Scottie Scheffler starts strong at British Open…
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Two days after the eye-opening deep riff on the that means of life that world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler delivered in his pre-tournament press convention, he posted a 3-under-par 68 in the first spherical of the British Open Thursday at Portrush.
When Scheffler completed his spherical, he was one shot off the lead thanks to birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 to get to 3-under.
After his spherical, Scheffler was playfully chided by a reporter about his capability to shoot under par despite his lack of hitting fairways — he hit only three of 14 for the spherical.
“Yeah, you’re the second man that’s talked about that to me,’’ Scheffler stated. “I really thought I drove it fairly good. I don’t know what you guys are seeing. When it’s raining sideways, it’s really, consider it or not, not that simple to get the ball in the green.
Scottie Scheffler chips onto the ninth inexperienced at the British Open on July 17, 2025. AP
“Thank you guys all for pointing that out,” he went on, smiling. “At 3-under par, I felt like I hit the ball nice off the tee and really only had one swing I wasn’t too happy with on maybe the second hole. But outside of that, I felt like I hit a lot of good tee shots, hit the ball really solid, so definitely a good bit of confidence for the next couple rounds.”
Scheffler, when he accomplished his spherical, trailed only Matthew Fitzpatrick, Jacob Skov Olesen and Haotong Li, all of whom are 4-under par.
About half of Scheffler’s spherical passed off while the rains poured down on Portrush.
“Wind is something that obviously makes links golf challenging, but the rain adds a whole new element to it, especially when you’re hitting the tee balls,” Scheffler stated. “You get a little moisture between the membership face and the ball, particularly with the longer golf equipment and the woods, and it may be fairly difficult.
“We played basically (holes) 7 through 13 in rain.”
Scheffler, who’s looking for his second main championship victory this 12 months to go along with the PGA he received in May, was of course requested after the spherical about the feedback he made on Tuesday about how golf — even in victory — doesn’t “fulfill’’ his life and that he typically, even after profitable majors, asks himself, “What’s the purpose?’’
Scottie Scheffler reacts on the 18th inexperienced during the first spherical of the British Open on July 17, 2025. REUTERS
“I try to be as honest as I can with y’all, with the stuff that I’m willing to kind of say,” Scheffler stated. “At instances, I really feel like possibly I ought to be a little much less trustworthy. Maybe I shouldn’t have stated the stuff I stated because now I’m going to get requested about it more.
“But really, it’s just a matter of perspective, and I’ve had some players come up to me and say that they feel and think the same things. If anybody has disagreed with me, they haven’t said it to my face yet, so I don’t know what the reaction would be. But overall, I’m just glad to be out playing golf and competing again.”
Shane Lowry, who received the Open the final time it was performed at Portrush, was one of Scheffler’s two enjoying companions, along with 2021 Open winner Collin Morikawa.
Lowry, as many do, marveled at Scheffler’s recreation and demeanor.
“We had a good day out there,” Lowry stated after taking pictures a 1-under-par 70. “I feel like he’s a nice person to be around and obviously a great player. It’s unbelievable how well he manages his way around the golf course and the scores he shoots. It’s just incredible what he does with the ball. Even when you look at him and it looks like he’s hitting a bad shot, it doesn’t go in a bad spot.”
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