Scottie Scheffler will play alongside Bryson DeChambeau and Tyrrell Hatton during the first two rounds of The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
Of course, Scottie Scheffler is probably used to playing alongside the biggest names every time he tees it up. So he will not have been shocked by the two names he has been drawn alongside in Southport.
Is Scottie Scheffler more likely to win The Open or miss the cut at Royal Birkdale?
Scottie's worst Open finish is T23, but he did miss the cut at last week's Scottish Open
Bryson DeChambeau has arguably been golf’s most talked about player over the last year amid doubts over LIV Golf’s future.
Meanwhile, Tyrrell Hatton is someone who certainly appears to have the game to win a major. The Englishman also won LIV‘s most recent event ahead of the US Open.
But perhaps Scheffler has reason to think that the draw could have been even kinder to him.
Bryson DeChambeau’s Open Championship struggles will not help Scottie Scheffler
It could be difficult for Scheffler to get into any sort of rhythm if DeChambeau gets off to yet another slow start at The Open Championship.
DeChambeau’s average first round score at The Open is 74.125. Meanwhile, he has only broken 74 on two occasions in eight attempts.
Many will remember the American kicking off his campaign last year with a 78 at Royal Portrush. He did brilliantly just to make the cut and then go on to finish just inside the top 10.
It may not impact his performance but Scheffler will also be aware that there are likely to be questions about LIV that come his way after he has played with two of the league’s best players.
Scheffler did not react well to being asked about LIV after his opening round at the Cadillac Championship earlier this year.
He could only laugh as he dismissed a question about the potential pathway back for LIV players.
Given that LIV’s future remains up in the air, there are likely to be even more questions asked this week, particularly with major championship season about to end and the playoffs still some weeks away.
Having said all that, there have been encouraging signs from Scheffler at the start of the week.
Scottie Scheffler looks to have been freed up by his missed cut at the Scottish Open
Andrew Coltart told 5 Clubs that he was surprised by just how relaxed Scheffler appeared on Monday at Royal Birkdale.
Meanwhile, a video following him on his practice round included a clip where Scheffler laughed at Ted Scott making a joke about his missed cut at the Scottish Open.
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That is not someone who is feeling under pressure after failing to make the weekend in North Berwick. If anything, it almost appears to have freed him up.
And if he can avoid letting the DeChambeau sideshow impact him over the first two days, there is every chance that Scheffler will be able to keep the Claret Jug in his possession for another year.
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