpatrick said. "I wouldn't accidental I needfully consciousness arsenic overmuch pressure. He's going to person the anticipation to spell retired and dominate."
Fitzpatrick is right. But adjacent though Scheffler volition beryllium chased by galore starting Saturday, his biggest rival whitethorn beryllium this tourney itself. It's the 1 large helium has performed the worst astatine successful his career, comparatively speaking, and due to the fact that of its style, it's besides the 1 that volition apt beryllium the toughest to clasp connected to.
All eyes volition beryllium connected Scheffler, who volition further the Tiger comparisons erstwhile again if helium does bent connected for the win. The past subordinate to triumph an Open with a 36-hole pb was Woods successful 2006. At the time, Woods, similar Scheffler, was the No. 1 subordinate successful the world; astatine the time, Woods besides felt inevitable.
"We'll spot what the play brings," Fitzpatrick said. "There's inactive a hellhole of a agelong mode to go,"
