Long-time world number one Scottie Scheffler is chasing his second major of the year and fourth of his career at Royal Portrush but admits every day he questions why.
The most successful and consistent golfer of the last four years appeared to be having some kind of existential crisis as he spoke to the media at Royal Portrush on Tuesday ahead of the 153rd Open Championship – for which he is favourite.
Scheffler said winning golf tournaments, which he has done 21 times at various levels – including an Olympic gold medal last year – did not satisfy him.
“This is not a fulfilling life. It’s fulfilling from the sense of accomplishment but it’s not fulfilling from a sense of the deepest places of your heart,” the 29-year-old American said.
“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 number one in the world, and they’re like, ‘What’s the point?’
“I really do believe that because, what is the point? Why do I want to win this tournament so bad? That’s something that I wrestle with on a daily basis.
“Showing up at the Masters every year it’s like, ‘Why do I want to win this golf tournament so badly? Why do I want to win The Open Championship so badly?’
“I don’t know because if I win it’s going to be awesome for two minutes, then we’re going to get to the next week and it’s, ‘Hey, you won two majors this year; how important is it for you to win the FedEx Cup play-offs?’
“It feels like you work your whole life to celebrate winning a tournament for like a few minutes. It only lasts a few minutes, that kind of euphoric feeling.”
Scheffler has won three times this year, has one runner-up finish and eight other top-10s in 15 events.
He has not finished outside the top 25 this season, not missed a cut since the FedEx St Jude Classic in August 2022 and has PGA Tour career earnings of nearly $88m (£65.4m), but admits if golf ever started impacting his family he would immediately quit.
“I’m blessed to be able to come out here and play golf, but if my golf ever started affecting my home life or it ever affected the relationship I have with my wife or my son, that’s going to be the last day that I play out here for a living,” he added.
“This is not the be-all and end-all. This is not the most important thing in my life. That’s why I wrestle with, why is this so important to me?
“Because I’d much rather be a great father than I would be a great golfer. At the end of the day, that’s what’s more important to me.”
