It’s over, right? Scottie Scheffler with a four-shot lead? His nearest challenger with just one major top-10 to his name, and that came all the way back in 2017? Rory six back? Xander seven? Yeah, it’s over.
Like everybody else, the Claret Jug engraver will be eyeing an early clock-off on Sunday evening, so he’s probably halfway through the second ‘S’ as I write, because Scheffler has converted his last nine 54-hole leads into 72-hole victories. And in most of those his cushion was a lot less than four.
So yeah, it’s definitely over.
Except it’s not.
If my 40+ years as a sports fanatic have taught me anything, it’s that strange things happen. Few leads are insurmountable, nobody is immune to pressure, and the energy from a crowd can do strange things. And you’d better believe there will be wild energy created by the packed galleries.
And this energy has a power all its own. With it behind you, it can be the wind in your sails, making you capable of feats that would otherwise be beyond you. With it against, it can be a weight on your shoulders, holding you down, threatening to pull you under the waves. But that’s only if you let it…..
Today, Rory McIlroy is going to need that wind in his sails like he’s never needed it before. He needs to feel it, he needs to embrace it, he needs to let it carry him, and he needs to trust in both it and himself. And he’s turned around a six-stroke final-round deficit to Scottie Scheffler before. That came in the PGA Tour’s 2022 Tour Championship at East Lake, where McIlroy shot 66 to Scheffler’s 73, and he pipped him to the FedEx Cup’s top prize by one.
That win earned McIlroy $18 million, but though there’s almost $15 million less on offer here, the stakes are much, much higher.
By the time the Open Championship next returns to Portrush and Northern Ireland, McIlroy will likely be in his 40s. He’s faced a lot of hurdles in his career and scaled them all, but Father Time is the one hurdle even he can’t climb over. If he’s ever going to lift the Claret Jug on home soil, it probably needs to be in 2025.
So, this is it. 18 holes stand between him and an achievement that may even top Augusta National back in April. Well, 18 holes, Matt Fitzpatrick, Haotong Li, and Scottie Scheffler.
Golf fans are typically supportive of each and every player in a field. Good shots get applause, great shots get rapturous receptions, near-misses gets groans and moans, and that’s the general formula. But the general formula doesn’t take into consideration that 95 percent of the crowd are pulling hard in one direction and Scottie stands opposite.
When you lead by four strokes, even when you’ve played as well as Scheffler has this week, the pressure is ramped up. You’re expected to win, and when you’re the world number one and a three-time major winner to boot, you’re simply supposed to win.
He’ll be feeling the nerves, he’ll be feeling the heat, but this is what he does. He’s the best player in the world and for 54 holes he’s shown it.
But is there a twist in the tale? In Hollywood fiction, this is exactly how it would pan out. The final-round comeback would be thrilling, and it would come down to the 72nd hole and maybe more.
The only thing that could top a Hollywood ending, is a Holywood ending.
Leave a comment