Portrush, Northern Ireland – Scotty Schaeffler stood in the middle of the 18th fairway and looked towards the green. As he waited for the group before him to finish, a huge cloud of grey loomed over behind the grandstand, looming in a horrifying shade of grey. Schaeffler was a quick hole, washed in the sunlight and surrounded by rainbows. Now the sun was gone and it seemed like it would rain more.
It was such a day in Northern Ireland at the Open Championship.
“When we were tee-off, it was going to tell you something different depending on the weather forecast you saw,” Schaeffler said. “When we were in driving range it was very sunny, I’m there with short sleeves, it gets warm. Then we reach the first hole, it’s still sunny. And suddenly, you look around, it’s so dark, it starts to rain.
With the pouring of rain, wind and sun, Schaeffler was erect. He birded the first hole under conditions – a harbinger of what should come.
During the afternoon, the best player in the world did what he’s done many times now. He felt his victory was inevitable. On Portrush’s second spin, Scheffler continued to lead the field with his approach, making putts over 132 feet, tallying eight birdies and filming what felt like an easy 64, taking a 36-hole lead at 10 under.
“It felt like I hit a few fairways more than yesterday,” Schaeffler said. “I hit a really nice iron shot and I managed to drill some putts.”
This kind of understated nature of fact to Schaeffler’s attitude is common. The best and most honest evaluation of Schaeffler’s greatness is why it is often seen not by him, but by the very people who are trying to beat him.
On Friday, when a reporter gave Shane Raleigh a question, he laughed at his fighting ties with Schaeffler.
“The eight shots behind Scotty Schaeffler are not at the edge of the conflict in the way he plays,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Rory McIlroy finished his second round at 3 under, saying he had only five leaders, and at the time Brian Herman and Haotong Lee were Brian Herman and Haotong Lee.
Like one shot like Matt Fitzpatrick, seven shot like McIlroy, or something in between, the deficit against Schaeffler not only does he excel in the usual superpower, but he appears to be number one in the strokes he has been acquired with putters, but he appears to be tapped by something new in his putter (he is the second in the strokes: Putting: Putting).
“He’s an exceptional player. He’s number one in the world,” Fitzpatrick will become Schaeffler’s playing partner in the final group on Saturday. “We’re looking at something like a tiger.”
When asked how it felt to be fought, Fitzpatrick raves about the sensation before he realised that the person he was fighting would likely be used to this feeling.
He laughed. “It must be great for Scotty.”
Schaeffler may feel inevitable, but this can be different about leading a course that is still open and requires something beyond target practice.
Professional golf is the most comprehensive here. Here the ball rolls, the bunker swallows, the crosswinds become confused, and the potential lies terrorize. The equations for success are simple in theory, but the execution is infinitely complex. Distance is everything now, not the end. The strategy is. The chances of a player hitting the ball are not an indication of how well a player can do in a particular tournament, but simply an indication of the most important means of ending: putting the ball into the hole.
Let’s take a look at Herman. Players like Fitzpatrick gained distance in order to gain speed training and distance despite the slightest frame, but the Georgia native hit about 275 yards away from the tee, allowing him to simply place the ball in front of him to win the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
Herman is back and this time he’s come to another opening with the same recipe.
“I feel really comfortable here,” Herman said. “I think a place like this will force you to be a little more creative. It’s not an air attack. There are probably a number of different ways you can hit 10 different clubs, irons, drivers and tees. Do it in your own way.”
bingo.
Of course, aside from Schaeffler, who is becoming more and more consistent in presence regardless of course, it doesn’t seem to be a versatile approach to the tournament. Look at the leaderboard. Both McIlroy and 52-year-old Lee Westwood are just outside the top 10 shots behind Schaeffler. One has struggled to hit fairways, and the other has been the most fairway hit on the field so far, even if it can’t hit it to its competitors.
LI (8 Under) has a journeyman from the DP World Tour, with two DP World Tour alumni who share their last name, and the possibility of becoming a star with Nikolai Hodziguard (4 Under) and his brother Rasmus (5 Under). Both are in the top 10.
Tyrrell Hatton is to compete in the US Open. Also, there is Tony Finau, who hasn’t won a PGA Tour event in two years and has missed a cut in the last two Open Championships. And then there’s Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick may be the biggest threat to keep Schaeffler away from the difference in claret on paper.
“It felt like every aspect of the game was ongoing today,” said Fitzpatrick, who won the 2023 US Open at Brookline.
Of course, the elite ball strike is the bedrock where the winning bid is held in Portrush. Look at the fact that Robert McInteal and Harris English are also in the top 10.
There are problems around every corner. Here are pot bunkers, no boundaries, or often approaching fairways and greens. As Schaeffler experienced it on Friday, weather forecasts are a guessing game and you don’t know which tee you are stepping up to or what wind and rain you’ll get. Also, we don’t know what winners Link will win. No one expected Herman to win in 2023.
“I think there’s pressure to help him win the golf tournament,” Fitzpatrick said. “I’m not necessarily feeling much pressure. He’s hoping he’ll get out and dominate.”
Fitzpatrick is right. But Schaeffler will be chased by many since Saturday, but his biggest rival may be the tournament itself. It’s the worst major in his career, and relatively speaking, and because of his style, it’s probably the most difficult.
All eyes are in Schaeffler. Schaeffler promotes Tiger’s comparison once more if he sticks to victory. The last player to win the open with a 36-hole lead was Woods in 2006. At the time, Woods was the number one player in the world, like Schaeffler. At the time, Woods felt inevitable.
“We’ll see what the weekend brings,” Fitzpatrick said. “There’s still a long way to go.”