Scottie Scheffler admits he ‘learned a lot’ from two LIV Golf stars before the US Open at Oakmont in 2016

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The US Open is nearly upon us, and Oakmont has already shown its teeth during the practice rounds.

Scottie Scheffler heads into the US Open as the standout favourite to win the tournament.

His game is ideally suited to the challenge that Oakmont will represent this week.

Andy North has already suggested that Scheffler will win the US Open by ‘four or five shots’ if he performs to his usual standard.

The 28-year-old from Dallas is such a marvellous ball-striker, and he’s arguably the best in the game when it comes to scrambling as well.

Scheffler spoke at length about how having the week off before the US Open this year will be hugely beneficial to him.

He played at Muirfield Village the week before Pinehurst No.2 last year, and ended up barely making the cut before finishing in a tie for 41st.

It would be more shocking if he finished in a tie for 41st this week than if he won by 10 strokes.

Scottie Scheffler ‘learned a lot’ from Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka before the US Open

Back in 2016, a 19-year-old Scheffler made his major championship debut at the US Open at Oakmont.

Scheffler actually held the clubhouse lead at Oakmont after a 69 on day one, before a second-round 78 saw him miss the cut by one stroke.

Before the tournament began at Oakmont in 2016, Scheffler played alongside Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka in a practice round.

And the world number one told reporters on Tuesday how he learned a lot from the two LIV Golf stars at the time.

He said, “Yeah, I remember coming here and thinking it was really fun, really cool to be able to play in the U.S. Open. It was my first major and maybe my third start on the pro Tour at the time. I think I had played in the Byron Nelson once and St. Jude once, FedEx St. Jude, so it was a very cool experience.

“I played a practice round with Dustin and Brooks, felt like I learned a lot from those guys at the time. It definitely made me excited to get out here for real because it was a pretty fun week. Obviously I had a pretty good first round, didn’t play as good in the second. That was a tough pill to swallow, missing the cut by one.

“But what I really remembered was coming back the next year and I think I made like a putt on 18 to get into a playoff in qualifying, ended up getting through the playoff and qualifying and coming in finishing low am. That was something I kind of marked on my calendar, something I wanted to get back and try to do because I was pretty disappointed the way it ended for me here nine years ago. So it was nice to come back and have a better week the next year.“

What a cool experience that must have been for a teenage Scheffler at the time.

Now it’s gone full cycle, and Johnson and Koepka could learn a lot from the world number one!

Scheffler’s PGA Tour record compared with Johnson and Koepka

Johnson and Koepka obviously play on LIV now.

But how do their respective PGA Tour records stack up against Scheffler’s?

Scheffler will most likely surpass Johnson’s PGA Tour win tally within the next two years, whilst he will undoubtedly overtake Koepka’s haul of five majors at some point in the near future as well.

The 28-year-old is on a mission to become the greatest golfer of all time. However, he’s an incredibly humble man as well.

And the mere fact that Scheffler said he learned a lot from Johnson and Koepka back in 2016 was an example of his humility.