Jack Nicklaus’ own Memorial Tournament had barely come to its conclusion Sunday when the host himself turned his attention forward two weeks.
“You’re going to find the same rough at Oakmont,” Nicklaus said, showing that even at age 85, he still has his mind trained toward the U.S. Open.
Nicklaus’ pro tip was offered in the company of Scottie Scheffler, who has shown lately that unsolicited advice isn’t necessarily needed.
Scheffler is on a run that is bringing the history of the game into view. A victory at the Memorial was his third in four tournaments and his seventh consecutive top-10. He became the first player to repeat at Muirfield Village since Tiger Woods (1999–2001). They are the only two to go back-to-back in the event.
Perhaps not since Woods’ heyday has the field been so focused on a single opponent when sizing up a chance to win a tournament. The multiple qualifiers for success now seem universal: play as well as you can and hope Scheffler underperforms.
“You know he’s going to hit fairways, you know he’s going to hit greens, he’s not really going to make mistakes,” Memorial runner-up Ben Griffin said of Scheffler.
“Yeah, you know Scottie’s probably going to play a good round of golf. The guy’s relentless,” third-place finisher Sepp Straka said.
Jon Rahm of Spain threatened to be the guy that Scheffler is now, but he took the LIV money and ran, with his exploits barely resonating now. Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy has reemerged of late with five tournament wins in the past two years, including the completion of the career Grand Slam at the Masters this year. But Scheffler just won the PGA Championship and is the current man of the moment.
Scheffler has been the world’s No. 1 player for 142 weeks over four separate stretches since March 2022, including each of the past 107 weeks.
The last player to sit on golf’s lofty throne that long consecutively? Woods, with his record 281 consecutive weeks from June 2005 to October 2010.
Where Woods was all thunder, though, Scheffler is ice — with fairways, greens and all of the recovery shots on the few occasions he needs them.
Scheffler’s strategy at Muirfield Village this past weekend? Avoid the juicy rough at all cost and don’t try to overpower it when the moment arrives. Which brings it all back to Nicklaus and his warning for Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh, where the U.S. Open will take place June 13–16.
If the rough at the Memorial seemed unprecedented, the field better be ready for what it will face some 200 miles to the east when the U.S. Open begins.
“I mean, it’s the same grass,” Nicklaus said. “It will be the same thing all through the whole Midwest.”
McIlroy, the No. 2 player in the world, elected to skip the Memorial to follow his traditional preparation for major tournaments by playing in the event one week prior. That means he will play in this week’s Canadian Open, which Scheffler will skip.
World No. 3 Xander Schauffele finished in a lackluster tie for 25th at the Memorial by going 6 over par in the final two rounds and 4 over for 72 holes. No. 4 Collin Morikawa finished tied for 20th and has not finished better than 17th in his last five events, while missing the cut in one of those.
Something will have to change among the world’s best in order to gang up on Scheffler, who has the complete backing of one of the game’s all-time greats.
“(Scheffler) has the ability to bring his level to whatever level it needs to be,” Nicklaus said. “That’s what good players do. And, you know, he’s not a good player — he’s a great player. I mean, look at the record that he has had the last few years. It’s unbelievable.”
While Scheffler’s most intimidating characteristic might be his remarkable consistency, the stat to fear as the next major tournament draws near is this: six PGA Tour victories by at least four shots over the last two seasons.
And the most recent four-shot win Sunday might just allow him to mow down the field at Oakmont.
“That’s what I think is great about this golf course — there’s opportunity and there’s good difficulty,” Scheffler said after walking the Muirfield track four consecutive days. “As far as prep work for the U.S. Open, I mean, the rough’s going to be pretty similar, and I think it’s great prep.”
