Portrush (United Kingdom) (AFP) – World number one Scottie Scheffler blamed wild weather conditions for his wayward driving, but the American still shot a three-under-par first round at the British Open to sit one shot off the lead on Thursday. Scheffler, playing alongside former Claret Jug winners Shane Lowry and Collin Morikawa, got caught in torrential rain midway through his opening round at Royal Portrush.
Scheffler only hit three fairways off the tee, but as the skies cleared, he produced two stunning approach shots to birdie the 16th and 17th and card a 68 to remain well in contention for his first British Open victory. “When it’s raining sideways, it’s actually, believe it or not, not that easy to get the ball in the fairway. Thank you guys all for pointing that out,” Scheffler told reporters. “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.”
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Scheffler made headlines on the eve of the tournament when he said his life was “not a fulfilling” one despite his status at the top of the sport. The 29-year-old said the “euphoric feeling” from winning a golf tournament lasts barely a few minutes before he moves onto his next target. Scheffler said he has received nothing but support from the rest of the field over his comments.
“At times I feel like maybe I should be a little less honest. Maybe I shouldn’t have said the stuff I said yesterday because now I’m going to get asked about it more,” he added. “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.”
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