By Frank Pingue
OAKMONT, Pennsylvania (Reuters) -Scottie Scheffler may not have been as prepared as he could have been for last year’s U.S. Open, but on Tuesday the tournament favourite at Oakmont Country Club said he was well-rested and had done his homework ahead of golf’s toughest test.
Scheffler arrived at the 2024 U.S. Open fresh off a win at the Memorial Tournament and made the cut at Pinehurst without a shot to spare. He later admitted he did not feel he was properly prepared for that year’s third major.
So this year world number one Scheffler took a different approach. He still played and won the Memorial, which was moved back to its traditional spot on the calendar, and then sat out last week’s Canadian Open to focus on the U.S. Open.
“Having the week off was really important for me to get home, get some rest, recover, and I showed up here on Sunday and was able to play maybe 11 holes and really get used to the conditions,” said Scheffler.
“It feels much more like my normal major prep versus last year where you’re coming in from basically a major championship test, coming into another one is pretty challenging.”
Since the calendar turned to May, Scheffler has matched the PGA Tour 72-hole scoring record with a 31-under total at TPC Craig Ranch, won the PGA Championship by five strokes, finished fourth at Colonial and won at Muirfield Village by four strokes.
The challenge ahead for Scheffler, whose three wins so far in 2025 came during his last four starts, will be passing the daunting test that Oakmont Country Club presents given its narrow fairways and penal rough.
“This is probably the hardest golf course that we’ll play, maybe ever, and that’s pretty much all it is. It’s just a different type of test,” said Scheffler.
Given his form Scheffler is naturally a heavy favourite and will have plenty of support as he makes his way around Oakmont, perhaps especially from those who have placed wagers on him.
Scheffler said he hears plenty from those who bet on golf and that was why he deleted his account on peer-to-peer payment service Venmo as some people would send him part of their winnings or demand he cover their losses.
“I was either getting paid by people or people requesting me a bunch of money when I didn’t win,” said Scheffler. “It wasn’t a good feeling.”
“I don’t remember the most that somebody would send me. Maybe a couple bucks here or there. That didn’t happen nearly as much as the requests did,” Scheffler added.
A win this week for Scheffler would put him alongside Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth as the only active players with three legs of the career Grand Slam of golf’s four majors.
(Reporting by Frank PingueEditing by Toby Davis)
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