​Scottie Scheffler admitted he was surprised by how much he enjoyed holding the Claret Jug after his Open Championship victory last year. He is now focusing on the Scottish Open as he continues his preparations for the final major of the season at Royal Birkdale next week.
Scheffler’s most recent major triumph came at The Open Championship a year ago, when the world No. 1 dominated the final three days in Northern Ireland. Royal Portrush didn’t play at its toughest for most of the week, with every player inside the top 50 finishing under par. Yet it was striking how Scheffler sometimes appeared to be playing a different course altogether. The only moment in the final round that hinted at possible danger for him was when he carded a double bogey on the eighth hole. He recovered with a birdie on nine and did not drop another shot the rest of the way.
That victory moved Scheffler within one major championship of completing the Career Grand Slam. As he gears up to defend his title, he reflected on what the past year has been like. Photo by Tom Shaw/R&A/R&A via Getty Images
“I’m not really a good reflector, I’m really not. Sorry, a short memory. I don’t really sit around too much and think about the past, to be honest with you,” he said. “I feel like I’m in the middle of my career and probably the end of my career is more a time to reflect. Right now I’m just focused on what I need to do, and maybe I should sit and enjoy things more, but that’s just not my nature. My wife is better at that than me. I’m not good at that.”
“One thing I will say is that I was surprised how much I enjoyed the Claret Jug. It’s something I always understood the history and the significance of, and seeing the names on there and how far back it goes. It’s the perfect size trophy, not too big, not too small, and you even get to drink out of it—that’s a nice bonus. It’s very special to me. And you know, it will be very tough to hand it back on Tuesday next week, but I’ll be fighting like heck to get it back on Sunday.”
Scheffler produced one of the season’s most iconic moments at last year’s Open when he spoke to the media about golf not delivering huge fulfillment. Some readers misunderstood his point at the time. He noted how unusual it can be to win a tournament and immediately start thinking about the next event. Nevertheless, it seems he was able to savor his Open triumph last year. When asked what he did with the iconic trophy, Scheffler recalled, “You know, after The Open last year, we had, I call it a party. We had like a dinner with some of our friends at home, some of our really close friends.”