Four masterful rounds raised serious questions about whether golf is witnessing generational excellence or something approaching all-time greatness. Yet somehow, Scheffler felt almost secondary to a man who finished seven shots behind.
The comparisons, debate and analysis of Scheffler’s past four seasons to some of Woods’ greatest runs are inevitable. And upon closer examination, it’s a legitimate exercise because the ways in which they stomped on their peers are very similar in some respects – and quite a bit different in others.
Ahead of the final round of this year’s Open Championship, Rory McIlroy said Scottie Scheffler is “inevitable”. After the round, Xander Schauffele summed up the world No.1’s dominance even better.
Scheffler topped the Open field in strokes gained/approach, gaining 9.065 strokes. He was equally impressive on the greens, ranking second in strokes gained/putting for the week at 8.516.
Deep behind enemy lines in Northern Ireland, the Crushers GC captain shot from the hip, blasting out a series of quotes that left little doubt about his commitment to the American cause.
After a flying start to his third round, the wheels came flying off on the eighth hole where Rose’s tee shot found a particularly nasty patch of rough. Iron in hand, Rose swiped at his ball, which exploded off his clubface at a near 90-degree angle, flying into the gallery at head height. Watch it and wince.
While the Pro V1x remains the ball of choice this week, DeChambeau revealed in his post-round press conference at Portrush that he’s working behind the scenes on something revolutionary that could be ready in the not-too-distant future.
With two rounds to play, anything can still happen. Yet with the dominant way Scheffler is performing in almost every aspect of the game, he looks like the man to beat this weekend.
Cameras had a close-up view of Lowry’s ball in the rough as he took a practice swing at the 12th hole, and the ball visibly moved after his iron passed through the nearby grass.
With consecutive top-10 finishes among strong fields in his past two starts, Fitzpatrick, 30, is threatening to return to major-championship form. Which is exactly what he’s thinking about.
Shane Lowry unleashing F-bomb rants during golf tournaments is certainly nothing new. He did it at this year’s PGA Championship. He did it at last year’s Open Championship. He, well, you get the point. But what happened on Friday was still a bit shocking from the Irishman.
Australian Golf Digest
