PINEHURST, N.C. – As he forces us to rethink what’s attainable on this supposed period of parity, Scottie Scheffler stands alone right here on the 124th U.S. Open. Whether or not he reigns once more at Pinehurst is sort of irrelevant to the general dialog; there’s no disputing, with 5 wins in his final eight begins and a Tiger-esque stat line, that he’s the very best participant on the planet. And it’s not notably shut.
However please, for those who can, strive to not point out that to him.
As proficient as Scheffler has been with a 7-iron in his hand, he’s confirmed to be simply as efficient at deflecting behind a microphone.
“I nonetheless don’t really feel like there’s a lot of a goal on my again,” he stated Tuesday. “Once we begin event week, we’re all at even par, and it’s not like anyone is on the market enjoying protection.”
Scheffler stated, in his good thoughts, he’s battling himself and the course greater than anybody or anything.
“A goal on my again, I don’t actually really feel it,” he stated, “and I don’t actually give it some thought a lot, no.”
What Scheffler didn’t know, after all, was that over the earlier seven hours, his fellow enjoying rivals had sat on that very podium and considered it loads, analyzing the gulf that now exists between him and everybody else.
Bryson DeChambeau described Scheffler because the “gold commonplace.”
Viktor Hovland famous that Scheffler, with no gaping holes in his sport, is “very dependable” and that makes even his common weeks distinctive.
Rory McIlroy marveled at how “relentless” Scheffler has been – that even by his varied adversities this yr (placing woes, higher ranges of fame, fatherhood, a public arrest) he has remained a constantly dominant power.
“The one factor that took him from profitable a golf event was going right into a jail cell for an hour,” McIlroy stated, laughing. “Undoubtedly the very best participant on the earth on the minute, by a good distance. It’s as much as us to attempt to get to his stage.”
Most attention-grabbing, although, was the attitude of Jon Rahm, and what he did (and didn’t) say.
At this event a yr in the past, they had been considered as equals, and maybe even budding rivals. Combining for six wins within the first 5 months of the season, Scheffler and Rahm had been Nos. 1 and a couple of, respectively, within the Official World Golf Rating, separated by only one level. Nonetheless of their late-20s, they had been frequent combatants within the greatest occasions, together with singles opponents within the Ryder Cup, whereas remaining deeply respectful of the opposite’s immense skills.
However for now, at the least, they seem headed in numerous instructions.
Scheffler is on such a tear that he’s practically doubled up the brand new second-ranked participant, Xander Schauffele, on the earth rating. He’s simply the second participant since 1950 to publish 5 victories, together with a serious, earlier than the U.S. Open.
A reporter requested Scheffler, straight-up, what it was prefer to be “by far” the very best golfer on the earth.
He chuckled.
“I strive not to consider the previous. I strive not to consider the long run. I attempt to dwell within the current,” Scheffler stated. “That’s how I’ve at all times been. … I attempt to dwell one second at a time and soak all of it up, since you by no means know the way lengthy it’s going to final.”
Rahm must be questioning the identical factor.
It isn’t simply that he’s winless over the previous 14 months. It isn’t simply that he’s fractured a few of his relationships after bolting for LIV Golf in a deal that can pay him a reported $300 million. However in latest press conferences, Rahm has additionally appeared to bristle on the notion that he’s fallen off, or that he’s develop into considerably of an afterthought amid the Scottie tsunami.
A number of the season-long metrics at the least partially assist his argument – he’s nonetheless prime 10 in Information Golf’s rankings and strokes-gained complete throughout each excursions – however his tone has come throughout as dismissive, terse and defensive.
When requested about his probabilities this week at Pinehurst, Rahm stated, “Anytime I tee it up, I really feel like I’ve likelihood.”
That got here on the heels of one other query about whether or not he felt any added strain, realizing how inevitably glorious Scheffler has been.
“No,” Rahm shot again.
Later, he stated, “It’s not like I’ve been enjoying dangerous, though a whole lot of you make it sound like I’m enjoying dangerous.”
Rahm had been battling a left-foot lower and an infection earlier than withdrawing late Tuesday afternoon.
Rahm simply so occurred to have performed his worst within the two greatest occasions of the yr up to now. He was a non-factor in his title protection on the Masters, tying for 45th, after which he missed the lower final month on the PGA Championship. His substandard main season bought even worse Tuesday, when he withdrew due to a painful an infection in his left foot.
“To say I’m dissatisfied is a large understatement,” he stated.
The U.S. Open has been the key during which Rahm, the 2021 champion, has constantly fared the very best. Nevertheless it was additionally a missed alternative for a participant who, on this present divide, has simply 4 probabilities every year to remind the broader golf world of his well-earned stature. If he’s not within the combine subsequent month at Royal Troon, he should know the scrutiny will solely intensify – about his controversial selection, about his weekly preparation, about LIV’s aggressive ambiance.
Earlier than his withdrawal, Rahm was requested three questions particularly about Scheffler, two about his readiness to compete and one other about his stage of profession happiness – a set of queries that, when packaged in a single 15-minute session, should gnaw at a fiercely aggressive participant in his prime. Left unsaid was that, final yr, he was the fascination of the golf neighborhood – a participant who had gained 5 occasions in a nine-event span. The dominant world No. 1 others had been requested about incessantly. The gold commonplace.
“It’s fairly unbelievable to see what he’s been in a position to accomplish,” Rahm stated. “As a competitor, it’s added motivation to see anyone achieve this nicely as a result of that’s what all of us attempt for.”
That half must wait. For now, he’s headed again house, winless and with a throbbing foot, with one final likelihood in 2024 to do one thing about golf’s new world order.
