Scheffler's dominance, players to watch and how the Ryder Cup teams look

The last large of the play -- the Open Championship -- is over, with Scottie Scheffler dominating the tract connected the mode to his 2nd large of the season.

With the FedEx Cup playoffs, the Tour Championship and the Ryder Cup inactive to come, determination is plentifulness near to play for.

What's adjacent for Scheffler? Who amazed and who disappointed astatine the Open? What's the latest connected the contention for spots connected the Ryder Cup teams? We reply immoderate of the biggest questions coming retired of Royal Portrush and heading into the remainder of the season.

Where does Scottie Scheffler spell from here?

Mark Schlabach: Scheffler doesn't privation to perceive comparisons to Tiger Woods, but possibly nary 1 has played arsenic consistently for truthful agelong since the tallness of Tiger's career.

"I don't deliberation we thought the golfing satellite would spot idiosyncratic arsenic ascendant arsenic Tiger travel done truthful soon, and here's Scottie benignant of taking that throne of dominance," two-time large champion Xander Schauffele said. "You can't adjacent accidental he's connected a run. He's conscionable been sidesplitting it for implicit 2 years now. He's a pugnacious antheral to beat, and erstwhile you spot his sanction up connected the leaderboard, it sucks for us."

Scheffler, 29, is present the third-youngest subordinate with 15 PGA Tour victories and 4 majors; lone Tiger (24) and Jack Nicklaus (25) were younger. He is lone the 4th golfer to triumph the Masters, PGA Championship and The Open earlier turning 30; Woods, Nicklaus and Gary Player were the others. That's elite company.

Given Scheffler's ballstriking and vastly improved putting, I wouldn't beryllium amazed to spot him astatine slightest treble his 4 large victories -- if not more. I'd beryllium amazed if helium doesn't implicit the vocation Grand Slam successful adjacent year's U.S. Open astatine Shinnecock Hills. For a feline who seems to person amended position than astir erstwhile it comes to golf, household and faith, helium inactive has a red-hot competitory occurrence that we've seldom seen.

Paolo Uggetti: Well, you heard the man. He's connected to Memphis (and yet the Tour Championship), wherever he'll commencement adjacent par and get backmost astatine it. Scheffler said successful our interrogation with him that helium volition instrumentality clip to bask this but if there's thing we learned astir Scheffler this week -- oregon alternatively person it confirmed -- is that the process of becoming the champion subordinate successful the satellite is much enjoyable to him than really being the champion subordinate successful the world.

"It's hard to picture what it feels similar because, yeah, I don't consciousness immoderate antithetic due to the fact that I've won a play tournament. This is not the be-all, end-all for me, but I'm highly grateful for it," Scheffler said. "I don't deliberation that I'm thing peculiar conscionable due to the fact that immoderate weeks I'm amended astatine shooting a little people than different guys are."

The happening is that Scheffler continues to sprout little scores than anyone other and there's nary motion of that stopping anytime soon -- beryllium it successful Memphis, the Tour Championship, the Ryder Cup oregon yet the large championships adjacent season. His propensity for being the odds-on favourite volition get adjacent much stark and chances are, barring wounded oregon otherwise, he'll support adding to his triumph tally and large title grounds too.

Other than Scottie, who were biggest winners astatine The Open?

Schlabach: It was Scheffler's tourney with his dominance implicit 72 holes, but successful galore ways it was Rory McIlroy's week. After missing the chopped astatine the archetypal Open Championship astatine Royal Portrush successful 68 years successful 2019, Rory was astir for the play this time, and helium enactment connected rather a amusement successful his homeland.

While McIlroy finished a distant 7 shots down Scheffler for a necktie for seventh astatine 10 under, the week was successful galore ways a solemnisation of his Masters triumph successful April, which allowed him to yet implicit the vocation Grand Slam.

With thousands of fans pursuing him connected the links course, McIlroy delivered a 5-under 66 successful the 3rd circular that astatine slightest gave him an ounce of anticipation successful trying to pursuit down Scheffler. He said the roars aft his eagle connected the par-5 12th were the loudest he'd ever heard successful a play tournament.

"It's been an awesome week," McIlroy said. "I've gotten everything I wanted retired of this week isolated from a Claret Jug, and that's conscionable due to the fact that 1 idiosyncratic was conscionable a small spot amended than the remainder of us.

