Scottie, Rory, Haotong and a black stuff pint: 50 thoughts from the Open

WRITING IN BLACK TEXT BUT THINKING OF A PINT OF THE BLACK STUFF, U.S.A. — One of my favorite thoughts from a week of thoughts came from Bryson DeChambeau, who’s always thinking. 

It was in response to this question, asked by GOLF’s Michael Bamberger:

Your YouTube numbers suggest that you’re a superstar and you’ve transcended traditional golf. Could you see Scottie ever doing that in his own way?

“I think he’s a family man,” DeChambeau said. “He really respects his family, and he believes and wants that to be the most important thing for him. I have full respect for that. At some point, I will have a family. For him, I think it’s more important to take care of his family, which he’s done a great job and tremendous job of balancing the two, being the best golfer in the world and being a family man.”

Not a yes. Not a no. Which is about spot on for Scottie Scheffler, your Open Championship winner and now a four-time major winner. The question above, though, begs another question to chew on today:

Is Scheffler a transcendalist, period, at this point?

To answer it, perhaps turn to previous transcendentalists. Tiger? He was mythical before he turned pro, mythical for a stretch as a pro, and maybe even more mythical now. He achieved things no one had ever achieved before, by doing things no one had ever done before. Shots over, under or around trouble. Shots while in trouble. Shots through his opponents’ souls. You probably have a moment or 10 in mind. MJ was like that. And Brady. They kept coming too. 

They were a form of escapism. For the length of a round or a game, we could tune away from the routine to witness ridiculousness.

So what about Scheffler, then? He’s flawless, outside of a funky delivery and an occasional flaky putter. He’s an inextinguishable flame — who sucks the oxygen out of everyone else. And all of this fails to mention his off-the-course life, which he’ll tell you trumps anything from his on-course one. (We’ll get to all of that shortly.) 

But, again, does that transcend?

I think it’s how you define it. Or maybe Scheffler is changing your definition. Isn’t how he goes about his business the way you’d want to? Isn’t that inspirational? 

Isn’t that more real?

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As we look back at the Open Championship week that was, let’s make that observation No. 1 then. We’ll try for 49 more, and we’ll be fueled by the anticipation of drinking a Guinness, which will be had as soon as the keyboarding concludes.

2. I danced around it there, but Scheffler is a bit boring — but a bit boring is what you want in golf. Ask any pro. Three-hundred-yard drive down the middle, iron to 8 feet, putt, rinse and repeat. 

3. One of Scheffler’s issues is he’s doing something they tell you never to do, though by no fault of his own:

He’s following a superstar in the public eye.    

Every stroke, tournament and word are measured against Woods — who entered pro golf at a time mostly absent of megastars. 

4. That said, I wonder that whatever Scheffler accomplishes might get somewhat lost, that if he goes on to win, say, seven majors, the accomplishment is diminished somehow.

Which would be silly. 

5. We do seem always in a rush to crown the “next,” aren’t we?  

6. So, how many majors does Scheffler win? Can he win 11 (!) more to catch Woods? Can he win 14 (!) more to catch Jack Nicklaus? At this pace, right here, right now, that seems doable. 

Which we would’ve also said about a decade ago with Rory McIlroy. And with Jordan Spieth. And five years ago with Brooks Koepka. Funny things can happen because golf is a funny game. 

But if you’ve come this far looking for a number, let’s put it at 8.5. 

7. So about The Quote. 

If you missed it, it came Tuesday from Scheffler, after the Associated Press’ Doug Ferguson asked the following question:

You talk about the show goes on, which it does. What would be the longest you’ve ever celebrated something? What was the most crushing loss or the time it took to get over one?

Scheffler’s response is below:

Afterward, seemingly everyone, from the players to those who watch the players, weighed in, and the subject followed Scheffler — all the way until Sunday, when it was brought up again, and the exchange is below:

So what’s the takeaway?

You don’t hear such admissions from athletes, so it’s jarring. We’re conditioned to watching those who desire to conquer all — though there’s no such thing. For a golfer, there’s always another tournament. For a doctor, there’s always another patient. For a writer, there’s always another story. So cherish the victories. Cherish that you made your fans cheer. And cherish getting a chance to try again. 

And then go home. To use some of Scheffler’s words, go fill the deepest wants and desires of your heart, whatever that may look like.

But really, if Scheffler’s figured out the ever-confounding issue of proper work-life balance, watch out. 

That 8.5 number listed above will be considered very low. 

