There is a joke in golf circles about the birth of a new child bringing a new sense of perspective to the lucky parents when they take the course. Players have credited this in post-round interviews and champions' press conferences following significant victories or strong performances.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has two children, and his son Bennett has received more screen time these past few seasons than 90% of Scheffler's competitors due to the clip at which his old man wins. In 2024, Scheffler won nine times in 21 tournaments. The following year, he won six times in as many tries, including at The Open Championship.
Scheffler has never lacked perspective. A year ago at this tournament, he went viral on social media following a monologue about how playing competitive golf lacks true meaning; he went on to win by our strokes. "What's the point?" was dug up and chuckled at during his press conference this year at Royal Birkdale, ahead of his attempt to defend the Claret Jug.
If you really listen, Scheffler is one of the more interesting talkers in golf, especially this season, as perspective has come to the forefront.
"I've had a very solid year, but like I said, frustrating at times because I've been close and I haven't been able to get it done like I have been in years past," Scheffler said. "Overall, I feel like I know what my why is, why I'm out here playing, and I'm excited to try and defend my title this week.
"I'm looking forward to getting out here on a really firm golf course. I think it's going to be very fun and interesting to play. St Andrews was really firm, but outside of that, I haven't played an extremely firm Open Championship yet, so I'm excited to get out there and see what it's like under competition as well."
Scheffler has not won a golf tournament since the opening event of his season at The American Express six months ago. He went through a bit of a lull across the Florida Swing but emerged right in time for major championship season.
Since the Masters, he has four runner-up results (two in playoffs) and two other top fives, including at the U.S. Open, where he was in the final pairing on Sunday with eventual champion Wyndham Clark.
If offered up to his contemporaries, is there anyone who would not take his performance this season and general run of form?
That's where perspective comes in.
Scheffler is a victim of his own success. After seasons in which he respectively averaged 3.22 and 3.31 strokes gained per round (and won in bunches), he has dipped to a measly 2.84 -- still better than both his 2022 and 2023 campaigns. He is nearly 0.50 strokes worse per round compared to past versions of himself, while still being, coincidentally, 0.50 strokes better than the second-best player (Rory McIlroy) this year.
All of this was thrown out the window when he missed the cut at the Scottish Open, however. His first early exit since the summer of 2022, Scheffler missed the weekend at The Renaissance Club for the first time in 79 starts. He called it frustrating, and his punishment has been an influx of questions about his plans this past weekend.
That comes with being the best player in the world for what is approaching half a decade. Yes, it has really been that long. It is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately type of business, where you are standing in front of the microphone every single week answering questions about your performance.
Lately, Scheffler has not won. He has been slightly off compared to his previous two seasons. His wedge play, in particular, has been a bit loose. Some frustrations have boiled over to the golf course, too. And he wasn't even at the golf course last weekend because of his poor play.
However, even during all of this, he has finished inside the top 15 in all three majors this season (one of three players to do so), given himself a real chance at the career grand slam in his first attempt and been statistically the best player in the world (still). He has finished two tournaments in regulation without losing to anyone.
Scheffler is not that far off from the public's expectations.
This week, he will attempt to become the first back-to-back winner at The Open since Padraig Harrington in 2007-08, the defense coming, ironically enough, at Royal Birkdale. Scheffler will aim to have his name etched onto the Claret Jug for the second time, breaking a streak of first-time Open winners stretching back to Harrington.
Alongside Woods, Scheffler would be the only other American name on the jug more than once over the last 40 years. His major tally would equal that of Byron Nelson, Seve Ballesteros, Brooks Koepka and Peter Thomson, who won at Royal Birkdale not once but twice.
Winning would certainly enhance Scheffler's résumé, but it would also shift the perception of his season and turn what many are considering a down year into one worth remembering.
"I'm not the best at reflecting, but I think sometimes when you show up to an event, and you're the defending champ, you're forced to reflect a little bit just because there's pictures of you holding the trophy," Scheffler said. "There's pictures of my family and I celebrating, Ted celebrating and everything. You're forced to reflect a little bit. Those are some really great experiences, and I'm proud of the accomplishments that we've been able to make in the game.
"Like I said last year, what's the point? Because we just continue to want more and more. The heart's never satisfied, and we're always looking for more. But that's also kind of the fun part: The chase."
