All against “relentless” world number 1 Scottie Scheffler, the man to beat

Scottie Scheffler He celebrated his fifth victory of the year at the Memorial in just two minutes, and then focused on the next challenge. He got to Pinehurst No. 2within state of north carolinato face the US Open and ‘forget’ what he experienced a month ago at the PGA when he was arrested at the police station.

The best golfer there is no doubt as Scheffler has won five of his last eight tournaments: Masters, The Players Championship and three of the PGA Tour’s “flagship” events with the most powerful fields: Bay Hill, Heritage and Memorial. The gap between Scheffler and the rest of the world rankings is a margin not seen since Scheffler’s heyday. Tiger Woods.

“Every week that we play, it seems like they increase the lead and in some ways raise the mountain even higher for all of us,” he said Tuesday. PGA Champion Xander Schauffele. “That’s all he does, and I take my hat off to him for being so consistent and playing at such a high level for so long,” he added.

“When I was a kid and I had a cool cap, I’d wear it all summer and I’d sweat through the cap. And they were disgusting and disgusting and I’d hang them in my gym. So when I go back to workout, I remind myself The fact that I got to where I am is not just because of what happened, I remember all the work I did, all the balls I hit, all the time I spent there sweating in the sun and putting in the time and effort to get there.

Many players are full of praise for Scheffler and what he has accomplished over the past two years, and especially the past two months. “Without a doubt, the best player in the world right now,” he said. Rory McIlroy. “It’s up to us to try to reach their level.” McIlroy has been one of the most accurate when it comes to explaining the Number One’s personality and has found one word that describes him wonderfully: “He’s relentless.” The qualifier of intractable should also be added.

“A lot happened in his life, he just had a child, he had a problem with the putter that he could solve, it’s not that he didn’t have problems, it was relentless… Only one hour in jail was able to prevent him from winning The truth is that whenever he plays, he’s the guy to beat, and I think he’s played 14 or 13 times this year just once out of the top ten that always competes in the tournament. More clearly, the water.

It wasn’t always so easy for Scheffler, and it still seems difficult. Last year, his putter became so out of adjustment that he hired English coach Phil Kenyon to help him fix his problems, and he copes with being a father: his first son, Bennett, was born just over a month ago. Scheffler is tired of talking about his arrest and brief stay in jail before the second round of PGA Championship last month (even though, he made 66 hits), accused of not following traffic rules. The charges were dropped. And tied for eighth place.

And he continues, fueled by the sheer joy of competition, and certainly happier when he walks away with the trophy. This Thursday he will be in the traditional group of three best players in the world, placing him with Schauffele (no. 2) and McIlroy (no. 3). “They’re not going to tell me weird things on the golf course or try to stop me from putting the ball in the hole. We all have to go out there and play our game. For a target on my back, even though there’s nothing we can do in golf Most of it is against the golf course and playing against yourself.

Pinehurst No. 2 as the real target this week for Scheffler and everyone. Wyndham Clark, the defending champion, I was worried when he arrived because Donald Ross’ vegetables – they were firm and scary. The former Masters and US Open champion is no longer included in the ‘field’ Jon Rahm, the last player to hold the No. 1 spot before Scheffler took over. He retired Tuesday because of a toe infection on his left foot last week, deciding it wasn’t worth the risk of affecting his swing or causing another injury while playing.

Before leaving, Rahm joined the chorus of players in awe of Scheffler’s level of play. “Every year or every few years, great hitters emerge,” Rahm said. “But when they start comparing you to Tiger and the things Tiger has done, that’s when you know you’re on a level that’s special.” He highlighted the Basque that Scheffler had won five times before this US Open, a feat not achieved in 44 years. Rahm also pointed out where Scheffler won: Augusta National, TPC Sawgrass, Bay Hill, Muirfield Village and Harbor Town. “It’s basically a Tiger Woods era,” he said.

Without Rahm, there are three Spaniards running. Sergio Garcia He will play his 99th major this week. It has rained heavily since July 1996 when the golfer from Borriol, aged just 16, made his Grand Slams debut at the British Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes. “I have never paid attention to these types of statistics in my career, but there is no denying that they say something, they speak of a trajectory,” Sergio told the Ten Golf portal. The Castellón native’s other victory this week was a 25th straight US Open. Playing in this tournament for 25 consecutive years or more is something only eight players in history have achieved. García won the place in one of the previous ones, as Eugenio López Chacarra and David Puig.

The Olympic qualification ending the US Open dispute. Jorge Campillo and David Puig are the only players with options to join Jon Rahm as they are located in positions 116 and 117 in the World Ranking. Campillo is not playing this week and the Catalan’s options depend on him making the cut at this US Open.