We can all have our opinions on Scottie Scheffler’s comments about lacking fulfilment from winning golf tournaments.
Scheffler received a mixed reaction from fans and PGA Tour players after his comments just before the start of The Open Championship.
Now Annika Sorenstam has passed judgement on what Scheffler said about the lack of satisfaction he gets from winning.
The now 54-year-old was at the top of the tree of the women’s game for the best part of a decade, recording 72 wins on the LPGA Tour including 10 major championships.
Her run in major championships from 1995 to 2006 was spectacular, with 10 wins and 29 top-10 finishes.
However, the difference between Sorenstam and Scheffler is that she did not have children until her period of dominance in the game had come to an end.
Annika Sorenstam reacts to Scottie Scheffler’s comments on winning
Scheffler won The Open comfortably at Royal Portrush last week.
However, before the tournament began, these comments from the 29-year-old American really set tongues wagging.
“I think it’s kind of funny, I think I said something after the Byron this year about like, it feels like you work your whole life to celebrate winning a tournament for like a few minutes,” he said. “It only lasts a few minutes, that kind of euphoric feeling.
“To win the Byron Nelson Championship at home, I literally worked my entire life to become good at golf, to have an opportunity to win that tournament. You win it, you celebrate, get to hug my family, my sister’s there, it’s such an amazing moment. Then it’s like, okay, what are we going to eat for dinner? Life goes on.
“Is it great to be able to win tournaments and to accomplish the things I have in the game of golf? Yeah, it brings tears to my eyes just to think about it because I’ve literally worked my entire life to be good at this sport. To have that kind of sense of accomplishment, I think, is a pretty cool feeling.
“To get to live out your dreams is very special, but at the end of the day, I’m not out here to inspire the next generation of golfers. I’m not out here to inspire someone to be the best player in the world because what’s the point? This is not a fulfilling life. It’s fulfilling from the sense of accomplishment, but it’s not fulfilling from a sense of the deepest places of your heart.”
“There are a lot of people who make it to what they thought was going to fulfil them in life, and you get there, you get to No. 1 in the world, and they’re like, ‘What’s the point?’ I really do believe that, because what is the point? Why do I want to win this tournament so badly?”
And Sorenstam responded to Scheffler’s remarks, when speaking on SIRIUSXM PGA TOUR Radio.
Sorenstam said: “I appreciate his comments. He said the word ‘grateful’ many times, and he appreciates his success, it’s cool to win but it doesn’t really fulfil the deepest desire in his heart, which I know is his family. I think that was a good thing to share.
“Maybe people need to start realising that we’re human beings who play golf, we’re not golfers trying to be human beings. At the end of the day that’s really what’s so important. You shouldn’t be judged on your score and what you do, life is about so much more than that.
Had she had her children at the time of her peak dominance, would she have been able to juggle being a mum and an LPGA Tour player?
She replied: “Good question. I guess we will never know. I kind of had my golfing career before the family life. I like to give 100 per cent in everything I do, and I think it would have been hard to balance both. I’m not sure, having kids and my husband, I think it would have been hard for me to balance both because I want to make sure that I am the best golfer I can possibly be, given it all the time and the resources, the commitment.
“Also, as a mum, there is a lot juggling left and right and up and down. I feel like when I was competing it was all about Annika the golfer, now I feel like I can do more of being the mum and the wife.
“I guess I’m trying to say I think it would have been hard. I know there are some LPGA players out there who have done both and done really well, but it’s not easy.“
Padraig Harrington disagreed with Sorenstam on Scheffler’s comments
During The Open, Padraig Harrington delivered his take on Scheffler’s remarks.
Addressing the four-time major champion’s comments, Harrington said: “I’m not sure what he was trying to articulate. And I wouldn’t be putting words in his head. But I know I’m still celebrating my US Open Senior win.
“And it goes on for weeks, every time somebody says well done to me, I get a little… you know bit of acceptance and enjoyment out of it.
“I think he was trying to articulate something. I don’t want to compare myself to him, but I genuinely still have a real love for this game and enjoy every bit of it. It brings me tremendous satisfaction, and I don’t think I have to shy away from that.
“Just because I love golf doesn’t make me a bad father or a bad parent or anything. They’re separate entities.
“You can enjoy everything there is about golf and still be good elsewhere and do the right things. I just love playing golf.”
I think the key thing to note here is that as human beings, we are all different. The world number one’s comments clearly didn’t resonate with Harrington, and that’s fine.
Differing opinions on the game and varying approaches is what makes professional golf so alluring for the fans.
Sorenstam’s take on Scheffler’s remarks was absolutely spot on, and it was great to hear someone come out in support of the 29-year-old after his comments.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
