Scottie Scheffler has already hit the headlines before playing a single shot at The Open Championship with his eye-catching comments.
Scheffler admitted to celebrating his successes – of which there have been many – for just a few minutes.
Within his lengthy admission was the statement: “Why do I want to win the Open Championship so badly? I don’t know. Because if I win, it’s going to be awesome for about two minutes.”
He headlines the field at The Open Championship, which is now underway at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
There, the world number one is chasing the fourth major championship win of his phenomenal career so far.
Padraig Harrington ‘not sure’ what Scottie Scheffler was trying to say at The Open
US Open champion J.J. Spaun agreed with Scheffler’s comments, but Padraig Harrington failed to understand exactly where he was coming from.
Speaking of the world number one before The Open, the Irishman 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.”
Padraig Harrington suggests what will now happen to Scottie Scheffler ‘for a long time’
Like Scheffler, Harrington knows exactly how it feels to be a major champion, with both players in fact on the same number of titles.
The American has won The Masters twice and the PGA Championship once, while the Irishman has won the latter once and The Open twice.
Harrington also sent something of a heads-up to his fellow professional following his comments, suggesting what could happen when he finds himself out of form.
He continued: “For him, he’s going to be asked about that for the next… the minute he doesn’t play well that’s what he’s going to… ‘Oh, that was the day’. So he was being honest. But those people are going to ask him about that for a long time.
“I’ve often said this later on in my life, I wish I spent more time enjoying my wins when they happened. And when I win now I make sure to enjoy it.”
| Year | Tournament | 54 holes | Score | Margin | Runner(s)-up |
| 2007 | The Open Championship | 6 shot deficit | −7 (69-73-68-67=277) | Playoff | Sergio Garcia |
| 2008 | The Open Championship | 2 shot deficit | +3 (74-68-72-69=283) | 4 strokes | Ian Poulter |
| 2008 | PGA Championship | 3 shot deficit | −3 (71-74-66-66=277) | 2 strokes | Sergio Garcia, Ben Curtis |
Fortunately for Scheffler, a dip in form does not look likely anytime soon, with the world number one undoubtedly the best player in world golf right now.
He boasts three wins from his 15 PGA Tour starts this season, and has finished in the top 25 of all 15 events he’s played in so far.
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