Scottie Scheffler: 'This is not a fulfilling life'

WHY PLAY: Playing golf is not the be all and end all for Scottie Scheffler as he questions regularly why he plays. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Scottie Scheffler is world number one and enters this week’s Open Championship as favourite to add a fourth major title to his name, but the 29-year old has admitted to wondering what it all amounts to.

It’s not exactly a case of existential angst.

Scheffler cut a supremely relaxed and jocular figure as he shared his thoughts here on the Antrim coastline on Tuesday morning. It’s just that he struggles with the fleeting nature of all this stuff, whatever the end result on a Sunday afternoon.

He echoed Rory McIlroy’s talk of the game’s “hamster wheel” a day earlier when vocalizing the emotions that flood through when he lifts a trophy and shares the moment with his family before having to turn around within the blink of an eye and go again.

Take his eight-shot win at the Byron Nelson in May.

A tournament in his home state of Texas, the Byron was something he aimed for his entire life. So much of the work that he did year after year to be good at golf was with the aim of winning the Byron. And then he did it. Spectacularly.

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

Don’t get him wrong. He spoke of tears coming to his eyes at the thought of winning there in May, and there is an undoubted sense of achievement in managing it. But, while a “cool feeling”, he doesn’t see it as the be all and end all.

“To get to live out your dreams is very special, but at the end of the day, I'm not out here to inspire the next generation of golfers. I'm not out here to inspire someone to be the best player in the world because what's the point?

“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.

“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? 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. 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.

“So we really do. We work so hard for such little moments. I'm kind of sicko. I love putting in the work. I love getting to practice. I love getting to live out my dreams. But at the end of the day, sometimes I just don't understand the point.” 

He laughed at himself at that and wondered aloud if he was making any sense. No, came one response, but he was. As he intimated, sport and life is littered with people who chased the sun and found the rewards less than they expected.

For Scheffler, who has already won one major and two other tournaments while finishing top ten in his other 12 this year, the priority remains his family, his wife and young son.

“I love playing golf. I love being able to compete. I love living out my dreams. I love being a father. I love being able to take care of my son. I love being able to provide for my family out here playing golf.

“Every day when I wake up early to go put in the work, my wife thanks me for going out and working so hard. When I get home, I try and thank her every day for taking care of our son. That's why I talk about family being my priority because it really is.

“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.

“This is not the be all, 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.”