SOUTHAMPTON, NY — Golf is a funny game. We all know it. You don’t need a reminder from this writer. But what about when he you say?
“Golf is a funny game, a good example this week, if I finish second this week, it’s like, Hey, you failed at your first chance to win a career Grand Slam. It’s like, finishing second is a failure?”
That was Scottie Scheffler, of course. He said it four days ago, sitting inside a white tent in Shinnecock Hills, in front of a camera, beaming some sort of Scottie perspective on the world. But do you still feel the same way?
Probably not. Right now we are facing a rough one, which is made clear by the shouting and punching that he unleashed on the 14th hole. He thought the competition was doomed, but he entered a miraculous bird. You can bet he’s talking about the 4 footer he missed on 18 – it could have been
he was only human – which would have earned him one stroke at the top of the leaderboard. Instead, he retaliated six times. Few guys have the puncher’s advantage, but he has very long arms.
The point of this exercise is that the feelings change as the context changes. It was 336 days ago that he was asked for the first time about the Grand Slam career, a few hours after winning the Open Championship. He laughed it off and reminded us, the people who really care about these things, that he is one of the few who don’t.
On Tuesday, it felt like he was introducing this line about the second place and failure – the quintessential Scheffler, reminding us to embrace the journey, stop and smell the roses. But he followed it up in a curious way, saying that the second time isn’t always bad… “But man, does it hurt at the same time.”
The point where it can frickin’ hurt is officially here, rising from a low temperature at the beginning of the week to a horrible boil. From the 49th Thursday night to 11 Friday night to the 2nd Saturday. Scheffler may seem destined for a grand slam, but many people have already figured this out. It seems like a coin that the future becomes reality.
Scheffler is new to it, technically speaking. This is his first try in the last leg. You know you will have more. But you also know how many second-place finishes Phil Mickelson has at the US Open. He may not know that 13 players have three legs for four, but he does know that one of them is his friend from Dallas, Jordan Spieth, who has been chasing him for almost a decade. Each year the quest takes on a different, changed meaning. Scheffler was credited with handing the green jacket to Rory McIlroy at the 2025 Masters, tears of relief following McIlroy’s decade-long pursuit still rolling down his quivering cheeks.
“I think it’s worth understanding what’s at stake,” Scheffler said, agreeing in a very comfortable way to finally think about what could be an improbable milestone day. The world’s best golfer will wake up Sunday morning to the new reality that his 20s are officially behind him. Sunday is his 30th birthday. He will spend a few hours with his young children, because it is also Father’s Day and there are many hours before the final pairing.
When the emotions of all that settle down, a defining moment will come. It could come on the front nine, the 7th hole, a bogey on the 3rd 11th or, if we’re lucky, the closing stretch. It can take 30 seconds, 30 minutes or maybe more. You’ll have reason to think what everyone else is thinking right now: a slam is possible.
The reason why?
Golf is a funny game.
