​Things got a bit morbid at Royal Birkdale on Tuesday.While the two top-ranked golfers in the world made their points when talking about their legacy ahead of the final major championship of the season, they just did so in similarly dark ways.”I don’t really play, like, for a place in history,” Scheffler said when asked about making history in the sport on Tuesday ahead of the British Open.”I’m not playing for anything like that because, this is going to sound a little morbid, but at the end of the day, I’m going to live my life, and then it’s going to end. And when it ends, I’m going somewhere else and I’m not going to be here anymore.”He’s not wrong, technically. Death will come for Scheffler eventually, just like it does the rest of us.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut to his credit, Scheffler was quickly aware that he took things down a weird path that was somehow worse than last year’s answer of, “what’s the point?””Sorry,” he said laughing when it was brought up later.Rory McIlroy was asked a similar question about how he’d be viewed in the sport a century from now, and remarkably, gave an almost identical answer — though he had a bit more color.”I’ll be long gone, I’ll be dead,” McIlroy said. “I don’t think I’ll be seeing what people say about me, I’ll be six feet under. I don’t think I’ll be a ghost.”Both McIlroy and Scheffler are actually making a good point here. They won’t be around later on down the road, so there is no point in fixating on anything but the present. They’ll be remembered how they’ll be remembered.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt’s just that the delivery could use a little work.McIlroy, at No. 2 in the Official World Golf Rankings, is coming off a top-10 finish at the Genesis Scottish Open last week. He’s finished inside the top 10 in three of his last four starts at the British Open, too.Scheffler actually missed the cut on Friday in Scotland, which marked the first time that he’s missed the cut at a PGA Tour event since 2022. His 78 consecutive made cuts is fifth on the Tour’s all-time list, and was the longest active streak on Tour.Despite his struggles, he’s still the betting favorite to win this week just north of Liverpool. McIlroy, however, isn’t far behind.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWe’ll see if things turn around as the British Open gets underway. It can only go up from here … right?