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Scottie Scheffler adjusts to links golf, status as world’s top player

AP photo by Scott Heppell / Scottie Scheffler watches his tee shot on the first hole at Scotland's Royal Troon during a practice round Tuesday for the British Open. The final major championship tournament of the year begins Thursday.
AP photo by Scott Heppell / Scottie Scheffler watches his tee shot on the first hole at Scotland's Royal Troon during a practice round Tuesday for the British Open. The final major championship tournament of the year begins Thursday. AP photo by Scott Heppell / Scottie Scheffler watches his tee shot on the first hole at Scotland's Royal Troon during a practice round Tuesday for the British Open. The final major championship tournament of the year begins Thursday.

By DOUG FERGUSON / The Associated Press 5 min read

TROON, Scotland — The first stage of Scottie Scheffler’s rise to the top of his sport seemed like warp speed.

In the span of five tournaments as winter turned to spring in 2022, Scheffler went from No. 15 in the Official World Golf Ranking to No. 1, and that was before the 6-foot-3 Texan won the Masters for the first time.

Now he’s on a level not seen since Tiger Woods was in his prime.

The British Open starts Thursday at Royal Troon, but Scheffler is not the biggest draw in the field — not with 15-time major champion Woods among the 158 players competing.

Rory McIlroy remains a big attraction, especially in the United Kingdom, and the 35-year-old from Northern Ireland is a sentimental favorite this week after his late collapse in last month’s U.S. Open. Bryson DeChambeau’s one-stroke win kept McIlroy stuck at four career major championships, the last of those won a decade ago.