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Scheffler goes off course in search of answers
The Guardian
|July 16, 2025
World No 1 vows to quit sport if it affects family life and asks why winning is so important for an 'awesome' two minutes
Since the age of three, when he was given a plastic set of clubs, Scottie Scheffler has wanted to be the best golfer in the world. He has won three majors, been ranked world No 1 since 2023, and is the favourite for the Open this week. But during an extraordinary press conference at Portrush yesterday, the American peered into an existential void as he asked himself: what is the point of it all?
Scheffler was clearly happy, and his determination to win this week was clear. He also spoke eloquently on the challenges of links golf. But a hitherto unremarkable press conference suddenly veered into a deeper philosophical search for meaning when the 29-year-old was asked how long he had ever celebrated a victory.
It turned out the answer was a few minutes. And Scheffler was only getting started, as he then promised to quit golf if it ever affected his family life. "There's a lot of people that make it to what they thought was going to fulfil them in life, and you get there, you get to No 1 in the world, and they're like what's the point?" he said.
"I really do believe that, because what is the point? Why do I want to win this tournament so bad?
This story is from the July 16, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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