'What's the point?': Scottie Scheffler gets introspective ahead of The Open

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – Professional athletes are not often associated with introspection, but professional golf has taken a decidedly existential turn in recent weeks.

Since winning the Masters for the first time and completing the career Grand Slam in April, Rory McIlroy publicly wrestled with the type of soul-searching that players typically try to avoid and never, if at all, speak openly about.

“I climbed my Everest in April, and I think after you do something like that, you’ve got to make your way back down,” McIlroy said. “You’ve got to look for another mountain to climb.”

McIlroy’s return to the United Kingdom for last week’s Genesis Scottish Open, where he finished runner-up, and this week’s Open Championship, which is being played about 90 minutes from where he grew up near Belfast, has seemed to re-inspire the world No. 2.

But Tuesday at Royal Portrush brought a new level of deep thinking from world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.

Scheffler has always been clear that golf is his job. It’s a job that he loves, but a job nonetheless, and his family and faith are what are important. But towards the end of his pre-championship press conference he was asked about “the most crushing loss” he had ever experienced.

Instead of revisiting a near miss or poor finish, however, Scheffler launched into a refreshingly honest take on the pitfalls of success and failure.

“I said something after the [CJ Cup Byron Nelson] this year about like 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,” said Scheffler, who won his hometown event for the first time in May by eight strokes. “To win the Byron Nelson at home, I literally worked my entire life to become good at golf to have an opportunity to win that tournament.

“You win it, you celebrate, get to hug my family, my sister's there, it's such an amazing moment. Then it's like, OK, what are we going to eat for dinner? Life goes on.”

Scheffler, who has not shown much interests in nostalgia or retrospection during his career, went on to explain that he is driven to be the best player he can be, and the work it takes to get there is what truly inspires him. That's why he considers himself a “sicko,” but the 16-time PGA Tour winner has learned not to seek validation in his professional accomplishments.

“There's a lot of people that make it to what they thought was going to fulfill 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. “Why do I want to win this tournament so bad? That's something that I wrestle with on a daily basis.

“It's like 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, hey, you won two majors this year; how important is it for you to win the FedExCup playoffs? And we're back here again.”

McIlroy seemed to allude to professional golf’s relentless march earlier this week when he referenced being on the “hamster wheel” with the FedExCup playoffs and Ryder Cup looming following the year’s final major championship this week at Royal Portrush.

The Open 2025: First-round tee times, featured groups at Royal Portrush

Here’s a look at the first-round tee times and featured groups for the 153rd Open Championship.

• Golf Channel Staff,

Players grappling with the angst that comes with a game that doles out far more losing than winning is nothing new. David Duval bumped Tiger Woods from atop the world ranking with his victory at the 1999 Players Championship and won the 2001 Open Championship for his lone major triumph. But he slowly faded after that, partly because of an assortment of injuries and partly because he reached a similar crossroads – Is this it?

That it is golf’s best two players who find themselves driven down an existential rabbit hole is a reason to pay attention. Hoisting trophies and celebrating long-held achievements is supposed to be a goal, not a distraction.