Golf: Scottie Scheffler primed for another tough major at U.S. Open

OAKMONT, Pa. — Scottie Scheffler doesn't care what the oddsmakers think or what people say about his status as the overwhelming favorite in this U.S. Open, and pretty much everywhere he plays. But he can hear them — and sometimes, he hears from them. "That's why I had to get rid of my Venmo, because I was either getting paid by people or people requesting me a bunch of money when I didn't win. It wasn't a good feeling," Scheffler said with a laugh Tuesday at Oakmont. It wasn't entirely clear if he was kidding. He did say later the most anyone tried to pay him for a win — he has won 19 times worldwide in just over three years — was a couple of dollars. "That didn't happen nearly as much as the requests did," he said. Perhaps the most telling number for Scheffler, No. 1 in the world ranking for the longest streak since Tiger Woods in the late 2000s, is that he has won 25 percent of his tournaments since capturing his first PGA Tour title at the Phoenix Open in 2022. He has won three of his past four tournaments — including his third major at the PGA Championship last month at Quail Hollow — by a combined 17 shots. There's a lot of numbers that define his dominance in golf. None of it matters to him. "I don't pay attention to the favorite stuff or anything like that," he said. "Starting Thursday morning, we're at even par and it's up to me to go out there and play against the golf course and see what I can do." That doesn't figure to be easy. Oakmont is considered the toughest golf course in America, and the last few days of practice rounds have not changed anyone's opinions. Most of the attention is on the rough that covers the tops of shoes. Sunshine on Tuesday made the greens feel even faster after a few days of rain. Scheffler thinks the bunkers are underrated. The overall consensus? "Man, it's just tough," Collin Morikawa said. Scheffler would seem to have a game built for this given his extraordinary ability to control his golf ball from tee-to-green. He has yet to win his national open, though he had chances at Los Angeles (2023), Brookline (2022) and Torrey Pines (2021). The exception was last year at Pinehurst No. 2, where Scheffler was never in the mix. One reason might be the schedule — the Memorial was the week before the U.S. Open last year, another tough test that Scheffler won and never felt he had a chance to catch his breath. He won the Memorial again this year. "Having the week off was really important for me to get home, get some rest, recover, and I showed up here on Sunday and was able to play maybe 11 holes and really get used to the conditions," Scheffler said. "It feels much more like my normal major prep, versus last year where you're coming in from basically a major championship test. Coming into another one is pretty challenging." Rory McIlroy had a few extra days off after missing the cut in the Canadian Open last week, giving him time to find a driver that will help find the fairways at Oakmont, perhaps the most critical part of this test. McIlroy and Scheffler were listed as close to co-favorites after McIlroy won the Masters, giving him the career Grand Slam. He already had won three times on some of golf's biggest stages. Scheffler at that point had yet to win this year. So much has changed in the last two months. McIlroy spoke at the PGA Championship of still wanting to achieve more in golf, knowing that nothing will ever beat that feeling of finally becoming a Masters champion to join the most exclusive club of players with all four majors. He spoke last week of lacking motivation when getting ready for the Canadian Open. "At some point, you have to realize that there's a little bit more golf left to play this season," said McIlroy, singling out Oakmont, the British Open in his native Northern Ireland and the Ryder Cup in September. "But I think weeks like Quail Hollow or even weeks like last week, it makes it easier to reset in some way, to be like, OK, I sort of need to get my stuff together here and get back to the process and sort of what I'd been doing for that seven months from October last year until April this year." For Scheffler, he's been on such a roll that how he plays will be a big part in the chances the rest of the field has. Jordan Spieth was asked about Dustin Johnson — only Scheffler has been at No. 1 longer in the last 10 years — and Spieth immediately turned it into a conversation about his Dallas neighbor. "Scottie's level is something I haven't seen personally out here," Spieth said. "I play with him at home, too. He might pull an iron shot once and then hit the pin on his chip." The margin for error is smaller at Oakmont than on most courses, mainly because of all the trouble off the tee — bunkers and dense rough — and challenges on the fast greens. "I think everybody knows this is probably the toughest golf course in the world right now, and you have to hit the fairways, you have to hit greens, and you have to two-putt, worst-case scenario," defending champion Bryson DeChambeau said. "When you've got those putts inside 10 feet, you've got to make them. It's a great test of golf. I'm looking forward to it. I'm sure everybody else is."