8. In regards to Scheffler’s comment on Tuesday (the first video above), I thought Padraig Harrington added some good thoughts in response in the video below:

9. In regards to Scheffler’s comment on Sunday (the second video above), I wonder what his Chipotle order is. 

In his honor, I ate there on Sunday night. (I had a bowl with chicken, white rice, black beans, mild salsa, cheese and guac, if you’re wondering.)

10. What would Scheffler have done this year without the hand injury?

11. This Scheffler moment below was, well something. 

12. Let’s talk about some other players, and we’ll go down the leaderboard. 

Harris English wins an Open at some point. His mentality is built for links golf. 

13. Chris Gotterup wins an Open at some point. His game is built for links golf.

14. Matt Fitzpatrick breaks the Englishman drought at some point. No one from England has won an Open since 1992. 

15. Haotong Li will make some headlines when he reaches the PGA Tour. He’s electric. 

16. Break time! Let’s talk about that dateline at the start of this article. I didn’t travel out for the Open, but before this story publishes, a Guinness will be had in the city where I live, New York. After careful research, I’m going to the Long Hall Pub & Grocery, which most every well-intentioned reviewer says has the best Guinness in town.  

17. Maybe it’s his accent, maybe it’s the way he seems to reflect before he speaks, but I think Robert MacIntyre is turning into one of my favorite interviews in golf. 

This was good (the reporter’s questions are in italics):

What’s your mental look like? You’re on your own?

“I can do whatever I want for an hour,” MacIntyre said. “Just anything I want. You can break things. You can literally do whatever I want for an hour. After that hour is gone, my job’s done. For an hour and a half before my round, two hours before my round, I’m preparing, so nobody gets in my way. It’s warmup, stretching, gym work, all of that. So there’s a five-, six-, seven-, eight-hour window that I’m working.

“If you have a bad day at work, you’re going to be annoyed. It happens more often than not for me as well. It’s just about once that’s gone, it’s been difficult in the past for me to reset, but nowadays, there’s so many golf tournaments and you don’t know what’s coming the next week.”

That fire is what can be the difference in making you feel ready to win a major? That’s what you need?

“I’m fiery on the golf course when I’m in tournament rounds,” MacIntyre said. “I’ll drop, I was going to say the odd, but a few bad words in there. I’ll hit the bag. I’ll say some harsh things, but that’s what gets me going.

“If I walk around and I’m all happy I just made a double bogey or people are clapping, thanks very much, that’s not me. I’m needing to smash something up. I want to rip a glove. I do something to get that anger out. It’s better out than in for me. Some people, it’s better holding it, but for me, it’s get it out and then just do not let it affect the next shot. Simple.”

18. The video below was stunning, though. 

19. Xander Schauffele seems nearly back from the rib injury that shelved him earlier in the season. 

20. This was good from Schauffele, who, after revealing that he didn’t know where his trophies were, was asked why he didn’t:

“What am I going to do with it? I don’t really invite people over to my house. Am I just going to go look at it myself? That’s the way I feel about it. I don’t want to walk into a trophy room like, ‘Look how great I am.’ I was just raised to think that way, and it’s kind of stuck. I really don’t sit at home, you know what I mean?

“My wife hung up some pictures of me in my gym of me winning the Olympic medal, and she put it so high up I can’t reach it. I have to get a ladder now, and it bothers me,” Schauffele said. “Like if anything, put up like me in a Masters jacket, like that would p*ss me off, you know what I mean? Something like that is more motivating than like, all right, that’s not great. I don’t want to look at that.”

21. McIlroy’s Saturday charge was great theater. 

22. McIlroy’s second-ball trick on Saturday was great magic.  

23. If we’re going to wait 260-whatever days until the next men’s golf major, let’s make sure we get Scheffler and McIlroy in Sunday singles at the Ryder Cup. 

24. Speaking of, I’m not sure golf has ever seen a bigger production than what DeChambeau will produce at the Ryder Cup. “Reinvented” DeChambeau will be at full “reinvented” DeChambeau powers at Bethpage. 

25. Has he figured out links golf? Let’s wait to make that call, though his 65-68-64 run over the weekend impressed.

26. So what about the ball he says he’s working on? Stay tuned. 

But I thought the video below was interesting. 

27. I really thought this was Tommy Fleetwood’s week. 

I’ll very likely say that next year at this time. 

28. I hope Justin Rose has one more major run in him. 

29. Tyrrell Hatton is good for a laugh, but he’s also posted 10 top-30s over his past 16 major starts, with just one missed cut. 

30. Over that same stretch, Dustin Johnson has missed seven cuts and posted five top-30s. 

31. Break time! Next month, my wife and I are going to Dublin for vacation. Gimme your recommendations! 

32. Keegan Bradley really does sound like he’ll be playing in the Ryder Cup, doesn’t he?

I thought this exchange was interesting, with the reporter’s question in italics. 