"I consciousness truthful thankful and conscionable truthful fortunate that I get to bash this, I get to bash this successful beforehand of this crowd. Hopefully, I'll person 1 oregon 2 Opens near here, if the R&A determine to support coming back, astir apt 1 portion I'm inactive competitory and different 1 portion I'm much grey than I already am."

Uggetti: There's not capable speech astir Harris English, who has finished 2nd spot astatine 2 large championships this twelvemonth and mislaid lone to 1 guy: Scottie Scheffler. You don't get a trophy for 2nd spot but the people is simply a testament to the benignant of play English is playing arsenic of late.

This season, English has 1 PGA Tour triumph and 4 top-10 finishes. He's present ranked wrong the top-10 successful the OWGR.

"I'm playing immoderate bully golf. Just request to cleanable it up a small bit," English said Sunday. "But 1 of my -- my 2 goals this twelvemonth were to marque it to the Tour Championship and marque that Ryder Cup team, and hopefully I've moved myself a small spot person to that, and hopefully I tin get successful that apical six to fastener up a spot."

English's decorativeness astatine Portrush does get him into that coveted sixth spot for an automatic qualifier, but adjacent if helium slips beneath the sixth spot, it's harmless to accidental English is astir a fastener to beryllium a portion of Keegan Bradley's squad travel September astatine Bethpage.

Most disappointing astatine The Open?

Schlabach: Not to prime connected the LIV Golf League, but 3 of its astir recognizable stars -- Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Cameron Smith -- were 3 of the worst flops astatine Royal Portrush.

Koepka gave america a glimmer of anticipation erstwhile helium was successful the premix and tied for 12th successful the U.S. Open. But the five-time large champion missed the chopped successful the Masters, PGA Championship and The Open. He hasn't finished successful the apical 10 successful 1 of the large 4 since winning the 2023 PGA Championship.

Smith captured the 150th Open Championship astatine St. Andrews successful Scotland successful 2022, but different than winning 3 times successful the LIV Golf League and erstwhile successful his autochthonal Australia, helium hasn't done overmuch of anything. He is the lone golfer who missed the chopped successful each 4 majors this season.

After Reed was solo 3rd astatine the Masters and tied for 23rd astatine the U.S. Open, determination was speech that helium mightiness sneak his mode backmost onto the U.S. Ryder Cup team. There's zero accidental of that happening present aft helium missed the chopped astatine Royal Portrush. And, to beryllium honest, fixed Reed's arguable past successful the Ryder Cup, Greg Norman astir apt had a amended accidental astatine hitting the ceremonial opening tee changeable astatine Bethpage Black.

Uggetti: Patrick Cantlay's large grounds was already lacking overmuch substance successful the mode of top-10s, fto unsocial wins, but aft missing the chopped astatine Portrush, helium has present missed 3 consecutive large title cuts this twelvemonth and has lone finished wrong the apical 20 astatine a large erstwhile successful the past 2 years. Expectations look to dwindling for Cantlay, who mightiness beryllium 1 of the amended players to not triumph a large successful his career, and it appears that helium has fallen disconnected adjacent conscionable his customary signifier connected the PGA Tour -- helium hasn't won a circuit lawsuit since 2022. The majors person simply been further impervious of that.

Who is 1 subordinate you'll beryllium watching the closest implicit the adjacent fewer weeks?

Schlabach: U.S. Ryder Cup skipper Keegan Bradley has to beryllium blessed astir Xander Schauffele's signifier successful caller weeks. The two-time large champion missed astir six weeks with a achy rib wounded astatine the commencement of the season, and he's been trying to find his putting changeable ever since.

Schauffele tied for eighth astatine the Scottish Open and for seventh astatine The Open. It's not similar Schauffele hasn't performed good successful the tournaments that mattered astir this season: helium tied for eighth successful the Masters, 28th successful the PGA Championship and 12th successful the U.S. Open. There are dozens of golfers who would happily instrumentality those results.

Uggetti: Chris Gotterup is the X origin the U.S. Ryder Cup squad has been waiting for. Think Ludvig Åberg up of Rome. Or Scottie Scheffler up of Whistling Straits. OK, possibly not rather to that level. But Gotterup has burst onto the country with a triumph implicit Rory McIlroy astatine the Scottish Open and a third-place decorativeness astatine The Open this past week -- lone his 4th large title start.

"I expected to play well, but I don't deliberation I expected rather this well," Gotterup said. "I don't cognize what's going connected implicit here, but possibly my European humor successful maine a small spot has travel to life."

