Scottie Scheffler appeared totally terrifying in a surprisingly chippy Thursday on the Presidents Cup.
Ben Jared | Getty Photographs
MONTREAL — Shortly after 3 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley appeared out on the assembled viewers and gushed.
“What I’ve realized about Scottie is how pleasant he’s, how fast he’s to take a seat with the brand new man on the bus, how fast he’s to inform a joke, [to] simply be teammate,” Bradley stated. “I believe that’s powerful to do because the No. 1 participant on the planet.”
Shortly after 3 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, Scottie Scheffler appeared out on the assembled viewers and screamed.
“WHAT WAS THAT?!” He bellowed within the path of the day’s enjoying accomplice, fellow PGA Tour good man Tom Kim.
Most days, the boys are two of the closest pals on the PGA Tour. On Thursday, although, Scheffler appeared like he wouldn’t have lent his buddy water in the midst of the desert. He stalked in Kim’s path on the eighth inexperienced, taking two aggressive steps earlier than he turned again towards the opening, unleashing one other scream.
“HUH?!?”
This model of Scottie Scheffler was, charitably, terrifying. At occasions mean-mugging, snarling, and customarily peeved, Scheffler appeared just like the Spiderman 3 model of the man who has managed to develop into far and away the very best golfer on the planet on the again of an arsenal of chuckles and Scripture. However the most terrifying a part of Scheffler’s recreation was not the massive (and completely unsurprising) reveal that his aggressive hearth burns sizzling, it was the revelation that his aggressive hearth can run this sizzling … and his recreation can journey with it.
On a day when the rain by no means arrived, Crew USA’s latest dominant drive spearheaded a downpour for the People. Scheffler shot six underneath on his personal ball in simply 16 holes alongside accomplice Russell Henley to conquer Kim and Sungjae Im 3 and a couple of. It might have been the most important blowout of the Presidents Cup’s opening day, if not for the group’s collective blowout: the U.S. has the house group in a 5-0 gap one session in. The People, who entered the week heavy favorites, appeared like heavy favorites behind Scheffler’s play on Thursday. They left the course within the early night after pitching a shutout — and with the air of an early victory celebration.
And with Scheffler on their group, who might blame them? Scheffler, who entered the week with a preposterous 2024 file however confronted lingering questions about his struggles within the Presidents Cup in ’22 and Ryder Cup in ’23, appeared each bit the sort of man seeking to silence any questions with a fury. He sucked the life out of the Internationals each likelihood he bought, unafraid to boost the temperature even additional after Kim holed lengthy birdies and even longer celebrations in his face, or extra usually, appear to be probably the most dominant participant the sport has seen this facet of Tiger Woods.
“I believe I had 4 or 5 birdies,” Kim stated after his spherical, dejected. “That’s simply what Scottie does.”
Scheffler, for his half, appeared unmoved by the sudden burst of aggressive vitality, or by how his recreation responded to it.
“It’s the identical factor I might have finished at house if he had made a putt and we had been enjoying Wolf and he celebrated like that,” Scheffler stated Thursday. “It’s enjoyable to compete and enjoyable to signify our nation, and on the finish of the match you are taking your hat off and shake palms.”
He paused.
“We’re pals after, we’re not pals throughout, I suppose.”
The excellent news for Crew USA is that if Scheffler retains enjoying like this, there received’t be a lot throughout. The lesson of Scheffler’s chippy Thursday on the Ryder Cup was not the following chippiness that got here throughout Kim and Im’s early jaunt to the eighth tee field, or the downright feistiness between jawing assistant captains Kevin Kisner and Camilo Villegas (“For those who wanna piss off the No. 1 participant on the planet, good luck,” Kisner stated). The lesson was that the USA would possibly lastly have the piece that has been lacking within the period of Ryder and Presidents Cup golf following Woods’ final begin in both occasion in 2019: a dominant drive. And with a drive as dominant as Scottie on the helm, a detailed Presidents Cup is perhaps no contest in any respect.
“It’s loads completely different dynamic,” stated Stewart Cink, a U.S. assistant captain, echoing Bradley’s phrases. “Tiger, you’re speaking about probably the most formidable kind personalities in sports activities for fairly a very long time on the time, and Scottie is simply actually an open, welcoming, form particular person. He’s simply simple to only form of pal round with.”
In the long run, the one irony of Scheffler’s loud Thursday on the Presidents Cup was that his teammate, Xander Schauffele, stated it finest.
“It appeared to me,” Schauffele stated, sporting a mile-wide grin. “…like they poked the bear.”
