Scottie Scheffler has had an amazing year to remember with six wins so far and it could get even better for the World No.1 at Royal Troon this week.
If he needs any inspiration, Scheffler can draw upon the feats of Arnold Palmer who was the last player to have won six tournaments by this stage of the season before he turned up at Troon in 1962 and promptly won the Open.
History and form suggests Scheffler could be set for a fine week in just his fourth Open after coming tied eighth on his debut in 2021 and tied 21st and tied 23rd since. And the player himself appears at ease with the expectations and challenge of links golf which he discussed at his press conference.
How he learned to shot-shape:
Texan Scheffler is unfazed at the prospect of strong winds on the Ayrshire coast after explaining he loves to draw and fade shots after growing up experimenting in his family home.
He said: “When I was a kid, I used to play in the house with a ping-pong ball. I would learn to curve it from room to room and spin it a lot. That was what was fun for me about the game.
“As time went on, I didn’t want to turn into a robot. I wanted to do what I thought was fun, and that was seeing and creating and trying to hit shots.
“I get bored sitting on the driving range trying to hit every shot straight. I’ve always been a guy that loved hitting a lot of different shots — changing the height, changing the curve. That’s how I play most of the time.”
The ‘Scheffler Shuffle’ is unique in golf but the world No.1 insists he is very happy with his mobile footwork despite admitting former Open champion Sir Nick Faldo openly questioned him about it.
Scheffler said: “The last time I can remember trying to hit a shot with normal, traditional footwork was when Faldo came up to me on the range a couple years ago at the Masters.
“He was one of the guys that was pretty critical of it at the time. So when he came up, he asked me why, and I was like: ‘let me hit one normal and see how it goes’.
“So I hit one with traditional footwork, and I turned around, and I was like: ‘it just feels like I’m locked into the ground. I don’t really feel like I can hit my shots’. Then I just kept moving my feet like I normally do.”
The incredible Arnold Palmer stat:
Last 2 players to win 6 times in a PGA Tour season…
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