Gotterup hasn't rather travel retired of obscurity -- helium had 3 top-30 finishes earlier this tally and too 1 missed cut, his worst decorativeness since April is T-28 -- but this is inactive a spot of a surprise. He has present leaped into the apical 40 of the satellite rankings and jumped 19 spots successful the Ryder Cup rankings.

"I haven't thought astir it astatine all. I mean, it truly wasn't ever connected my radar," Gotterup, a New Jersey native, said of the Ryder Cup. "I evidently hoped to play well, and it would beryllium a miracle. Now I mean, I person nary idea. Northeast is my home, and we'll spot what happens."

Gotterup's adjacent period oregon truthful volition beryllium important to solidifying himself not conscionable arsenic a imaginable Ryder Cup squad subordinate but besides a apical subordinate connected Tour. Even though his champion worldly has travel crossed the pond connected links courses, his crippled intelligibly has a precocious imaginable ceiling.

Thoughts connected the Ryder Cup coming retired of The Open

Schlabach: Scheffler has already qualified for the U.S. team, and I'd conjecture that the adjacent 5 golfers successful the points standings -- Schauffele, J.J. Spaun, Russell Henley, Bryson DeChambeau and English -- volition astir apt extremity up making the squad.

The apical six successful the points standings aft the BMW Championship connected Aug. 17 volition automatically suffice for the U.S. team, and past Bradley volition marque six captain's choices. I deliberation the aforementioned golfers person done capable to beryllium selected, adjacent if they're not successful the apical six aft the 2nd FedEx Cup playoffs event.

Bradley told Sports Illustrated astatine The Open that DeChambeau has each but made the team: "Bryson is going to beryllium a precise important portion to america winning the Ryder Cup. He brings truthful much. He brings energy, passion, but astir importantly, he's 1 of the champion players connected the planet."

As for Bradley's captain's choices, Justin Thomas and Morikawa fertile seventh and eighth successful points, respectively, and are Ryder Cup veterans. Ben Griffin, a two-time victor connected circuit this season, is ninth successful points, followed by Bradley, Maverick McNealy and Brian Harman.

After winning the Travelers Championship successful June, there's a beardown anticipation that Bradley mightiness beryllium a playing captain. He tied for 30th astatine Royal Portrush, and a coagulated decorativeness oregon 2 successful the FedEx Cup playoffs mightiness solidify his position. He would beryllium the archetypal player-captain since Arnold Palmer successful 1963.

Andrew Novak (13th successful points), Patrick Cantlay (14th), Sam Burns (15th), Wyndham Clark (16th), Lucas Glover (17th), Daniel Berger (18th), Gotterup (22nd) and others stay successful the mix.

Uggetti: Though there's inactive plentifulness to fig retired with the U.S. team, it appears that the European squad is crystallizing into thing rather akin to what it had successful Rome.

Though helium began the twelvemonth slowly, Matt Fitzpatrick has picked up his form, totaling 4 consecutive finishes wrong the apical 20, including 3 wrong the top-10 and an awesome T-4 decorativeness astatine The Open this past week.

"First clip being successful contention for The Open. It's a large measurement forward," Fitzpatrick said. "I've been successful contention for 2 of the 4 majors this year, which is truly nice. Last clip I did that was 2022. A batch of bully worldly to physique on, knowing that my crippled is determination to springiness it a go."

If determination was immoderate flimsy uncertainty that Fitzpatrick would beryllium connected the squad astatine Bethpage, helium has present quieted it.

The aforesaid tin apt beryllium said for Robert MacIntyre who was a captain's prime past Ryder Cup and has present had a second-place decorativeness astatine the U.S. Open and a T-7 decorativeness astatine the Open. Currently, MacIntyre would suffice connected points arsenic helium stands comfortably successful 2nd spot successful the rankings.

Perhaps the lone question people remains with the Hojgaard twins, who some played exceptionally good astatine Portrush -- Nicolai (who did not marque the Ryder Cup squad successful Rome) finished successful 14th spot portion Rasmus (who did marque the squad past time) finished 16th. Rasmus is seventh successful the rankings, conscionable 1 spot extracurricular of the automatic qualifiers, portion Nicolai (25th) astir apt has immoderate much enactment to bash if helium wants to beryllium considered.

"We couldn't grip each other's occurrence erstwhile we were younger, but we tin bash that present and enactment each different and get motivated by each other," Nicolai said this week. "When you get older, you get somewhat much mature."