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Scottie Scheffler has been in a league of his own since he began his run of dominance in 2022, and no one has stepped up to challenge him as the best golfer in the world. The World No. 1's competitive mindset reflects that reality, as he doesn't believe any single player is his biggest rival.
Instead, his biggest rival is the playing field itself.
"I think golf's different in a sense of a lot of other sports because my biggest rival week in and week out is the golf course that we're playing," Scheffler said this week ahead of the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities, via Golf.com.
Scheffler makes a good point. The Texan is battling different players at the top of the leaderboard at seemingly every tournament. In his 10 top-10 finishes, nine different players ended up winning those events. The only repeat was Wyndham Clark at the U.S. Open and the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
No matter who Scheffler is competing against on a Sunday afternoon, he doesn't have control over how they play. All he can control is his own score.
"I mean, I could never stop somebody from doing anything in golf," Scheffler continued. "I felt like when I played basketball there would always be rivalries in basketball because you're going to play defense against a person, and that is much more personal in a sense because I'm actively trying to stop — like if you and I were going to go out and play one-on-one, it would turn into a rivalry because I'm actively trying to stop what you're doing. But in golf, we're always competing against ourselves on the golf course."
Scottie Scheffler condemns Rory McIlroy
Scheffler's explanation on golf rivalries stemmed from a question about Rory McIlroy's public criticism of Bryson DeChambeau during the Open Championship. DeChambeau made headlines when he was assessed a two-stroke penalty during the second round for improving his lie by trampling down some tall grass.
He then got into a heated, lengthy argument with rules officials on the course, which prompted McIlroy to call him "performative" and declare he's "not particularly fond of him."
On Wednesday, Scheffler came to DeChambeau's defense.
"I've never been a big fan of personal jabs," he said. "I don't think that rivalry is a big thing in golf just because, like I said, my biggest rivalry week in and week out is the golf course."
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