Because this is kind of an unknown territory for most of us, including yourself, have you been talking about how you would actually work through this operationally?

“Yeah, it’s interesting because so many times in my career I’ve leaned on other players to help me go through situations, whether it’s endorsements or certain situations or how I feel in tournaments,” Bradley said. “I have no one to talk to about this. I can’t call someone who’s done it. Tiger Woods did it at the Presidents Cup. I’ve spoken to him a ton about this. There’s a few other guys that have done it in the Presidents Cup. The Ryder Cup is a much different animal.

“But we have a plan. We have a ‘for instance’ that could happen. That can obviously change during the week. You’ve got to see how each player is playing. But we’re learning as we go just like everybody else.”

Here’s my guess for the U.S. team, as of July 21: Scheffler, Schauffele, DeChambeau, English, Bradley, J.J. Spaun, Russell Henley, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Ben Griffin and Maverick McNealy. 

A lot could change there. 

33. I’d like to see Sergio Garcia in front of the New York crowds. It might be close.

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Here’s my guess for the European team: McIlroy, MacIntyre, Fleetwood, Hatton, Rose, Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm and Rasmus Hojgaard. 

Does maybe one or two of those names change?   

34. I’d like to see Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter at Bethpage, too. 

35. Or Phil Mickelson. 

36. Or Woods. 

37. What do we make of the Lowry ruling on Friday? If you missed it, below is summary of what happened, and it’s taken from a story I wrote on Saturday:

Lowry took a practice swing ahead of his second shot on the 12th hole at Royal Portrush — and a TV replay showed that Lowry’s ball slightly moved in the process, though he later said he didn’t see it happen in the moment. After the round, officials met with Lowry and his playing partners, Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa, and an agreement was made that Lowry would be given a two-stroke penalty. 

Why, though, was Lowry penalized after he said he didn’t see the ball move? Notably, a rule instituted eight years ago limits the use of slow-motion replay in rule decisions. That rule reads: “If the committee concludes that such facts could not reasonably have been seen with the naked eye and the player was not otherwise aware of the potential breach, the player will be deemed not to have breached the Rules, even when video technology shows otherwise. This is an extension of the provision on ball-at-rest-moved cases, which was introduced in 2014.”

In its statement on Friday, the R&A said this:

“Assessing whether the movement of the ball was visible to the naked eye in such a situation assumes the player being in a normal address position for the stroke. 

“In Shane Lowry’s situation, the movement of the ball to another spot, including the movement of the logo, was discernible to the naked eye. The naked eye test is satisfied whether or not the player was looking at the ball when it moved.”

On Friday, though, Lowry said he never saw the movement — and he said he took the penalty “because I can’t have my name talked about or tossed around like that, and I just get on with it.” 

He’s not wrong, which is unfortunate. 

38. The video below was also interesting, though not suitable for work:

39. The video below on Ryan Peake, from Golf Channel, was outstanding.  

40. Here are a few of my favorite reads this week from the on-site GOLF.com staff. From Michael Bamberger, this story on Scheffler’s win was great.  

41. From James Colgan, this story on Scheffler’s Chipotle habits was great. 

42. From Dylan Dethier, this story on Scheffler’s superpower was great. 

43. From Claire Rogers, this story on the reasons why the Open is the loveliest spectator event was great.  

44. From Sean Zak, this story on the Hatton’s Guinness drinking tips is an important read. 

45. From my personal batch, I was able to track down Richard Teder of Estonia ahead of the Open, and that story can be read here. 

46. Our Seen and Heard franchise, shot by Emma Devine, is excellent. You can watch the Open Championship episodes by clicking here and here. 

47. Last year, after the Open Championship, I made these predictions for this year:

–Masters: Aberg
–PGA Championship: McIlroy
–U.S. Open: Joaquin Niemann
–Open Championship: Aaron Rai 

As you can see, none of these players won. But we’ll try again. Here are some picks for next year:

–Masters: Aberg
–PGA Championship: Fleetwood
–U.S. Open: DeChambeau  
–Open Championship: Schauffele 

I had a thought of picking Scheffler for all of them. Instead, I picked him for none of them. We’ll see.   

48. I thought the photo compilation below, from Golf Digest’s Jamie Kennedy, was terrific. 

49. I thought the video below, from the Sugar Loaf Social Club, was wonderful. 

50. I got my Guinness, as you can see in the pic below.

Editor’s note: The author also wrote 50 observations from the Masters, the PGA Championship, and the U.S. Open. Those stories can be found here, here and here.