Portrush (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Scottie Scheffler said on Tuesday he does “not care” about being the tournament favourite as he prepares for his latest tilt at a maiden British Open title this week at Royal Portrush. The world number one has never seriously threatened to win a Claret Jug, but is again enjoying a run of supreme form and arrives in Northern Ireland as the PGA champion.
The American has emphatically rebounded from a slow start to the year after suffering a freak hand injury cutting himself on a wine glass, reeling off 10 successive top-10 finishes including three victories. “I could not care any less about being the favourite or not being the favourite,” he said. “We all start even par and the tournament starts on Thursday. That’s pretty much all that matters.”
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Scheffler produced his best British Open finish last year with a tie for seventh, but ended his tournament at Troon in ignominious style with an embarrassing topped tee shot on the 18th en route to a closing double-bogey. He has never missed the cut at the links major before, though, and believes he has what it takes to lift the Claret Jug.
“In terms of links golf, I love the style of golf. I think it’s really fun and you have to be creative,” Scheffler added. “You have to hit a lot of really good shots. There’s a challenge to it, but I think it’s a lot of fun. We’ll see how the weather turns out this week. Weather has a pretty dramatic effect on how the golf course is going to play.”
Scheffler won nine titles last season, including the Masters and the Olympic gold medal. His third major title at the PGA Championship in May is one of his three victories so far this year, but he says he doesn’t set himself specific targets. “I don’t look at wins and losses or stuff like that. I don’t sit down at the beginning of the year and say I want to win X number of times; I want to win this many majors; I want to win this many tournament events. That’s not something I do. That’s not something that works for me.”
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