It was always Scottie.

In a sports world full of big personalities, massive followings, and monster contracts, Scottie continues to stay in his own lane. “I’m not out here to inspire the next generation of golfers,” he said. And yet he does. Not because he wants to, but because of who he is!

Heading into the week, plenty of storylines filled the air: Rory’s potential to win at home. Xander’s last chance at making everyone believe last season was no fluke. Wyndham’s shot at redemption after his U.S. Open trouble.

But Scottie’s opening presser was what made everyone take a step back and realize that golf is what he does, not who he is.

He had said it before, too. Multiple times. Golf was just A PART of his life… and not even the best part. To him, there was a lot more that mattered. And yesterday, Scheffler showed the whole world what that meant.

Over the last three years, Scottie Scheffler has been on a historic run. 4 Majors. 13 other official wins. 1 Olympic Golf. And over $100 million in prize money. But as his bank account and trophy case continue to grow, Scottie has continued to remind everyone that golf is just his job.

It’s honestly a breath of fresh air. Even though the game has given him a great life, and winning makes him happy, the World No. 1 will never be able to fulfill his deepest wants and desires through it.

Hearing someone on a once-in-a-generation run put his career in perspective like that is rare. And if you watched what went down carefully, after he holed that 2-footer to win by 4, you’ll see what Scottie truly meant.

He hugged Ted, celebrated his win for a second, and then looked straight into the crowd searching for his wife, Meredith, and 1-year-old son, Bennett. And when he ‘found’ them, a rush took over. He threw his cap in the air and ran to them. The moment that you’ll see here (and like Scottie explains) is part of their ritual. And for these few seconds, whether he was the Champion Golfer of the Year or not, mattered little.

When we think about the greats in any sport, we go straight to Tiger, MJ, Brady - and the first thing people say is that they were ‘killers’ on the field. That killer instinct made them legends. But that’s not Scottie.

Nobody put it better than Jordan Spieth yesterday. “He doesn’t care,” said the 3-time major winner, talking about how Scheffler is far from a traditional pro golfer. And then he went on to back up things Scottie himself said earlier this week.

And it’s the truth.

Think back on any time you’ve seen the 17-time PGA Tour winner play. He never gets too high or too low. Sure, we see some emotion now and then, but overall, he’s calm, grounded, and measured. Even as he steamrolls the competition, some of the best moments we get from Scottie are off the course, like him and Ted pumped up, or him wiping off Meredith’s tears and playing with Bennett.

In a world that moves fast, where it’s easy to get caught up in the noise, maybe the lesson is to be a little more like Scottie. Keep perspective.

Congrats, Legend.

— Guest Editor (Josh Harwell)

You can never say enough about Scottie. But you gotta look beyond the Champion Golfer of the Year. From Harris English to Rickie Fowler, a group of players sizzled this week, but quietly, and away from the limelight. Here are our top five:

Harris English (13-under, Solo 2nd)

His caddie, Eric Larson, didn’t get a UK visa because of a past wrongdoing he committed 20 years ago. So, English instead took Ramon Bescansa—his short game coach—on his bag. They say yardages mean very little in links golf, and the 35-year-old proved that. Without his regular caddie, English shot 67-70-68-66 for a solo second at Royal Portrush. It’s his second runner-up finish this year after a T2 at the PGA Championship.

Chris Gotterup (12-under, Solo 3rd)

In an alternate reality, Gotterup would’ve played the Barracuda Championship. In fact, he even had a ticket booked to California. Then he won dominated the Genesis Scottish Open, got a pat on the back from Rory, and punched his ticket to Portrush. It was his Open Championship debut. You’d never be able to tell by his game, though. Just look at the ease with which he nailed this left-to-right curler to grab the solo third spot yesterday.

Robert MacIntyre (10-under, T7)

Another major. Another top ten. The young Scot has been making waves since winning last year’s Genesis Scottish Open. Despite some moments of frustration, like him pounding on his bag with his club, MacIntyre didn’t go over-par in any of the four rounds en route to his T7. It’s second top-ten too at this year’s majors after a solo second at the U.S. Open. He is making it a habit to contend at the grand stages.

Corey Conners (9-under, T10)

Are you surprised that Corey Conners played well in a major? Again? It’s about time you stopped being. Canadian hasn’t finished outside the top-25 in any major since last year’s PGA Championship (T26). He had to withdraw from the U.S. Open this year because of a wrist injury. But at the Open Championship, Conners was at his usual best. Yesterday, he made five birdies through a six-hole stretch. And before that, he almost made a hole-in-one in the second round, as you see below.

Rickie Fowler (8-under, T14)

Again, no surprises here. The last time the Open Championship came to Portrush, Fowler had a T6. This time, he managed a T14. Like Gotterup, Fowler was uncertain about his chances of entering Portrush. A sponsor exemption at The Memorial, which led to a hearty T7, landed him in Northern Ireland. There was a lot of speculation regarding that special invite to a signature event. Fowler will be happy to have answered those, both in pressers and with his clubs. He shot a 65 yesterday, the second-best score of the final round.

Honorary Mentions

Other than these five, Brian Harman (T10), Russell Henley (T10), Nicolai Hojgaard (T14), and Hideki Matsuyama (T16) played well but failed to grab the spotlight. The common trend you’ll see, though, is that the Americans played rather well (just like at the other majors). It’s great news, because that means our potential Ryder Cup team is shaping up nicely!